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01/23/2024 10:25 AMMaeve Madura approached her senior season on the athletic circuit with a different mindset and renewed focus. Realizing that this would be her final go-around with the Morgan girls’ basketball team, the three-sport athlete didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
“I’ve kind of found through my last season of soccer, take every game in and have fun,” says Maeve, who’s also an All-State lacrosse player. “There’s not a lot of time left that we have playing with each other.”
Maeve wants to win, and she wants to have fun winning. She’s done plenty of it already, but there’s a sense of finality that comes with being a senior. That means making the most of her remaining opportunities on the hardwood.
“Right from the start of the season, Maeve has been a phenomenal leader as a senior captain,” Morgan girls’ basketball Head Coach Caitlin Woods says. “She’s been a starter for several years now, but she’s really taken on that role. She leads by example.”
Maeve does that and then some. She’s embraced being a captain and all that entails, including playing with more tenacity as the primary ball-handler.
“She can do everything, but she’s definitely stepped up big time with her scoring, her outside shot,” Woods says. “We have some very good shooters, and she has really stepped up to be one of them. She’s just been tremendous this year. She knows this is her senior year. I think she also sees we have the potential to be one of the most competitive teams in the league.”
Maeve’s stats are modest. Through 12 games, she’s averaging 8.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.7 steals. But, as Woods points out, the numbers only tell part of the story. Maeve’s been particularly clutch, and her importance to her team goes beyond anything that can be found in a box score.
“She’s had some big nights, but the points she does give us, she’s got a killer instinct,” explains Woods. “She knows what to do at the right time. If she has five points, usually it’s a critical five points.”
Whereas she was more of a facilitator in past seasons, Maeve is now playing with more of a scorer’s mindset. Woods needed her to, after two of Morgan’s other three captains were sidelined earlier this season with injuries. Since stepping into that role, Maeve has done nothing but excel and lead, both on and off the court.
With Maeve’s help, Morgan was able to withstand the absences of Anastasia Luke and Ava Johnson to start fast. Winners of six straight contests, the Huskies are now 9-3. A busy week awaits with games against Westbrook, Suffield, and Hale Ray.
“It was pretty tough,” Maeve says of being shorthanded. “While they were out, we played probably our three hardest games of the season. It was hard, but it was honestly good for our team, because it gave other players on our team the chance to play bigger roles as well.”
When expecting players to step into bigger roles, that also included Maeve, who fully embraced the opportunity and challenge.
“A lot of times I’m not the main scorer, but I like to be the facilitator to other scorers,” Maeve says. “I kind of like getting people open and making a good play. This year, I’ve kind of grown into looking for my own offense, being a senior. Last year we had a lot of different scorers, so it wasn’t as needed for me to be a scorer. This year, I stepped into a role that requires me to score more.”
Maeve’s junior season ended abruptly, with the Huskies losing 37-31 in the first round of the Class M State Tournament to New Fairfield. Shoreline Conference rival East Hampton wound up rolling to the state title as the No. 1 seed.
East Hampton looks formidable again, and it’s beaten Morgan once already, 53-26 on Dec. 22. If the Huskies are to accomplish their goal of winning the Shoreline Conference, Maeve knows they’ll need to find a way to knock off the conference’s best team. Needless to say, that won’t be easy. However, Woods believes her team is capable of anything.
“We have the ability to beat the top teams,” she says. “Losing to East Hampton, they’re extremely tough. But, we have the capability of battling and winning any game. The girls really feel it too. This year, especially, we have a really deep bench, we were able to fight through sickness or injuries without key players because of that. Having everyone back, we’re in a really good place.”
Having experienced leaders like Maeve surely helps. Woods likes the chemistry and makeup of her team, and its ability to withstand adversity and remain competitive has stood out.
Maeve is looking forward to getting another crack at East Hampton on Feb. 6, Morgan’s penultimate game of the regular season. After that will come the conference and state tournaments. So much is possible.
“They’re tough to beat, but have a target on their back,” Maeve says of East Hampton. “We want to beat them really bad. Next time we’re going to play them at full strength, so I really hope we can come out with a win.”