Boys & Girls Basketball Wins FAA Championship

The St. Luke’s boys and girls varsity basketball teams won the Fairchester Athletic Association Tournament Championships on Saturday, Feb. 26, beating Brunswick School and Hamden Hall, respectively.

The St. Luke’s girls basketball team hosted the Hamden Hall Hornets inside a packed Carey Gymnasium and delivered their sixth straight tournament win with a 54-45 victory. The Storm trailed Hamden 36-37 after the third quarter but had a huge fourth quarter, where they outscored their opponents 19-8 and were crowned champions again.

Mackenzie Nelson ‘23 led the scoring for St. Luke’s with 16 points, while senior captain Caroline Lau had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Camdyn Nelson had arguably her best game of the season, picking up 15 points and seven rebounds, with zero turnovers on the day.

The win continued the Storm’s unbeaten run and moved the team to 24-0 for the season. SLS was given the No. 2 seed for the New England Preparatory School Council Tournament  and hosted Groton School on Wednesday, March 2, at 4:30pm. The Storm won a tough contest 73-58, following a strong second-half performance, to advance to Saturday’s semifinal. St. Luke’s will host The winner of the quarterfinal matchup Beaver Country Day School at 2pm with the final scheduled for Sunday, March 6.

Head Coach Matt Ward is extremely proud of his players and now focused on challenging for the NEPSAC title: “We are excited about winning the FAA title again. We played a tough game against a really good Hamden Hall team, who I think could very well win Class C. We look forward to the NEPSAC tournament, where we will try to get back to the Class B title game and win our first New England Championship.”

Boys varsity basketball traveled to Brunswick School to take on the No. 1 seeded Bruins in the championship game. The teams split the two regular season matches, so the final had all the makings of a close contest. It proved to be just that, but an outstanding defensive performance by the Storm gave them the edge in a 47-39 victory. 

The St. Luke’s players showed grit and determination to recover from a fast start by Brunswick, who scored on its opening six possessions. St. Luke's regrouped and fed off the electric atmosphere inside a packed Dann Gym to limit the Bruins scoring after the opening few minutes, taking a 23-21 lead into halftime.

Midway through the second half, St. Luke’s trailed Brunswick again, 34-30. However, after Head Coach Tony Newsom called a timeout, the Storm finished the game with a 17-5 run to win back-to-back titles. St. Luke’s has won four of the last six FAA tournament championships and has an 85-8 record against its FAA opponents during that time.

Senior Ryan Frank scored a team-high 14 points. Aren Cummings ‘22 added 12 points and Sean Clemons ‘22 contributed 11 for the Storm, who overcame early deficits of 11-0, 14-2 and 17-6, to capture the FAA championship trophy.