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The past year, there were some changes in the life of Abby Mass.
Last year, she was living in Tiffin, attended Calvert High School and served as a role player on the Lady Senecas basketball team.
This year, after her family moved to Walbridge, she enrolled at Cardinal Stritch High School and is the leading scorer on Cardinal basketball team.
Mass, a 5-foot-6 junior who plays small forward and also serves as one of the team’s wings, is averaging a team-high 12.8 points and 3.2 rebounds.
“She’s been a tremendous help to the program,” said Coach Terry Murnen, now in his second season. “She has good basketball sense (and) has a keen ability for getting to the hoop.”
Offensively, Mass scores the bulk of her points by penetrating and getting to the hoop, where she has a tendency to draw fouls. In 13 games, she’s attempted 87 free throws. She is also capable of hitting the outside shot, having made 10 3-pointers. When the Cardinals are attempting to break the press, she is the one handling the basketball.
“She handles the ball quite a bit,” said Murnen, who, before Stritch, was an assistant coach at Central Catholic for 10 years.
Needless to say, Mass, who’s been playing since the fourth grade, has been a welcomed addition to a team that struggled in 2011, finishing with a 3-18 record.
This year, Stritch is 4-9 overall, 4-4 in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference, and stuck right in the middle of the league.
“I’m pleased because I think we’ve made progress,” Murnen said. “We’ve been more competitive in the league than last year.”
The Cardinals, who returned five letter winners, are a senior-laden squad led by point guard Marisa Katafiasz, who is second on the team with a 5.2 points per game average, and center Broghan Gasser. Other starters are shooting guardr Katie Recker and power forward Ally Niehaus.
Mass credits Katafiasz and Gasser for serving as the team leaders.
“Our seniors (maintain) good focus when we’re at practice,” said Mass. “They push us, and the (coaches) keep us on task.”
Being part of the team has helped ease the transition for Mass, who lived her entire life in Tiffin before making the move last summer. She says things are going well in her new surroundings — she played volleyball in the fall, maintains a 3.9 grade-point average and is enjoying life at Stritch.
“It’s tough moving, leaving my friends (behind),” said Mass. “(But) I like it here a lot and everybody was pretty welcoming.”
With six games remaining, the Cardinals have a favorable schedule, meaning more wins could be on the horizon. The team is hoping it can get on a run and harness that momentum heading into the tournament.
Murnen says Stritch’s success will likely hinge on whether or not they can get better on the defensive end, a problem that plagued them last season.
“We’re still a work in progress on the defensive end,” said Murnen.
Murnen notes that his team, which plays its share of zone, must get better at man-to-man defense if it wants to make significant progress.
“The girls have realized that if they play hard, good things can happen,” Murnen said.
For Mass, her success has been well-earned, considering her commitment to the game. She summed up her devotion to the sport, talking about how she loves to play the game.
“Whenever we have something planned (for basketball), I’m not missing it,” she said. “I’ll pick basketball over anything.”
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