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01/06/2017 11:00 PMThe Valley Regional girls’ basketball team has only qualified for the State Tournament once since the Warriors won the Class S title in 1999. Last year, Valley went 7-13 and came up one victory shy of making states in Geoff Konstan’s first campaign as head coach. There’s no question that the Warriors are aiming to get back in the postseason fray this winter, but Coach Konstan added that he’s looking for Valley to do more than just get the eight victories needed to qualify for the Shoreline Conference and state brackets.
“Well, it is such a goal, but we also feel that we’re good enough that we can look beyond making states,” said Konstan. “Our goal isn’t simply to get the eight wins, get a low seed, and start out by playing one of the best teams in Class M. Our goal is to be above .500 at a minimum of 11 wins and, therefore, at least get into states with a reasonable shot at winning games. Despite our [3-4] start, I don’t think that goal has changed in the least. We still expect to win a minimum of 11 games and the girls are extraordinarily hungry for it.”
After dropping a few close contests to Coginchaug (55-54) and East Hampton (45-43) to start the season, the Warriors have responded by claiming victory in three of their last five games. Valley prevailed at Old Saybrook 45-28 on Dec. 23 and then routed Hale-Ray at home by a 47-27 final on Dec. 29. Konstan’s squad lost its next two games to East Windsor (44-31) and Cromwell (67-21), but bounced back big-time with a 52-29 home blowout over Portland on Jan. 6 to improve to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
Against Hale-Ray, Valley jetted out to a 17-3 first quarter led and was up 29-9 at halftime on its way to the 20-point triumph. Eight different Warriors made their way to the scoresheet, led by junior forward Carly Thompson (9 points), sophomore guard Alexis Finnerty (8), senior captain guard Libby Spitzchuh (8), and junior guard Heidi Clark (7). Spitzschuh also grabbed seven steals for Valley in the victory.
Valley’s next game was a 13-point loss at non-conference squad East Windsor on Jan. 2, although the contest was closer than the final score indicated. Valley was only down 35-29 with six minutes remaining before East Windsor sealed the win by hitting most of its free throws down the stretch. Finnerty’s 12-point performance led the Warriors.
After losing to an always strong Cromwell squad, the Warriors closed their week on a positive note by recording a 52-29 victory in Portland in what Konstan called their “best basketball game of the season.” Valley fell behind 6-2, but then outscored Portland 22-5 through the rest of the first half to take a 24-11 lead to halftime. The Warriors put the game away by winning the third quarter 18-6 for a 42-17 advantage entering the final frame.
Finnerty had a monster night by registering a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to complement her three steals. Thompson also had a solid all-around showing behind 12 points, four boards, and three steals. Senior captain guard Brianna O’Brien dished out six assists, snagged four steals, and also had five rebounds for the Warriors. Clark contributed with seven points and three steals, plus sophomore guard Sadie Konstan scored seven to go with three assists.
Coach Konstan said that “smothering man-to-man defense” has been his team’s strong point thus far this year and the Warriors certainly continued that theme in the Portland victory. Konstan was also pleased to see his offense share the basketball by using some nice passes to generate points.
“If we keep playing team basketball on offense and intense, smothering defense the way we did [against Portland], we have a good chance to win lot of games this season,” said Konstan.
Spitzschuh, O’Brien, and guard/forward Francesca Daniels are Valley’s senior captains for the 2016-’17 season. Those three are typically joined in the starting lineup by Thompson and Finnerty, while junior forward Paige Atkinson is the sixth man who’s also started a few games. Konstan said that his three captains are “phenomenal kids” who are “great role models” for the younger athletes, and the coach detailed what each member of the trio brings to the table.
“Part of what makes us better this year is that Libby has come into her own and is a world better than last year. She’s playing with renewed confidence and her 25 points [in the East Hampton loss on Dec. 19] was the most by any one player in my time at Valley...Her intensity on the court is a big reason for our improvement,” said Konstan of Spitzschuh, who leads the team in scoring. “Brianna is one of the best defenders in the Shoreline Conference. We always start every game with Brianna guarding the other team’s best player. That is her hallmark. She’s a really superb defender and the whole team feeds off that.”
“Francesca is really the vocal leader on the court, the floor leader, and is probably the most consistent player that we have on both ends of the floor,” Konstan continued. “Francesca really does a little bit of everything. She’s an excellent defender and is excellent on offense. She’s a jack-of-all-trades.”
As his team works its way into the heart of the winter season, Coach Konstan feels positive about the way things are unfolding in his second year at the helm. The coach believes that the pieces are place for the Warriors to continue climbing up the ranks, while punching their tournament tickets this year.
“I think everything is progressing well. This is my second year and so I’m still introducing new stuff, which doesn’t always make it easy for the girls and, any time you have a new coach, it’s not like the seniors in their fourth year already know everything. I’m still bringing in new stuff to challenge the girls as they learn my style and I learn theirs,” Konstan said. “But [seven] games in, I really feel that we’re on the right track. We have a great coach-player relationship and confidence that we’ll keep improving as the season goes on. We’ll make states and set the groundwork for continued success for many years come.”
From the Sidelines
Valley Regional’s varsity roster for the 2016-’17 season consists of senior captains Francesca Daniels, Brianna O’Brien, and Libby Spitzschuh; fellow seniors Julia Jenkins and Amber Preble; juniors Paige Atkinson, Heidi Clark, and Carly Thompson; sophomores Allie Champion, Annie Cooper, Alexis Finnerty, Heather Jones, and Sadie Konstan; plus freshmen Sam Calamari and Iris Chirinos.
Geoff Konstan is in his second season as the Warriors’ head coach. Konstan is assisted by returning coach Allyson Pitney and new coach Lauren Budney, who’s a Valley girls’ basketball alum.
Valley has two contests against Shoreline Conference opponent North Branford during the second half of the season. The Warriors will host the Thunderbirds on Friday, Jan. 20 and then close the regular season with a game in North Branford on Thursday, Feb. 16.