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04/02/2015 12:00 AMThe Valley Regional girls’ basketball team came into the season looking to build on last year and be competitive in the Shoreline Conference. Last season, the Warriors finished with four wins and they wanted to get a few more victories this winter. The young Valley squad did just that by netting two more triumphs en route to a 6-14 record.
The Warriors’ first win came at Metropolitan Learning Center with a 50-22 triumph on Dec. 15. Valley’s second victory and first win over a Shoreline Conference opponent was against Hale-Ray, 43-31, in late December. Valley’s third victory saw the Warriors defeat Portland 39-32 on the road. The fourth win came against non-conference opponent Two Rivers by the score of 74-27 on Jan 17, which marked the Warriors’ highest point total and biggest margin of victory for the season. Valley then strung together back-to-back victories, both versus conference foes, after upending Westbrook 55-22 and Hyde 56-27.
The Warriors faced tough competition in their conference, finishing 4-13 in league play. The closest loss to a Shoreline opponent was a three-point loss (40-37) to Haddam-Killingworth. Valley posted a 2-1 non-league record with its only defeat to Immaculate, 44-34.
Warriors’ Head Coach Mike Mercaldi was pleased with the effort his team gave throughout the campaign.
“I give my kids a lot of credit for hanging in there when the games seemed out of hand,” said Mercaldi. “They all played with their hearts and gave it their all.”
Senior captain forward Mary Hope Gardner was voted team’s Most Valuable Player and received Honorable Mention for the Shoreline Conference. Gardner was chosen to play at the annual Connecticut High School Coaches Association Senior Girls All-Star Basketball Festival as a member of the Class S-M East squad on March 23 at North Branford High School. The senior scored five points in the 91-87 victory over Class S-M West.
Gardner lead the team in total points scored (192), rebounds (127), assists (62), and steals (56); as well as points (9.6), rebounds (6.4), assists (3.1), and steals per game (2.8). Gardner also scored in double digits seven times with a top total of 20 points and recorded two double-doubles.
“Mary Hope was the anchor of the team,” said Mercaldi. “She was a vocal leader of a young team, played phenomenal, and she will be missed. She led in every category for us. Whether it be minutes played, points scored, rebounding, Mary Hope did it all as a forward and at guard for us when times got tough.”
Fellow senior captain Neve Flynn was presented with the team’s Coaches Award and freshman Carly Thompson won the squad’s Top Rookie Award. Thompson and sophomore Francesca Daniels each averaged nine points per game and scored a total of 180 points this season. Sophomore Libby Spitzschuh joined Daniels, Flynn, Gardner, and Thompson as the only Valley players to play in all 20 games. Thompson scored double digits in 11 games with a high of 16 on two occasions and tallied one double-double. Freshman Heidi Clark played in 18 varsity contests, freshman Paige Atkinson hit the floor for 16 games, and sophomore Julia Jenkins played in 11 games.
“Thompson showed early signs of rookie mistakes, but she continued to work on her play and performed well for us,” said Mercaldi. “It’s tough to ask a freshman to score points for us, but she did well. A lot of our players like Heidi and Julia received playing time that will benefit them for their experience of getting their first taste of varsity basketball.”
With the departure of Gardner, Flynn, and fellow senior Samantha McKosky, Coach Mercaldi may be looking at a team with no seniors next season, but that doesn’t bother him.
“We have the guys who can get it done and now have the intangibles needed to play at the top level,” said Mercaldi. “We’ll make it happen with our returning players and welcome in our newcomers with open arms. We’ll look at our juniors to step up without any seniors next year and we’ll look forward to improving as a team, not just by wins, but knowing that we got each others back and we can play well together.”