Printer Friendly Version - Warriors’ Girls’ Hoops Get a Split; Falivene Grapples at Griswold Tourney

Alexis Finnerty led the Valley Regional girls’ basketball team in scoring with 21 points, while also providing six rebounds, two blocks, and four steals in the Warriors’ 41-37 loss to the Huskies on Jan. 9. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The Valley Regional girls’ basketball squad had two games last week and split the pair to move its record to 4-3 this year. The Warriors took a loss to Morgan and then came back to defeat Haddam-Killingworth later in the week.

On Jan. 9, the Warriors hosted Morgan and lost 41-37 in a hard-fought contest. The game was tied 19-19 at halftime, and Valley had a chance to pull away with a 29-24 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Huskies went on a run in the final period to rally for the victory. Alexis Finnerty led the Warriors in scoring with 21 points and went 3-for-3 from 3-point land with six rebounds, two blocks, and four steals. Carly Thompson scored six to go with five boards and two steals.

Three days later, the Warriors hosted Haddam-Killingworth and won 46-41. Valley jumped out to a 12-6 lead after the first quarter and extended that to a 28-18 lead at halftime. The Cougars pulled within one point in the third quarter, but Valley locked down on defense in the fourth to seal the victory.

Head Coach Geoff Konstan felt that Valley showed what it’s capable of with its strong play in the first half, and he was especially pleased to see the Warriors bounce back after taking a tough loss earlier in the week.

“This was the best half of basketball we’ve played on offense the entire season. The 28 points is a season-high for any half, but in addition to the scoring, it was the best ball movement I’ve seen this year,” Konstan said. “I couldn’t have been happier with this response after the tough offensive night we had against Morgan.”

Ben Falivene represented Valley Regional at the Griswold tournament on Jan. 13. Falivene was the No. 4 seed and went 2-2 in his matches at the tourney.

In the first round, Falivene wrestled the 13th-seeded Leighton Lee from Suffield Academy and scored the win by pin at 39 seconds of the first round. In the quarterfinals, the junior grabbed another victory when he pinned No. 5 seed, Daniel Ntamwemezi of Woodstock Academy, in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis, where Falivene faced No. 1 seed Devin Shaw of Rhode Island and lost by pin in the first round. After moving to the consolation bracket’s semifinal, Falivene lost to No. 3 seed, Rene Bernier of Killingly, by a score of 5-3 in overtime.

The Valley gymnastics team matched up against Haddam-Killingworth/Hale Ray/Morgan in a meet at Flip-Flop Gymnastics last week. The Warriors scored 106.3 and took a loss to the Cougars, who prevailed with a score of 122.75.