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02/11/2017 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
The Morgan girls’ basketball team earned its fourth win of the year by defeating postseason-bound North Branford 44-34 on Feb. 7.
Morgan’s tough defense and aggressive offense led the way to its double-digit win over North Branford. The Huskies’ scoring came from multiple athletes, including Brianna Navarra with 12 points, Rebecca Shamp with 11, Sydney Chomicz with nine, and Leah McComiskey with eight. Although Head Coach Caitlin Woods was thrilled with the collective scoring effort, she had more to say about the energy and intensity of her team.
“When we play well, we are capable of competing with anyone. More importantly, when we play hard in every minute of the game, we can beat anyone,” said Woods. “I’ve been stressing that to this team all season and tonight they pulled it all together for all four quarters.”
Coach Woods went on to compliment the performances of two athletes who contributed to the North Branford victory with their solid all-around play.
“Kylee Clifton and Shannon Maher do so much for this team without being major scoring threats. Kylee was brilliant against North Branford and she was the catalyst that led to key plays,” said Woods. “Shannon held so strong at the point guard position despite the grueling physical play of the other team. She never backed down. The young kids are getting better every day and I sometimes forget how young my squad is, which is such a great thing. Any of these kids can become varsity stars and I’m thrilled to see them step up in the future.”
On Feb. 10, the Huskies took a 45-21 loss to Valley Regional to drop to 4-14. Chomicz had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Morgan. Coach Woods felt that her squad could have played better in the lopsided loss versus its Shoreline Conference foe.
“I’m disappointed in how we played tonight. I told my kids that if there’s anything you can control in a game, it’s how hard you play, and I just don’t think we played hard as a team. We defeat ourselves mentally before the opponents even get a chance to do so,” said Woods. “There’s no question in my mind that we can beat Valley if we play well and hard, but we just didn’t have it tonight. As a coach, I have to continue building more and more confidence in these kids. When they believe in themselves, they can be outstanding. It will be a continued focus as we build the program.”
Boys’ Basketball
The Huskies took a 65-48 loss to North Branford on Feb. 7. Three days later, Morgan lost to Valley Regional 77-55 to move to 3-12 for the year.