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01/21/2017 11:00 PMThe Westbrook girls’ basketball team owns a record of 7-4 through the first half of the regular season and is now just one win away from qualifying for both the Shoreline Conference and State tournaments. In last week’s action, the Knights won home games against Creed and Hale-Ray before dropping a contest at Cromwell.
Head Coach Kelly Landino said that she’s pleased with what she’s seen from her squad thus far this year, especially during some overtime victories earlier in the season.
“I felt we had some big wins early on against North Branford in overtime and Coginchaug in overtime. Those are two Class M schools and games we didn’t win last year, so I was pleased with our progress as a program,” Landino said. “We had a game where we lost at the buzzer to Portland, which was tough because we made a few mistakes down the stretch, but it was a good learning experience, and that will help us not make the same mistakes. Every game is a learning experience and a growing experience. I would’ve liked to win that one, but I think as a team, we’re growing and the kids are getting mentally tougher. We have super nice kids, but they need to get a little tougher, and I think that’s happening now and I’m happy about that.”
Coach Landino added that Westbrook’s success has largely been the result of a balanced attack in which athletes are accepting their roles on the team.
“This team has one goal: They want to win, and that’s a good group of kids to be around. We share the ball, we have a few kids that score, and others make contributions offensively and defensively,” said Landino. “I even have two kids that say, ‘Hey coach, I’ll do what I need to defensively to help us win.’ They’re such team players that they’ll take their assignment and play strong defense, which allows us to shut down the other team’s best players. That’s their role and they embrace it and it’s rare to find that now. It’s a great piece to have on our team. The team we have this year, everybody wants to do their role to win. We can be good if we all play together every night. If they all excel in their roles, then we’re a very good team.”
On Jan. 18, Westbrook hosted Creed and emerged with 48-41 victory. The Knights’ offensive balance was on display as they had five players score at least eight points. Sophomore Savannah Marshall led the way with 13 points, while Zoe Ehlert scored nine, and Adara Bochanis, Kelly Donlan, and Biance Ferrucci contributed eight points apiece. It was a game that could have gone either way, but ultimately went Westbrook’s way as the Knights played strong down the stretch.
“We learned from our loss with Portland. We made mistakes in the last two minutes of that game—the kids shot when we should’ve held the ball—but we were able to reenact that situation, learned, and grew,” Landino said. “I was happy with how we handled that last two minutes of that game. It was a smart finish and I’m very happy about that.”
Two nights later, Westbrook defeated Hale-Ray by 44-11 final at home. Westbrook gave a great defensive effort by holding Hale-Ray scoreless in the first quarter and allowing four points or less in the three subsequent quarters. Marshall led the way with 13 points, plus Bochanis had seven, Ehlert and Donlan each scored six, and Ferrucci netted five points for the Knights, who saw their JV players get plenty of time on the floor during the latter half.
“We wanted to work on different defenses and we’ve added a new offense, so we took that game as an opportunity to work on some things. In the first half, we played our varsity players and, in the second, we played our JV. To get them varsity minutes was big and I can see the confidence and smiles as the half went on,” Landino said. “We played four kids that had never played varsity minutes this season, so as a team, it was a great confidence boost for my bench as we try and build that so we can have some other kids come in and help us. [The game] was a great opportunity to put that on the court.”
Following that win, Westbrook traveled to Cromwell on Jan. 21 and took a 77-47 defeat. Even though her team was unable to clinch its playoff bid that night, Coach Landino feels excited that the Knights are standing on their doorstep, and wants them to strive toward earning a high seed that could potentially yield multiple postseason contests at home.
“I have high expectations for my team and kids. I expect to make the State Tournament. It’s not even a thought in my mind that we wouldn’t make it. I put pressure on the kids and they respond well,” Landino said. “Our expectations have grown and making the tournament is definitely one of our goals. I’m happy we’re about there, but I’m focused on winning as many game as we can for a healthy placement and some home=-court advantage. Last year we had one home game and, this year, we’d like two or three rounds at home. Goals grow with the program, which I think is healthy.”
From the Sidelines
Seniors Adara Bochanis and Zoe Ehlert are the Knights’ captains this season after previously holding that role a year ago.
Savannah Marshall is averaging 23 points per game, which is the second-highest total in the state.
Coach Landino said that Erin Metcalfe and Biance Ferrucci are two of her team’s best defensive players this year and added that Kelly Donlan is developing into a presence down low.