DEDHAM, Mass. — Nobles won't explicitly say Wednesday's triumph against Tabor meant more — but the players and coaches' late-game jubilance spoke loud enough.
The Bulldogs won convincingly at home, 71-44, to even the head-to-head series between our top two NEPSAC teams. They scored the same amount as in their 78-71 defeat on Jan. 17, but defense clearly made the difference.
"We were really upset about giving up 78 points to them," Nobles coach Alex Gallagher said. "We made a commitment in the locker room that night that we may lose again, but we're never going to lose because we didn't show up defensively. I think our kids took that really personally; we pride ourselves in the way we play D and I think tonight exemplified that."
Nobles (16-1) jumped out to a 17-9 first-quarter lead and never looked back. By halftime the lead had ballooned to 14 and it just kept growing. Tabor (12-2) put together a moderate comeback attempt in the third quarter, but when Christina Pham swished a stunning half-court buzzer-beater to end the third quarter and push the gap back to 16 points, it felt like a preemptive dagger.
"It's huge," senior Ashley Dinges said. "I think as a team we're pretty young, and we've been looking for something to really prove ourselves."
Both teams have prevailed at home in near-wire-to-wire victories. Now we wait to see if a Part 3 occurs at a neutral site (Loomis Chaffee) in the NEPSAC postseason. Tabor and Nobles' respective star senior trios have defined much of NEPSAC basketball during the last four years. Gallagher, for his part, would like to see a grand finale matchup.
"It has been such a privilege to coach against them through their careers, and all I can hope is I have the chance to do it one more time," Gallagher said.
Here are Wednesday's five standouts.
Ashley Dinges, Nobles
Class of 2025, 6-0 forward
Hometown: Haverhill, Mass.
NCAA: Providence
Dinges dazzled in one of the best two-way performances I've seen in person this winter. She scored the first 11 points for Nobles, had 20 by halftime and finished with 28, including five made 3-pointers. Dinges also dominated on the glass as usual and brought consistent effort as the primary defender against Tabor star Ava Black, fighting around handoffs and containing Black's attempted drives to the basket.
"After practices I've been staying with our coach Vinh (Bui) a lot and getting a lot of shots up, so I've had a lot of extra confidence coming into this game, knowing I've been putting in the extra work," Dinges said. "He's great. He stays late every single night with us because I board, so really big on the coaches to help with my confidence like that."
Jasmyn Cooper, Nobles
Class of 2025, 6-1 guard/forward
Hometown: Easton, Mass.
NCAA: Syracuse
Cooper, the No. 48 ranked senior in the country, strikes such a unique balance of deferring and taking over games. Early on, she impacted the game through her defense (highlighted by some steals in help, a block in transition and another block on Kaelyn Carroll) and her facilitating skills, including a no-look transition pass to Aliyah Allston-Pujols for an easy layup. Towards halftime Cooper started to catch fire. She stomped out a Tabor surge with a 7-0 individual run that included a tough driving score and a stepback 3-pointer over Carroll.
Cooper ended with 16 points and factored into almost every aspect of Nobles' win. She and Carroll traded big plays as two top-50 national prospects, and Gallagher appreciated the battle.
"I think today was just a matchup of, I think, two of the best players in the country," he said. "I really feel that way about Coop, really feel that way about Kaelyn, and I think that's the level to which they played. It was awesome."
Vanessa Ellis, Nobles
Class of 2026, 5-11 forward
Hometown: Attleboro, Mass.
Ellis (7 points) was a beneficiary of Cooper's playmaking. They connected twice for cutting Ellis layups; she did a nice job of finding pockets in the Tabor defense around the low block for easy passes and scores. Ellis also kicked one pass out from the baseline to assist Christina Pham on a corner 3. She drew a charge early in the game and wasn't afraid to play physical, consistent 1-on-1 defense against Olivia Rodrigues and her power drives. These are the kind of all-around efforts Nobles needs from its depth pieces.
"She's in the gym after practice every single day and in the morning. She would come down in the fall for a 5 a.m. workout. She loves it," Dinges said. "I've never met someone with a drive for the sport like her."
Kaelyn Carroll, Tabor
Class of 2025, 6-3 guard/forward
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.
NCAA: Kentucky
Aside from her game-opening bucket, Carroll's 3-ball wasn't falling in this one. That didn't stop her from having the largest impact for the Seawolves, finishing with a team-high 15 points. Watching Carroll and Cooper attack each other 1-on-1 was a treat, and Carroll did have a nice post-up bucket when she got aggressive. She also scored as a cutter, pushed the ball up in transition, and kept her engagement level up on defense even in the blowout. I thought Carroll's switch and closeout block on a Pham 3-point attempt highlighted her length and mobility; it was probably her best play of the game.
Tess Adams, Tabor
Class of 2026, 5-9 guard
Hometown: Mattapoisett, Mass.
This is the second straight Tabor game I've watched where Adams has been a standout; she might be the most underrated piece to this entire roster. I just applaud her energy and activity level on defense, which helped her get a backcourt steal as part of the extra minutes she earned down the stretch of this contest. Adams also showed a more determined attacking mentality than I've seen in games past, which helped her draw fouls and score some buckets inside. She fought admirably for her 12 points.
