Girls basketball team claims first Southeast Conference title

With a second win against Bridgewater-Raynham on Friday, Feb. 9, Dartmouth’s girls basketball team officially claimed its first Southeast Conference title, cementing itself as the best team in the region and one of the best teams in its state division. 

The conference win caps off a dominating season for the Indians, including an 8-0 league record and a nearly undefeated overall record. 

Head coach Brian Jalbert said the win is a “testament to the girls’ hard work,” especially since they climbed up from last year’s 11-9 record. 

Jalbert attributes the transformation to the girls treating basketball as a year-long season and practicing throughout the offseason. 

While the many wins have been encouraging, Jalbert said he’s focused on the future: “Now I'm like, how do we meet the next best team?”

That team may be Dartmouth’s final local rival, Old Rochester Regional High School, who boasts a 14-3 record. The Indians and Bulldogs will face off on Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in Mattapoisett. 

Dartmouth then heads to the Spartan Classic tournament in Lynn to finish off the season. Jalbert said the games played there, against St. Mary’s, Oliver Ames and Andover High School, will be some of the toughest to date. But he signed them up for the tournament specifically to test them and get a sense of their strength. 

Finally, Dartmouth will enter the competitive Division 2 tournament, where they will look to build on their success from last year, when they defeated Middleboro High School in the first round, before falling out in the second.