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01/21/2017 11:00 PMThe Valley Regional girls’ basketball team played three Shoreline Conference games last week and claimed victory in all three contests to run its record to 7-4 on the year. The Warriors defeated Old Lyme 45-31 at home on Jan. 17, posted a 50-47 home victory over North Branford on Jan. 20, and then prevailed at Haddam-Killingworth by a 51-29 final the following afternoon.
Valley, which is on a five-game win streak, now needs just one more victory to qualify for both the Shoreline Conference and State tournaments this season. Head Coach Geoff Konstan’s squad hosts Amistad at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25 and then has a home game against Creed at 7 on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
“I knew this three-game stretch would go a long way towards defining what our season was going to be,” Konstan said. “In my first season last year, we never were able to get over a .500 record at any point. After six games, we were 3-3, and then things went slowly downhill from there. Starting this week at 4-4, we were very focused on getting some wins and getting above .500 for the first time. We’ve been playing well of late and entered the week with two wins in a row. The girls are really excited to have won all three games this week, be on a five-game winning streak, and now be just one win away from making the State and Shoreline Conference tournaments.”
The Warriors tipped off the week with a home matchup against an Old Lyme club that entered the game with a record of 6-5. Valley prevailed 45-31 to get above the .500 threshold at 5-4. Valley was up 7-6 midway through the first quarter and then rattled off on an explosive 12-0 run that spanned the rest of the first quarter and went into the second. Senior Francesca Daniels had six rebounds in the first quarter and promptly started multiple fast breaks off those boards. By the time the Warriors’ run ended, they were up 19-6 halfway through the second quarter.
Old Lyme responded with its own spurt by reeling off eight-straight points to cut the lead to 19-14. Coach Konstan called time out and Valley switched to a full-court pressure defense to try and change the tempo of the game. The Warriors’ full-court press forced three consecutive Old Lyme turnovers and allowed Valley to score seven points in a row for a 26-17 halftime advantage.
Valley started the third quarter with more stifling full-court pressure defense and went on a quick 11-4 burst for a 37-21 lead. Valley maintained a double-digit command throughout the rest of the contest.
Sophomore Alexis Finnerty led the way on offense for the Warriors by pouring in a game-high 20 points to go along with six steals, five rebounds, and two assists. Senior captain Brianna O’Brien, junior Carly Thompson, and senior captain Daniels all chipped in with six points apiece, with Daniels also adding 10 rebounds in the winning effort.
Valley Regional’s night was truly defined by its defense as the Warriors held Old Lyme’s top two scorers, Audrey Gavin and Jordan Lewis, to 11 and two points, respectively.
“It was a team effort defensively, but it was Brianna O’Brien and Francesca Daniels that had the assignment of guarding Gavin and Lewis,” said Coach Konstan. “The two captains did a spectacular job of shutting them down.”
The Warriors followed the Old Lyme win by hosting North Branford in what Konstan called “easily the most physical, foul-filled game I’ve been involved with since starting here last season.” The Warriors began the game playing near flawless basketball and jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Valley led 14-6 after the first quarter after making eight of its 11 free throws in the frame. The second quarter was played to a frantic tempo, which is ordinarily to the Warriors’ liking, although they struggled from the field and missed several uncontested shots in the period. Still, Valley held a 30-24 lead at halftime.
After going 10-of-13 from the free throw line in the first half, Valley struggled at the stripe late in the game as the T-Birds mounted a comeback. Valley led 43-37 through three and held a 48-37 advantage early in the fourth quarter, but after North Branford started fouling to save time with three minutes remaining, the Warriors missed 11 of their next 13 free throw attempts. North Branford clawed within 49-45 with 20 seconds to play, when Daniels came up with a crucial tie-up off a rebound of a missed free throw by one of her teammates. A jump-ball was called and, with the possession arrow in the Warriors’ favor, they were able to seal the win by taking some time off the clock and then hitting one last free throw for the 50-47 win. It was the first nail-biting win of the season for the Warriors, whose previous five victories had come by double digits.
Senior captain Libby Spitzschuh led the way for Valley with a game-high 12 points to complement her seven steals, four rebounds, and two assists. Finnerty scored 11 points, grabbed eight boards, and also had five assists with five steals. Daniels and Thompson helped out by scoring nine points each.
The Warriors were right back on the court the next day at noon to face Haddam-Killingworth for their third game in five days. Valley came out a bit sluggish for the first two minutes and fell behind 8-6 after committing four early turnovers. Out of nowhere, the Warriors came to life and went on a 14-0 run to finish out the first quarter. Finnerty scored 10 points the quarter for the Warriors, who were up 20-8. Both teams traded baskets in the second half and Valley held a 32-20 lead at intermission.
Valley and H-K looked a little third throughout a fairly uneventful third quarter, which the Cougars won 8-6 to make it 38-28 heading into the fourth. Coach Konstan implored the Warriors to dig deep and find the energy to keep it going for one more quarter. Valley responded by playing one its best periods of the season, outscoring H-K 13-1 to come away with its fifth straight win, a 7-4 record, and a spot on the doorstep of the playoffs.
Finnerty had one of her finest all-around games of the year and recorded her second double-double. It was a complete game for Finnerty, who scored 13 points and corralled 11 rebounds, along with handing out six assists and snagging six steals. The Warriors saw a balanced offensive effort with eight girls getting on the score sheet. Spitzschuh and junior Paige Atkinson had seven points each, while Daniels, junior Heidi Clark, and sophomore Sadie Konstan all scored six points apiece.
“We’re extremely difficult to stop when the scoring is so balanced and spread among the team,” said Coach Konstan.
Daniels added six rebounds on the night, Spitzschuh contributed five assists, and O’Brien had four points with five steals for the Warriors.