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01/21/2018 11:00 PMThe Westbrook girls’ basketball squad had a big week in more ways than one last week. As a team, the Knights swept the week by recording wins against Creed (43-25), Old Saybrook (41-38), and Hale-Ray (52-37) to improve to 5-4 on the season. On top of that, junior captain Savannah Marshall achieved a major milestone when she scored the 1,000th point of her high-school career in Westbrook’s win against Hale-Ray.
There was excitement in the Westbrook gym as the second half of the Knights’ game versus Hale-Ray got underway on Jan. 19. Westbrook had a comfortable 30-8 advantage, and Marshall needed just four points to reach a grand. It didn’t take long for Marshall to score career point No. 1,000 on a fast-break lay-up, after which the referees stopped the game, and Marshall celebrated with her teammates.
“I’m really proud of reaching my 1,000th point this season,” said Marshall. “I’ve had great teammates and coaches behind me at Westbrook, and I want to say thank you to everyone who has been supportive of me. I couldn’t have done this without them.”
Marshall finished the game with 22 points, while fellow junior Kelly Donlan scored 10, and freshman Lauren Horne had six points for Head Coach Kelly Landino’s team.
“She needed 22, and she got exactly that. It was great for her because it was home, the boys were off, and they were all there, too. We had a great crowd,” Landino said of Marshall, who’s also her daughter. “I didn’t tell Savannah until the night before, and I told the team the day of. I didn’t want it to overshadow what we were doing. Of course, once the girls knew, word travels like wildfire. By halftime, the entire gym knew exactly what she needed, and when she had 18, the whole crowd was counting.”
Earlier in the week, Westbrook hosted Creed and defeated the Howling Wolves 43-25 on Jan. 15. It was a decisive victory for the Knights, but only after they made some key second-half adjustments to deal with Creed’s defensive pressure. Marshall received the bulk of the attention, and so she and the Knights worked the ball inside to sophomore Callie Newberg and fellow forward Donlan, who scored 14 and 12 points, respectively. The adjustments paid off as the Knights broke open their two-point lead by outscoring Creed 26-10 in the second half to get the win. Marshall had seven assists in the game, while junior Gabby Ehlert netted six points.
“They give you a hard time, because they are great athletes. They might not be the strongest team basketball-wise, but they give you a hard time on defense. You really can’t do what you want to do against them,” said Coach Landino of Creed. “We really spread out the scoring and took the pressure off Savannah. We got it into our bigs. We took our whole game-plan and moved it inside. There was so much pressure on our guards. Savannah gets a lot of defensive attention, so we have plan B and C if she needs to step back and deliver the ball for a game. I was really proud of the girls for making that switch.”
On Jan. 17, Westbrook matched up with Old Saybrook and captured a narrow 41-38 victory. Both teams exchanged baskets throughout the entire game. The first quarter ended in an 11-11 tie, and the Knights held a 23-20 halftime advantage. Old Saybrook tied the score at 28-28 in the third period, but Westbrook knuckled down on defense fourth to pull off the 41-38 victory. Marshall led the Knights’ scoring attack with 14 points. Donlan scored 13 points, and Ehlert added six points on the evening.
Coach Landino felt that her team’s stellar defense in the final quarter made the difference, especially against the Rams’ Mandy Beck.
“It was basket for basket the whole game. We did the right things at the right time, and we hit some key layups,” Landino said. “We just made some adjustments for the fourth quarter defensively. We stayed on Beck in the fourth...She’s a great player and shooter. That was the difference down the stretch, and both teams played really well.”
Westbrook is currently in a good groove, having won five of its last six games. Considering that her team dropped its three first contests of the year, including one by forfeit, Coach Landino feels pleased with the progress that Westbrook has made in recent weeks and feels optimistic moving forward.
“We hit rock bottom after our second game against Cromwell, when we had two more injuries. Then the following game, we had another girl go down with an ankle injury. We didn’t play a game for three weeks,” said Landino. “We did all skills, stayed in shape, and tried to stay healthy. I told the girls we have two choices: We either fight or we give up. The girls said, ‘We’re fighting, and we’re going to get through this.’ Those injured girls were in the training room the whole month doing whatever they could...That’s hard when you see your season falling apart, but it’s like giving up never crossed their minds. Now, they’re super focused.”
• The Westbrook girls’ basketball varsity roster includes senior captain Erin Metcalfe, fellow seniors Ruby Asby and Alexi Vumback; junior captains Kelly Donlan and Savannah Marshall, juniors Carolyn Bauman and Gabby Ehlert; sophomores Olivia Archer, Alexandra Koplas, and Callie Newberg; and freshman Lauren Horne.
• The Knights have recorded wins against Wheeler (45-10), Portland (44-39), Creed (43-25), Old Saybrook (41-38), and Hale-Ray (52-37) this season.
• Head Coach Kelly Landino is in the midst of her third year at the helm of the Knights. Paula Fitzgerald is an assistant coach with the team, and Westbrook’s trainer is Caty Halpin.