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12/28/2016 11:00 PMThe Old Saybrook girls’ basketball team has started the season with a record of 4-2 and is already halfway home to achieving one of its goals of making the State Tournament this winter.
“I’m very pleased with the start. There are a lot of games we think we can win and we’ve definitely targeted the state and Shoreline tournaments. The last couple of years we came up just shy and we want to get back,” said Head Coach Steve Woods. “We’re decent right now and I think, if we work hard, there shouldn’t be any team that we can’t play with. Our kids work hard. There’s no question about that. So we have our goals in place and the State Tournament is first. We want to get those eight wins.”
On Dec. 20, Old Saybrook hosted Shoreline Conference opponent Haddam-Killingworth and prevailed 37-29. Senior Marissa Newell scored a game-high 15 points for the Rams, while sophomore Mandy Beck added 14. After outscoring H-K 10-1 in the second quarter, the Rams took a 17-6 lead into halftime and held off the Cougars the rest of the way to earn the victory. Newell is one of Old Saybrook’s captains, along with fellow senior Riley Roarick and junior Sophie Alden.
“After a tight first, we played a great second quarter and grabbed an 11-point lead at halftime,” Woods said of the H-K victory. “They’re decent and shaved some points of the lead off, but we just held the lead and won by eight. We did a good job defensively.”
Solid defense has been an early theme for Old Saybrook this year. The Rams have held their opponents to less than 40 points in their four wins and have lost the only two games in which they’ve allowed more than 40.
“We don’t give up a lot of points, but there are nights where the offensive end is a struggle for us,” Woods said. “Defense is a strength for us. We’re pretty stingy. We’re working on the three Ps of offense as I call them: patience, poise, and purpose. You need them and you can’t get away from your game.”
Three days after beating H-K, Old Saybrook took a 45-28 home loss to another conference foe in Valley Regional. Newell scored 12 for the Rams, who struggled with their shooting throughout the contest. Coach Woods feels that Old Saybrook’s performance that night is hardly an accurate representation of the way his team can play.
“I think we’ll get them next time. The score wasn’t indicative of how the two teams are. It was our one stinker of the year. I know we can play better,” said Woods, whose team will play at Valley on Saturday, Feb. 4. “Their defense was pretty good and bothered us. It was just one of those nights. I give them credit. They got us out of our game. We made runs, but it was too little, too late. You can’t let a team like that get out in front of you because you’re not going to score a wave of points against them. I think we can avenge our two loses. We’re capable of beating both Valley and Old Lyme.”
The Rams promptly bounced back from the Valley loss by posting a 42-31 win over non-conference opponent Plainfield on Dec. 28. Newell netted a game-high 17 points, Beck scored 11, senior Kristen King added six, plus Alden and junior Grace Nobile contributed four points apiece. The Rams jumped out to a 28-11 lead at the half and coasted to the win.
“We had a really good first half, scoring 14 in both the first and the second quarters. Marissa was on fire with three three-pointers,” Woods said. “Plainfield came back, but we were up 17 at the half. They chipped away, but we had too big a lead. I thought we controlled that game from start to finish.”
Even with their solid start this year, the Rams are dealing with some adversity as they recently learned that senior Maggie Smith will likely miss the first half of the season due to injury.
“She went for her regular doctor appointment—she’s battled this in the past—and she has stress fractures in both of her legs. The doctor said to lay off. She’s able to play, but smartly she’s going with the doctor’s advice,” Woods said. “It’s killing her not to play, but she wants them to get better. Hopefully, she’ll be back in the second half, but it’s a big loss for us. We’re fairly deep, so the other kids are more than capable of filling in for her, but she’s our biggest player at 5-foot-10 and a force inside.”
As Old Saybrook moves through its campaign, Coach Woods feels optimistic about his team’s depth. Woods knows that people need to step up in Smith’s absence and, thus far, he’s getting contributions from just about everyone.
“So many years you have five starters and maybe one or two kids off the bench. This year, I have 11 kids that can play and get into the game. Even the 12th, I can put her in, but the other 11 are capable, so it’s nice to have more players. I have choices to make with a substitution, which is a nice problem to have,” Woods said. “I have a great group of kids and we’re fairly balanced. Marissa and Mandy are our two best scorers, but the other kids make contributions and can have a good game on any night. It’s not like we’re just a two-woman show.”
2016-’17 Old Saybrook Rams Girls’ Basketball Schedule
Dec. 13: Old Saybrook 46, Westbrook 30
Dec. 15: Old Saybrook 56, Creed 36
Dec.17: Old Lyme 45, Old Saybrook 33
Dec. 20: Old Saybrook 37, Haddam-Killingworth 29
Dec. 23: Valley 45, Old Saybrook 28
Dec. 28: Old Saybrook 42, Plainfield 31
Friday, Dec. 30: at Portland at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 3: at Creed at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 6: vs. Westbrook at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 10: vs. Coginchaug at 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 13: at Hale-Ray at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 20: at Morgan at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 24: vs. East Hampton at 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 27: at Cromwell at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 31: at North Branford at 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 3: vs. Hale-Ray at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 4: at Valley at 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 7: vs. Portland at 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 10: at East Hampton at 7 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 13: vs. Old Lyme at 7 p.m.