Staff Report
Years from now, there’s a good possibility that Lauren Cella ends up in the Holy Spirit High sports hall of fame. Her career in three sports was that good, and the numbers don’t even tell the whole story, because they could have been a whole lot higher if she was a more selfish player.
But with Cella, what ultimately mattered was team success — which is why she piled up assist numbers in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse.
In field hockey, the little dynamo scored 19 goals and added 22 assists in three seasons, and in lacrosse she piled up 81 goals and 33 assists in her three seasons.
But it was on the basketball court where she really shined. A tenacious defender, Cella also seemed to have that clutch gene, coming up with big plays whenever the Spartans needed it. As a sophomore, she helped lead Spirit to 18 wins and a berth in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament semifinals, and in her junior year the Spartans won 20 games and went all the way to the league championship game before falling to Middle Township.
She finished her career with more than 1,000 points, and despite being only about 5-foot-5, she grabbed nearly 400 rebounds in 111 career games. Cella also was an excellent shooter, draining 95 three-pointers. On defense, she had 155 steals, and she showed her true versatility by even adding 10 blocked shots. Cella showed what it means to be a great high school athlete, getting better every year and becoming a leader that multiple teams in the blue-and-gold relied on.
— Staff Writer Dave O’Sullivan
