Girls Basketball Wins Seventh Straight FAA Title

St. Luke’s girls varsity basketball won its seventh straight Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) regular season championship, with a 77-27 win over Hopkins School on Monday, Feb.13.

With its victory over the Hilltoppers, the Storm made it a perfect 9-0 and secured the No. 1 seed for the upcoming FAA playoff tournament.

St. Luke’s will host No. 8 seed The Masters School (New York) on Tuesday, Feb. 21, inside Carey Gymnasium. If the Storm wins, it will host the semifinal on Thursday, Feb. 23, and a potential championship game on Saturday, Feb. 25.

The Storm has racked up some impressive statistics during its seven-year run and hopes to continue breaking records throughout the postseason. With its latest win, the Storm has won 62 regular season games and 77 FAA (87 games, when including non-league or FAA tournament games) in a row.

Co-captains Mackenzie Nelson ’23 and Ava Sollenne ’23 have led the offensive charge, alongside Brielle Renwick ’23. Nelson is averaging 20 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals, and 4 assists per game. Sollenne is averaging 10.4 points per game and shooting 39% from three-point range. Renwick has been in impressive form throughout the season, averaging 9.5 points per game and 6 rebounds.

Sollenne is proud to be part of the team’s success: “It’s an honor to be part of such a successful program and contribute to the team’s success. It comes with the responsibility of carrying the team’s winning culture and striving for greatness each year, and I definitely enjoy leading a group where everyone has that same goal of winning.”

The team has been in impressive form outside the FAA, too, and hopes to win its first New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Championship this winter. The Storm, currently 20-2 for the season, should receive the No. 1 seed for the upcoming NEPSAC Class B Tournament.

Sollenne believes the team’s dedication and hard work in practice are why they challenge for honors every year: “I think that the team’s biggest strength is the players’ ability to respectfully compete against each other and provide constructive criticism. During practice, we have a competitive environment full of drills and scrimmages. Yet, during these competitions, we still support and cheer on each other. Having a level of respect for one another, where we can provide constructive criticism for the overall benefit of the team, is definitely something that keeps us improving.”

On the Storm’s chances of winning the NEPSAC championship, Sollenne added: “Our main goal for the remainder of the season is to win not just the FAA tournament but also the NEPSAC tournament. We’re confident that if we stay focused and continue to bring our A-game to every single practice and game, we will be able to achieve these goals.”