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Billerica Memorial High School Basketball
Billerica Memorial High School Basketball
Billerica Memorial High School Basketball is the basketball program of Billerica Memorial High School and, before 1955, of Howe High School. The high school first entered a team in an interscholastic league in the winter of 1927-28, playing in a borrowed gymnasium, and girls' teams were playing league schedules by the early 1930s, four decades before Title IX. The girls won the Lowell Suburban League championship at least nine times between 1933 and 1963 and later won Merrimack Valley Conference titles in the 1970s, 2003, 2017 and 2018. The boys won their first Suburban League title in 1952 under Natale J. Federico and Merrimack Valley Conference championships in 1977, 1983 and 1992. The MIAA's published list of basketball state champions does not include Billerica. The teams play as the Indians; the football, hockey and other programs are described in Billerica Memorial High School Football and Billerica Memorial High School Hockey.
The town's school reports first mention interscholastic basketball in 1927, when the high school principal wrote that "through the courtesy of Mr. A. H. Mitchell, we have the use of the Mitchell School gymnasium this winter for basketball, so we have entered a team in the newly-formed league comprising teams from Chelmsford, Littleton, North Andover, Westford, Wilmington and Billerica." The gymnasium was that of the Mitchell Boys' School. In 1928 the senior high school played "home-and-home" games in a league of six schools, which the school magazine, The Torch, called the Lowell Suburban League. The next winter the games were played in Union Hall in North Billerica "under poor conditions," and the principal wrote that "the need for a good gymnasium, for use during the winter months particularly, is very apparent." In 1930 the school dropped out of the league until a new gymnasium room was finished. The high school addition completed in 1931 gave the school a stage that "provides a superior basketball court," with baths and lockers beside it.
Girls' basketball began as part of physical training. In 1931 the school appointed a Director of Physical Training, Rose M. O'Neil, who reported that "basketball in the high school is a very popular sport both for the girls and the boys" and that both squads had been cut so that "varsity teams organized that would be capable to compete against the experienced teams of our league." Her girls' teams were chosen from the best players of the class teams. In the winter of 1932-33 both the boys' and the girls' teams won their league championships. The superintendent wrote in 1933 that "the need of a basketball coach for the boys of the Senior High School had been long felt," and Donald W. Dunnan of the University of New Hampshire was hired to fill it. The boys' coaches who followed were mostly commercial teachers from Salem Teachers College: Myron Fisher, succeeded in 1935 by George E. P. Husson; H. Gerald Gordon, who took "full charge of basketball" in 1937; James E. Twohig, who coached from 1938 to 1940 and left the sport "well organized"; and John D. Roderick, whose first team, in 1940-41, finished second in the Suburban League with eight wins in twelve league games, with Herbert C. Brenner as his assistant.
Rose O'Neil's girls' teams won the Lowell Suburban League in 1937-38 and again in 1938-39; townspeople gave the 1938 champions jackets, and she thanked the town for its "splendid support." She left for Lowell High School in 1940, and Willa Pasho coached the girls in 1940-41. The girls were league champions again in 1941-42. In the fall of 1942 wartime gasoline restrictions led the league to suspend interscholastic basketball, and Herbert C. Brenner, named basketball coach that year, ran an intramural schedule instead; the school committee kept to intramural games the next winter rather than send students to night games. John F. Sullivan coached the boys in 1943-44, when only a few games were played, and in 1944 Philip Collins, a Howe graduate, took on all three boys' sports. Marjorie Shaw gave up the girls' team in 1944 and was succeeded by Mary Fitzgerald. Chester D. Ingraham coached the boys in 1945-46, and in 1946 Chuck Lampson became coach and director of athletics. The girls won the league in 1948-49 and again in 1949-50, when they ran up twenty-two straight wins; Gladys A. Boutillette coached them in 1950-51.
Under Natale J. Federico, the boys "for the first time in the basketball history of Howe High" became Suburban League champions in 1951-52, and they also won the Townsend Tournament. They were second in 1952-53 with an 8 and 2 league record and went 15-8 in 1953-54, while the girls went 12-0 that winter and won the league. George Gracie Jr., a 1949 Howe graduate, joined the schools in 1955 and coached the boys through the early 1960s. Barbara Hood, who came to Howe in 1953 as a physical education teacher, coached the girls into the late 1960s: her 1958-59 team went 13-4 and took the second-place trophy at the Ashby Tournament, the 1959-60 team went 10-2 in the league, and her teams were Suburban League champions in 1960-61 and in 1962-63, when they also won the Ashby Tournament. In 1963-64 they were 12-2 in the league and 15-3 overall. In 1960 the school still played in the Lowell Suburban League, with junior varsity and freshman teams added and Chuck Lampson as athletic director.
By 1967-68 the school played in the Merrimack Valley Conference. Ed James coached the boys from the mid-1960s into the mid-1980s. His 1976-77 team won the conference at 15-1, and his 1982-83 team won it again with a 15-2 record and qualified for the state tournament; the 1984-85 team went 15-6 and drew Lowell in the state tournament. Gary DiSarcina, later a major league shortstop, was among that team's guards. The girls won the conference in 1972, as seniors of 1973 and 1974 recalled, and a 1971 senior remembered an MVC basketball title in 1970; and in 1973-74 Nancy Phillips's girls were aiming for the conference title and for the first state tournament open to them. Jon Sidorovich's 1984-85 girls' team had the program's best season in more than a decade.
After a 3-15 season in 1988-89 and a 1-18 season in 1990-91, the boys won the conference championship in 1991-92 under Kevin McDermott, who coached them into the early 2000s. His teams reached the state tournament four straight years through 1995-96, and again in 1999-2000 and 2001-02. Richard Donnelly coached the boys in 1997-98 and 1998-99, and Coach Dagle led them in the middle 2000s. On the girls' side, Coach Furlong's 1990-91 team went winless in the regular season but won the Greater Lowell Holiday Tournament, and the 1991-92 team also won a Christmas tournament title. Tom Connors took over in 1992-93; his 1993-94 team went 14-6, won the small-school championship and hung "the first girls basketball banner in the gym," and his 2002-03 team were Merrimack Valley Conference Division 2 champions. In 2005-06 the girls were moved up to the conference's large-school division for the first time, under a new coach, Mike McCarthy.
Chris Doneski coached the girls by 2012-13, when they were 11-1 and ranked fourth after a 58-51 win over Andover. His teams were Merrimack Valley Conference champions in 2016-17 and in 2017-18, when they shared the Division 2 title with Tewksbury and he was named the conference's Coach of the Year. The 2023-24 team opened 9-0 with a 44-42 win at Andover, the defending Division 1 champions, and the 2025-26 team went 16-4 and was seeded tenth in the Division 1 state tournament. From 1931 home games were played on the court in the Howe High School addition; the teams moved to the Memorial High School gym in 1955, and the new Billerica Memorial High School building, opened in 2019, has been home since.
| Season | Head coach | League | Record | League finish | Tournament result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927-28 | Six-school league (Lowell Suburban League) | First interscholastic league season; games in the Mitchell School gymnasium | ||||
| 1928-29 | Lowell Suburban League | Games played in Union Hall "under poor conditions" | ||||
| 1929-30 | Out of the league until a gymnasium was finished | |||||
| 1932-33 | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | League champions | |||
| 1933-34 | Donald W. Dunnan | Lowell Suburban League | First coach hired for the boys | |||
| 1934-35 | Myron Fisher | Lowell Suburban League | ||||
| 1935-36 | George E. P. Husson | Lowell Suburban League | ||||
| 1937-38 | H. Gerald Gordon | Lowell Suburban League | 6-9 (4-6 league) | 4th | ||
| 1939-40 | James E. Twohig | Lowell Suburban League | 3rd | Post-season tournament at Punchard | ||
| 1940-41 | John D. Roderick | Lowell Suburban League | 8-4 league | 2nd | Assistant Herbert C. Brenner | |
| 1942-43 | Herbert C. Brenner | Interscholastic games suspended for the war; intramural schedule | ||||
| 1943-44 | John F. Sullivan | Few games because of transportation limits | ||||
| 1944-45 | Philip Collins | |||||
| 1945-46 | Chester D. Ingraham | |||||
| 1951-52 | Natale J. Federico | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | Won the Townsend Tournament | First boys' league title | |
| 1952-53 | Natale J. Federico | Lowell Suburban League | 8-2 league | 2nd | Played in the Townsend Tournament | |
| 1953-54 | Natale J. Federico | Lowell Suburban League | 15-8 | |||
| 1958-59 | George Gracie Jr. | Lowell Suburban League | 13-6 | Record counted from the printed scores | ||
| 1959-60 | George Gracie Jr. | Lowell Suburban League | ||||
| 1960-61 | George Gracie Jr. | Lowell Suburban League | 4th | |||
| 1965-66 | Ed James | |||||
| 1973-74 | Ed James | Merrimack Valley Conference | .500 at midseason | |||
| 1976-77 | Ed James | Merrimack Valley Conference | 15-1 league | 1st | Conference champions | |
| 1977-78 | Ed James | Merrimack Valley Conference | Assistant Ed Minishak | |||
| 1980-81 | Ed James | Merrimack Valley Conference | 2nd (at press time) | |||
| 1981-82 | Ed James | Merrimack Valley Conference | 8-5 (7-4 league) | 4th (at press time) | ||
| 1982-83 | Ed James | Merrimack Valley Conference | 15-2 | 1st | State tournament | Conference champions |
| 1984-85 | Ed James | Merrimack Valley Conference | 15-6 | State tournament, drew Lowell | ||
| 1986-87 | Merrimack Valley Conference | 5-14 | ||||
| 1987-88 | Merrimack Valley Conference | 10-10 (8-7 league) | Missed the tournament by one win | |||
| 1988-89 | Merrimack Valley Conference | 3-15 | ||||
| 1990-91 | Kevin McDermott | Merrimack Valley Conference | 1-18 | |||
| 1991-92 | Kevin McDermott | Merrimack Valley Conference | 1st | State tournament | Conference champions | |
| 1992-93 | Kevin McDermott | Merrimack Valley Conference | 2-17 | |||
| 1994-95 | Kevin McDermott | Merrimack Valley Conference | 10-10 | 2nd | State tournament | |
| 1995-96 | Kevin McDermott | Merrimack Valley Conference | 11-10 (7-6 league) | State tournament, lost to Malden Catholic | Fourth straight tournament | |
| 1997-98 | Richard Donnelly | Merrimack Valley Conference | ||||
| 1998-99 | Richard Donnelly | Merrimack Valley Conference | 4-15 | |||
| 1999-2000 | Kevin McDermott | Merrimack Valley Conference | .500 | State tournament | ||
| 2001-02 | Kevin McDermott | Merrimack Valley Conference | 13-8 | State tournament | ||
| 2002-03 | Kevin McDermott | Merrimack Valley Conference | 2-16 | |||
| 2003-04 | Coach Dagle | Merrimack Valley Conference | 6-10 | |||
| 2005-06 | Merrimack Valley Conference | 4-14 | ||||
| 2006-07 | Coach Dagle | Merrimack Valley Conference |
| Season | Head coach | League | Record | League finish | Tournament result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-32 | Rose M. O'Neil | Lowell Suburban League | Varsity team chosen from the class teams | |||
| 1932-33 | Rose M. O'Neil | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | League champions | ||
| 1937-38 | Rose M. O'Neil | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | League champions | ||
| 1938-39 | Rose M. O'Neil | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | League champions | ||
| 1940-41 | Willa Pasho | Lowell Suburban League | 4th | |||
| 1941-42 | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | League champions | |||
| 1943-44 | Marjorie Shaw | Few interscholastic games in wartime | ||||
| 1944-45 | Mary Fitzgerald | |||||
| 1948-49 | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | League champions | |||
| 1949-50 | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | League champions; twenty-two straight wins | |||
| 1950-51 | Gladys A. Boutillette | Lowell Suburban League | ||||
| 1951-52 | Lowell Suburban League | 3rd | ||||
| 1952-53 | Lowell Suburban League | 6-2-2 | 2nd (tie) | |||
| 1953-54 | Lowell Suburban League | 12-0 | 1st | League champions | ||
| 1958-59 | Barbara Hood | Lowell Suburban League | 13-4 | Ashby Tournament second-place trophy | ||
| 1959-60 | Barbara Hood | Lowell Suburban League | 10-2 league | |||
| 1960-61 | Barbara Hood | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | League champions | ||
| 1962-63 | Barbara Hood | Lowell Suburban League | 1st | Won the Ashby Tournament | League champions | |
| 1963-64 | Barbara Hood | Lowell Suburban League | 15-3 (12-2 league) | Ashby Tournament | ||
| 1967-68 | Barbara Hood | Merrimack Valley Conference | 3-9 | 5th | ||
| 1971-72 | Merrimack Valley Conference | 1st | Conference champions, as recalled by seniors | |||
| 1973-74 | Nancy Phillips | Merrimack Valley Conference | 7-3 at press time | |||
| 1976-77 | Merrimack Valley Conference | 5-7 league | ||||
| 1984-85 | Jon Sidorovich | Merrimack Valley Conference | Best season in more than a decade | |||
| 1990-91 | Coach Furlong | Merrimack Valley Conference | 0-18 | Won the Greater Lowell Holiday Tournament | ||
| 1991-92 | Coach Richards | Merrimack Valley Conference | Won the Greater Lowell Christmas Tournament | |||
| 1992-93 | Tom Connors | Merrimack Valley Conference | 4-14 | |||
| 1993-94 | Tom Connors | Merrimack Valley Conference | 14-6 | 1st (small schools) | First girls' banner in the gym | |
| 1995-96 | Tom Connors | Merrimack Valley Conference | 10-11 | State tournament | ||
| 1996-97 | Tom Connors | Merrimack Valley Conference | 9-11 | School records broken | ||
| 1997-98 | Tom Connors | Merrimack Valley Conference | 11-9 | State tournament | ||
| 1998-99 | Tom Connors | Merrimack Valley Conference | 8-12 | |||
| 2002-03 | Tom Connors | Merrimack Valley Conference | 12-8 | 1st (Division 2) | Conference Division 2 champions | |
| 2004-05 | Tom Connors | Merrimack Valley Conference | 14-6 | |||
| 2005-06 | Mike McCarthy | Merrimack Valley Conference | First season in the large-school division | |||
| 2008-09 | Mike McCarthy | Merrimack Valley Conference | State tournament, lost to Acton-Boxborough | |||
| 2012-13 | Chris Doneski | Merrimack Valley Conference | 11-1 in late January | |||
| 2016-17 | Chris Doneski | Merrimack Valley Conference | 1st | Conference champions | ||
| 2017-18 | Chris Doneski | Merrimack Valley Conference | 1st (Division 2, shared) | Co-champions with Tewksbury; Doneski conference Coach of the Year | ||
| 2023-24 | Chris Doneski | Merrimack Valley Conference | 9-0 in mid-January | |||
| 2025-26 | Chris Doneski | Merrimack Valley Conference | 16-4 | Division 1 state tournament, seeded 10th |
References
- Billerica Town Report 1927, high school: use of the Mitchell School gymnasium; a team entered in a newly formed six-school league
- Billerica Town Report 1928, high school: baseball and basketball teams in a league of six schools, home-and-home games
- Billerica Town Report 1929, high school: basketball games in Union Hall under poor conditions; need for a gymnasium
- Billerica Town Report 1930, high school: to re-enter the basketball league when the new gymnasium room is completed
- Billerica Town Report 1931, schools: the new stage as a basketball court; a Director of Physical Training for girls' basketball
- Billerica Town Report 1931, physical education director Rose M. O'Neil: boys' and girls' squads cut to form varsity teams
- Billerica Town Report 1932, physical education: girls' class teams and the school team
- Billerica Town Report 1933, schools: Donald W. Dunnan hired as the boys' basketball coach
- Billerica Town Report 1933, high school: boys' and girls' basketball teams win their league championships
- Billerica Town Report 1935, schools: George E. P. Husson succeeds Myron Fisher in commercial work and as basketball coach
- Billerica Town Report 1937, schools: Gerald Gordon succeeds Husson and takes full charge of basketball
- Billerica Town Report 1938, schools: James E. Twohig elected to coach basketball
- Billerica Town Report 1938, high school: the girls' basketball team champion of the Lowell Suburban League
- Billerica Town Report 1939, high school: girls' basketball champions of the Lowell Suburban League for the second year
- Billerica Town Report 1940, schools: James E. Twohig leaves; Rose O'Neil goes to Lowell High School
- Billerica Town Reports 1940-1944 (1940 volume): Herbert C. Brenner named coach (1942); wartime suspension of interscholastic basketball
- Billerica Town Report 1942, high school: the basketball championship won by the girls' team
- Billerica Town Report 1944, schools: Philip Collins to coach the boys' sports; Mary Fitzgerald succeeds Marjorie Shaw with the girls
- Billerica Town Report 1946, high school: Charles Lampson coach and director of athletics
- Billerica Town Report 1949 (1945 volume): the girls' basketball team wins its league championship
- Billerica Town Report 1952, high school: the boys' basketball team heads the suburban league and wins the Townsend Tournament
- Billerica Town Report 1953, high school: boys second at 8 and 2; girls tied for second at 6-2-2
- Billerica Town Report 1954, high school: boys' basketball 15-8, girls' basketball 12-0 and league champions
- Billerica Town Report 1960, athletic program: Lowell Suburban League; coaches Gracie (boys) and Hood (girls)
- Billerica Town Report 2017, BMHS: girls' basketball among the 2016-2017 Merrimack Valley Conference champions
- Billerica Town Report 2018, BMHS athletics: girls' basketball MVC champions; Chris Doneski MVC Coach of the Year
- Howe High yearbook 1938: girls' Lowell Suburban League champions under Rose O'Neil; boys fourth under Coach Gordon
- Howe High yearbook 1940: the boys third in the league; a post-season tournament at Punchard
- Howe High yearbook 1941: the boys second in the Suburban League under John Roderick and Herb Brenner
- Howe High yearbook 1941: the girls fourth in the Suburban League under Willa Pasho
- Howe High yearbook 1944: the boys' team under Coach John Sullivan
- Howe High yearbook 1946: the boys' team under Chet Ingraham
- Howe High yearbook 1950: the girls' second straight championship after twenty-two straight wins
- Howe High yearbook 1951: the girls' team under Gladys A. Boutillette
- Howe High yearbook 1952: the boys suburban champions for the first time, under Coach Nat Federico
- Wannalancet 1959: boys' scores under Coach Gracie; girls 13-4 and the Ashby Tournament under Coach Hood
- Warrior 1960: the girls 10-2 in the Lowell Suburban League under Miss Hood
- Warrior 1961: the boys fourth in the Suburban League under coach George Gracie
- Warrior 1963: the girls Suburban League and Ashby Tournament champions
- Warrior 1964: the girls 12-2 in the league and 15-3 overall under Miss Hood
- Warrior 1966: boys' varsity under Mr. James
- Warrior 1968: the girls 3-9 and fifth in the Merrimack Valley Conference
- Warrior 1974: the girls under Nancy Phillips aim for the MVC title and the first state tournament
- Warrior 1977: Merrimack Valley basketball standings, Billerica first at 15-1
- Warrior 1978: the team under Ed James and Ed Minishak after the previous year's championship
- Warrior 1983: the boys Merrimack Valley champions at 15-2 and in the state tournament
- Warrior 1985: the girls' best season in over a decade under Mr. Sidorovich
- Warrior 1985: the boys 15-6 and a state tournament game against Lowell
- Warrior 1991: the girls 0-18 in the regular season but winners of the Greater Lowell Holiday Tournament
- Warrior 1992: the boys go from 1-18 to MVC champions
- Warrior 1993: the girls 4-14 under first-year coach Tom Connors; the boys 2-17
- Warrior 1994: the girls 14-6, small school champions, and the first girls' basketball banner
- Warrior 1996: the boys 11-10 and in the state tournament for the fourth straight year
- Warrior 1998: the boys under head coach Richard Donnelly
- Warrior 2003: the girls 12-8 and MVC Division 2 champions
- Warrior 2005: Mr. McDermott retires; boys' varsity basketball coach
- Warrior 2006: the girls moved into the MVC large school division for the first time, with a new coach
- Warrior 2009: the girls qualify for post-season play and lose to Acton-Boxboro
- Warrior 1971: a senior recalls MVC basketball champions in 1970
- Warrior 1973: a senior recalls the girls' basketball MVC championship of 1972
- Warrior 1989: the boys 3 wins and 15 losses
- Warrior 1995: the boys 10-10, second in the league, and in the state tournament
- Warrior 1997: the girls 9-11 in a season of school records
- Warrior 2002: the boys 13-8 and in the state tournament
- Warrior 1988: the boys 10-10 overall and 8-7 in the league; girls under Coach Furlong
- Warrior 1962: a senior's activities list Suburban League champions, 1960-61, in girls' basketball
- Warrior 1981: the boys chasing a state tournament berth and second place in the MVC
- Warrior 1982: the boys 7-4 in the league and 8-5 overall
- Warrior 1987: the 1986-1987 boys' season, 5-14
- Warrior 1999: the boys 4-15; the girls 8-12
- Warrior 2000: the boys a .500 season and a state tournament berth
- Warrior 2004: the boys 6-10
- Warrior 2007: the boys under Coach Dagle
- Warrior 2008: the girls under Coach Mike McCarthy
- Warrior 1975: the girls' varsity under Coach Nancy Phillips
- Boston.com, January 28, 2013: Billerica girls, coached by Chris Doneski, beat Andover 58-51
- Tewksbury Town Crier, 2018: Billerica and Tewksbury share the MVC Division 2 girls' basketball title
- The Boston Globe, January 19, 2024: Billerica girls stay unbeaten with a 44-42 win at Andover
- The Boston Globe, March 23, 2024: Billerica among the girls' honorable mentions in the final Top 20
- MIAA 2026 girls' basketball tournament brackets: Billerica Memorial seeded 10th in Division 1 at 16-4
- MIAA list of basketball state champions
- Wikipedia: Billerica Memorial High School, athletics and notable alumni