Former Westwood (Mass.) standouts Lil Hancock, left, and Ava Connaughton are key players for UMass this season. (UMass Athletics)
As juniors at Westwood (Mass.) High School, Ava Connaughton and Lil Hancock were key contributors to a historic perfect season in 2022 that ended with an MIAA Division 1 championship, the program’s second straight.
Four years later, they are still together, entering their junior seasons as key players within the upwardly mobile program at UMass.
For Connaughton, the leap to UMass felt like a natural progression, following her older sister, Haley, and another Westwood legend, Fiona McGowan, to the school.
For Hancock, the fit was strong from every conceivable angle.
