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T-Birds' Girls' Hoops Won Seven More Than a Year Before

The North Branford girls’ basketball team won 12 games this past season, marking a huge improvement from the five victories the T-Birds claimed a year ago. The Thunderbirds then took a 53-41 loss to Old Lyme in the Shoreline Conference Tournament, followed by a 71-39 defeat at hands of Stonington in the Class M bracket. But even with those two losses, North Branford still put together a solid all-around campaign with its mark of 12-10 and greatly benefited from the fact that the bulk of last year’s team returned for this season.

“The team did seem to have pretty good chemistry and did work hard,” Head Coach Chris Webster said.

One of the biggest moments for North Branford this season came on Jan. 5, when the T-Birds defeated Westbrook 50-44. That win earned Coach Webster No. 500 for her career.

“It was more important for us than it was for Coach Web. She has always been about the team and truly cares about her players more than her personal accomplishments,” senior captain Justine Johnson said. “It will be nice that Coach Web will remember us as the team that got her to her 500th win. As the captain, it will be something I will always remember and be proud of.”

Offensively, the Thunderbirds were led by junior guard Sabrina LeMere. She earned the squad’s Desire and Dedication Award while getting selected to the Shoreline Conference First Team, as well as being named a New Haven Tap-Off Club All-County Player. LeMere scored 18.6 points per game this season, which was good for third best in the state. For her efforts, LeMere was also named the T-Birds’ co-Most Valuable Player with senior forward Johnson. North Branford was captained by Johnson for the second year in a row and she was an All-Shoreline Honorable Mention player who scored 8.9 points and grabbed a team-high 5.4 rebounds per game this year.

“She’s organized and a great role model on and off the court,” Webster said of Johnson. “She has a great work ethic and demonstrated leadership for two years.”

Aside from Johnson, North Branford’s squad featured six other seniors. Brynn McClure and Alyssa Franco couldn’t play due to injuries and fellow senior forward Deanna Gallo was unable to finish the season after sustaining an injury midway through the season. With Gallo out, forward Nancy Bush stepped into the starting lineup and made an impact. Bush was also a New Haven Tap-Off Club Scholar-Athlete.

“She had previously come off the bench to help with rebounding and individual defense when we play a box-and-one,” Webster said. “Nancy showed much improvement during her senior year.”

Kyeana Martone was a quick guard who helped in many ways that didn’t show on the stat sheet, according to Coach Webster. She usually had a few assists per game, but flourished the most on defense.

“When we needed a pesky, aggressive defender, we counted on Kyeana,” Webster said.

The team’s other senior was Morgan Fair, who played both guard and forward for the T-Birds. Webster said that Fair’s shooting continually improved throughout her career and added that she exemplified great sportsmanship at all times.

Other award winners this season for the Thunderbirds were freshman forward Morgan Violette, who was named the Rookie of the Year; and sophomore forward Kelly Oliver, who earned the Sixth Player Award.

Junior guard Gabby Augur was another member of the starting lineup for North Branford.