'Guts and determination': Bartlett battles through the pain for B-R girls basketball

BRIDGEWATER— When an injury forced Reese Bartlett out of last year's Division 1 Elite Eight game against Bishop Feehan, one which Bridgewater-Raynham lost 72-53, she said it wasn't how she wanted to go out.

So when a knee injury saw her sidelined in the third quarter of Thursday's Round of 32 game against No. 21 Belmont, the senior guard wasn't going to let history repeat itself.

"I hyperextended my knee a little bit, wrapped it and I did not want to go out like that again," Bartlett said. "I sucked it up, went back in and got the win."

The Colby College-bound guard came back to the court with applause from the B-R faithful as she helped fend off a Marauder comeback effort to seal a 62-51 win for the No. 12 Trojans.

"Reese is such a tremendous on-floor general," B-R coach Cheryl Seavey said. "She just dictates tempo. She’s calm, cool and if people are face-guarding her, she always finds an opportunity to find the open teammate or even to just make the tough shot."

Bartlett finished the game with nine points, nine rebounds and three steals, while working in tandem with junior guard Brenna Woodbury, who had a game-high 16 points, seven rebounds, six steals and five assists. As two of the more veteran players at the Trojans' disposal, Bartlett said it was good for the duo to provide a strong example.

"Brenna and I coming out there and playing confident kept everybody relaxed and kept the tempo at our speed," Bartlett said.

For Seavey, it's all part of what makes Bartlett a crucial member of the Trojans.

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"She dictates the tempo, she calms people down and I can speak volumes about her," Seavey said. "She’s got such a complete game and I’m certainly going to miss her presence next year."

Seavey praised Bartlett as a major communicator on the court, something the senior is proud to provide for her coach.

"A lot of the time in loud gym situations, she’ll tell me something and I’ll communicate it to everyone else, so I like to think that we think the same way," Bartlett said. "I know what she likes and what she wants us to do, so I definitely try to take the role of coaching on the court."

"She is just pure guts and determination," Seavey said. "Her understanding of the game of basketball is off the charts and then to be able to understand how to use her body when she was clearly not 100% but still having that drive and determination to take it to the rim and make those tough, contested shots."

Seavey was also proud of the "yeoman's effort" put in by her bench players during Bartlett's absence, saying they stepped up left and right to help regain momentum after Belmont pulled within three. From there, and with Bartlett back on the floor, the Trojans were able to retake control of the tempo and play at their pace like they had in the first half.

She also praised the efforts of junior guard Libby Cronin, who had 14 points and four rebounds, and sophomore forward Camden Strandberg, who had 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists while sinking some late free throws to help seal the deal.

"It’s always a good day when you’re moving on," Seavey said with a smile.

B-R is now tasked with a familiar foe in No. 5 Wellesley, a team that defeated the Trojans 36-29 in January.

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"Coach (Glen) Magpiong and I are close friends and I respect his program highly," Seavey said. "I love what he does, he’s very complimentary towards us and to what we do, so it’ll definitely be a battle for sure. We’re going to dig in defensively and we know they’re going to dig in defensively as well."

As for Bartlett, she knows her and her teammates just need to keep playing their game.

"They know us, we know them and it’ll be a very good game," Bartlett said. "They’re very talented across the board, but I think we can match up well and we need to go into it keeping our calm, collected attitude."

Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Wellesley High School.

Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Reese Bartlett's grit and basketball IQ go a long way for B-R