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03/25/2017 12:00 AMThe East Haven girls’ basketball team completed the 2016-’17 season with an overall record of 18-6, as well as appearances in both the SCC and Class M State tournaments. Although the Yellowjackets were eliminated in their second game of both brackets, Head Coach Anthony Russell feels pleased that there’s another positive campaign in the books for his program. Among the Easties’ achievements was the fact that they claimed a division title for the second straight season by taking the Quinnipiac Division crown this winter.
“I think what any coach wants to see is consistency in the program. We went 21-5 last year, 18-6 this year, and have made both the SCC and State Tournaments six years in a row. This was also the second year in a row we won our division and we competed at a high level at both SCCs and states,” Russell said. “I try to look at the program as a whole. I had high expectations for this team and I think they just got derailed taking a few games for granted and some key personnel getting injured. I still think we had a nice season.”
In the SCC Tournament, East Haven won its first round game against West Haven, 51-43, before losing to Hamden in the next round. Then in the Class M Tournament, the Easties topped Wilcox Tech by an 82-25 final in their opening contest before dropping a 60-55 decision versus in the second round.
“We had a lot of kids that were in the postseason for their first time. We started two freshmen and other players who were in supporting roles last year had to take lead roles this year, so it was definitely a new experience for a bunch of them,” Russell said. “You’re always disappointed getting knocked out of the postseason, but Waterford went to the semifinal and got beat by the eventual champion at the buzzer. The fact we lost to them by five without one of our best kids shows that we could’ve went to the highest level this year.”
It was the tale of two season for the Yellowjackets, who started the year by winning 12 of their first 13 games and also claimed victory in a pair of tournaments. However, after the rapid start, junior captain guard Olivia Coyle suffered a season-ending injury that put a crimp in the Easties’ offensive efficiency.
“These last two seasons, we’ve started off pretty fast. In years past, we would start off slow and kind of get better as the season went along. We didn’t get worse, but I think sometimes when you’re consistently winning, you take it for granted and don’t work as hard at practice and in games. I thought we were a good team, but not good enough to walk onto the floor and beat them. We have to do a lot of things to win games and I think there was a little lull around the 16-game mark where as a team we weren’t working as hard, coupled with an injury to one of our best kids,” Russell said. “I don’t know what that did to the team mentally. Maybe people felt that since she’s out we weren’t good enough, even though we as coaches kept telling everyone if they pitch in a little bit more, we could hopefully absorb an injury like that. Losing a player of that caliber who was averaging 15 points, hovering around four or five steals and three or four assists per game, missing somebody with those numbers will leave a hole in your lineup.”
Even while missing substantial time this year, Coyle earned a spot on the All-SCC First Team, as well the New Haven Tap Off Club Team. Junior captain Kylie Schlottman was an All-SCC First Team selection, was named the SCC Player of the Year, and was selected to the New Haven Tap Off squad. Schlottman, who was named East Haven’s Most Valuable Player, also surpassed 1,000 career points this season, while breaking East Haven’s single-season scoring mark by netting 460 points. Jen Pemberton had held that mark with 454 points in the 1995-’96 campaign.
“She’s one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever coached. Simply, her athleticism alone allows her to be active around the basket,” Russell said of Schlottman. “When we were sputtering offensively, she could get in a good position down low or flash into the high post. She’d also pound the offensive glass and one way or another give us a boost. Any time you have a player averaging a career double-double, the numbers speak for themselves.”
In terms of other team honors, senior captains Ciara Mortimer and Haley Capozzo both earned the Coaches’ Award for East Haven, while fellow Megan Lendroth received the Sportsmanship Award.
Freshman Alexis Pendziwater also broke a school record by making 52 three-pointers this winter. Kathy Celotto previously held that record for East Haven.
“She was knocking down all these threes early in the year and then other coaches starting scouting her,” Russell said of Pendziwater. “As the season went on, it was a little more difficult to get those shots off. Still, 52 threes was good for second or third in the state. As a freshman, it’s going to be exciting to have a pure shooter like that.”
Isabella Ragaini also made a major contribution as a freshman by stepping in as East Haven’s starting point guard this winter.
“We had question marks coming in after losing three seniors and I didn’t know what type of team we were going to be. Isabella and Alexis came in and filled roles right away,” Russell said. “I think they handled it very well. It’s exciting to have some kids coming in and contributing right away their freshman year. I haven’t had many of those kids the last nine years.”
When all was said and done, the 2016-’17 season was another solid one for the Yellowjackets. With plenty of impact players coming back, Coach Russell believes the Easties are potentially in line for a nice run next winter.
“It was another successful and exiting year,” he said. “I look forward to what the future holds. I think we’re on the right track.”