Submitted by Diane Odette Cohen
Prior to the 2012 Bedford High School Girls basketball season, the team had won two dual county small championships in 30 plus years and had never won a State tournament game. All that changed when Athletic Director Keith Mangan saw something in the young coach from Waltham Mass, Matt Ryan. Matt had been a successful Girls AAU coach and had won a National Championship in Florida leading a group of girls out of Watertown, where he also coached girls travel basketball.
It was here in Watertown where Matt first crossed paths with two young girls from Bedford, Amanda Cohen and Kristen Bullock who’s team challenged his undefeated Watertown team right down to the last basket in an 8th grade game. In 8th grade there are no playoffs, you play to develop, however this was a battle for the ages. Amanda had 21 points and Kristen had 18 in an overtime loss to Watertown which was the Bedford Girls Travel Basketball team’s only loss of the season.
Little did anyone know that Matt and the girl’s paths would soon cross again at Bedford High School. As fate would have it, the summer leading up to the girl’s freshman year, it was announced that Matt Ryan would take over as coach of the Girls Varsity basketball team. As he began the tryouts in the winter of 2011 he knew he had something special in these two girls, MATT Quote:“When I first saw them I knew they were both very talented, the question was whether they were still too young to compete at the varsity level” ). However, like any good varsity coach he was building for the future and selected both Amanda and Kristen as the only freshman to make the team.
From the first practice to the first game things changed dramatically for the three of them. Based on their practice performance, Matt rolled the dice and started both freshman who not only made an immediate impact, but helped the team go on a 16 – 0 run to capture their first Dual County championship since 2008. They finished that year 23-2 with the help of outstanding senior leaders Kristen Baratta and Elizabeth Watson who kept the team together both on & off the court. Amanda Cohen that year as a freshman had 40 three pointers and averaged 7 points per game, Kristen Bullock averaged 8 points per game, was named a DCL league all-star, and was MVP of their upset victory over top ranked St Mary’s in the State Tournament getting them to the sectional semi-finals where, in front of an enormous crowd of Bedford Super fans, Ipswich kept them from going to Lowell for the finals, defeating them by 6 points.
This was the start of an unprecedented run, partnering up with Dual County MVP Sam Cowan (1,000 point scorer) and all-star center Elaina Greany, the next two years the team went 38-12, winning two more dual county championships and in 2014 was ranked 5th in the entire state including Division 1 teams. Meanwhile Amanda and Kristen kept piling up the points, assists, steals, wins and most importantly their friendship. As the girls entered the 2015 season they knew they lost a little height, but with strong juniors Olivia & Nicole MacLellan, along with Bridget Towle, and some new freshmen talent, they had experience & speed and their season goals were to win their 4th straight dual county small championship which they accomplished on February 3rd versus Waltham, and to go as far as they can in the post season tournament.
With just four games remaining in the final season of a 4-year run not matched in Bedford Sports history, you can only marvel at their combined accomplishments with the leadership of their coach and mentor, Matt Ryan. But when you ask the two girls what counts most, it is clearly not any individual accomplishments, although they have a bunch, see below, it is clearly the friendships they have developed, the competition & being part of a unique team where everyone gets along, and mostly the life-long bond they have created that comes from playing alongside each other, on the same hardwood floors , sometimes for periods of 12 months straight for over 8 years.
Although both girls admit they would love to get revenge on Watertown in the sectionals in Lowell with whom their love of the game and friendship began, at the end of the day they realize that it’s all the “other” elements of the game matter most.
Combined Career Accomplishments
- 5 Dual county small all-star selections (Not including their Sr year, vote comes out after season)
- Amanda Cohen – sophomore and junior year
- Kristen Bullock – freshman, sophomore, and junior year
- 1,500 points between the two of them
- Over 100 3-pointers
- Over 200 steals
- 30-1 in Dual County league games
- 4 straight Dual county championships
- 5 State Tournament games
- Overall record –> 64- 22 (80% winning percentage with 4 games to go in 2015 season)
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