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04/03/2017 12:00 AMWith a talented senior class that had seen postseason success, plus a bunch of up-and-coming upperclass athletes who were looking to earn time on the floor, the Guilford girls’ basketball team had the ideal blueprint to reach the next level and play into March this winter.
Head Coach Bob Welsh and the Indians finished 14-6 on the regular season to earn the No. 6 seed and a home game in n SCC Tournament. After defeating Amity, the Indians upset 3rd-seeded Career 58-40 to make their first conference semifinal in 10 years. Guilford lost to eventual SCC champion Mercy, but then entered the Class L State Tournament as the No. 8 seed, and earned home victories against Platt and Farmington in the first two rounds. Welsh’s club finished the year with an overall record of 18-8 after dropping a contest to top-seeded Holy Cross.
“Going into the year, I was optimistic. We had good senior leadership and it starts with them. We had two assistant coach spots to fill, which we did in October, and they were new to the program, but they both did nice jobs,” Coach Welsh said. “Our goals are consistently to make SCCs and states and I thought we could accomplish those easily. But in the long term, we wanted to host tournament games. To play at home, the kids value that advantage. We also have the goals every year to have the girls improve as a team and as individuals. I saw improvements in our foul shooting and shooting overall. We averaged 55 points a game this year and I think our ability to shoot the three had a lot to do with that. We faced a lot of zone defense, so it was nice to have that ability.”
The Indians featured a tremendous trio of seniors leading the way as their senior captains this year. Center Camryn Craig averaged nine points, nine rebounds, and four blocks per game; guard Izzy Nerney scored 12 a game, while hitting 46 three-pointers, and shooting 77 percent from the free throw line; and center Kayley McLaughlin proved a solid defensive presence for Guilford. Craig and Nerney made both the All-SCC Second Team and were selected to play in the Class LL and L East-West All-Star Game. Guard/forward Nicole Suchy rounded out the senior class for the Indians this year.
“We had three outstanding captains who were great with setting the tone in practice with their effort. They never took a day off and were supportive of the coaching staff,” said Welsh. “It’s always nice to see the girls get the recognition, so seeing Camryn and Izzy make All-SCC and play in the All-Star game was great. I’ve watched Guilford basketball for a lot of years and Kayley was the best defensive player I’ve seen in years. She played team’s best guards and locked them down. She had a lot of heart and desire.”
Winning 18 games was certainly an incredible achievement for the Indians, especially considering the difficult schedule of adversaries that they had to face. In the end, Guilford’s regular season success was followed by some big-time playoff prosperity, including statement victories in both the conference and state brackets.
“18 wins is impressive with big wins, and we also won four postseason games. Seven of our eight losses were to teams that either made the state semifinals or finals in Hand, Mercy, Holy Cross, and Career,” Welsh said. “Beating Career in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals was our signature win at that time. We were down 13-4 early, tied it at the half, and rolled in the second half while scoring in bunches. Against a good team in Farmington, we were down 13-4 again. We clobbered them in the third and fourth quarters. We caught fire in those periods. They started to believe in themselves more after the big wins against Career and Farmington. We were even up 49-48 to Holy Cross with six minutes to go, but with their speed and quickness, we couldn’t stay with them. Yet we battled them for three quarters.”
Coach Welsh expressed great pride when looking back and closing the book on the 2016-’17 edition of the Indians. He feels that Guilford can maintain its solid footing in the SCC and Class L rankings on the strength of a deep junior class, plus a promising collection of sophomore and freshmen. One of those juniors is guard/forward Amanda King, who averaged 11 points per game and hit 38 three-pointers this season.
“This year meant a lot to the program to get that many wins. We have a lot of good promise for next year,” said Welsh. “We have a blend of experience and youth next year. We have three [or] four sophomores that I believe will help us, including [forwards] Jordyn Goldstein and Janie Danaher. We also have five juniors in Amanda King, [guards] Julia Hyman, Hannah McDermott, [forwards] Molly Linell, and Jordan Hedge. We have a strong nucleus for next year and we will hopefully make another run in states.”
From the Sidelines
Team manager Anna Reagle earned the Sportsmanship Award for Guilford this season. Meg Zumpano was also another team manager with the Indians.
Alphonse Balzano and Alyssa Dunn were the assistant coaches for Head Coach Bob Welsh this year.
Guilford went 6-2 and finished second to Mercy (8-0) in realigned SCC Hammonasset Division. Branford, Amity, and Sacred Heart Academy were the other teams in the division.
The Indians posted a record of 10-2 at home on the season.