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03/03/2019 11:00 PMThe Valley Regional girls’ basketball team saw its season come to a close when the Warriors took a loss versus Cromwell in the first round of the Class M State Tournament last week. On Feb. 26, Valley opened states as the No. 31 seed dropped a 64-31 decision at 2nd-seeded Cromwell.
The Warriors finished the year with a record of 10-13, marking a one-win improvement from last season. Valley also qualified for the Shoreline Conference Tournament and earned a victory versus Westbrook in a play-in game.
Even though his team had recently lost to Cromwell in Shorelines, Head Coach Geoff Konstan wanted another shot at the Panthers. The Warriors were missing senior captain Lexie Finnerty for that matchup, so they expected a bit of a boost with her returning for the rematch.
Konstan said that Valley was ready for the game and gave a great effort against Cromwell in states. The Warriors were only down 25-13 at halftime, but Cromwell pulled away in the second half to seal the victory and advance to the second round.
“We knew when we lost to Cromwell in Shorelines that we would be playing them again nine days later. We watched all the films and pored over everything. We were so prepared,” said Konstan. “We moved the ball so well. We did everything right and would get these open shots, but nothing would drop. We were going toe-to-toe with them. We broke their press. We played as well as we’ve played. If we played any other team the way that we did, we would have won.”
Finnerty turned in a strong performance by scoring 18 points to go with three rebounds, three assists, and four steals in her final game with the Warriors. Sophomore guard Alena Crosby scored six points and also had five rebounds. Senior captain Sadie Konstan grabbed four rebounds, while sophomore Addison Marchese had two points and two assists.
Despite the defeat, Coach Konstan was pleased with how Valley Regional fought hard and executed its game-plan against Cromwell.
“I told the girls at the half that we were playing great basketball. It was just that our shots weren’t going in,” said Konstan. “I’m proud of these girls. On a different day with the shots falling, you never know.
Now that the 2018-’19 season is complete, Coach Konstan is thinking about how Valley’s younger athletes will make an impact next year. With the loss of Finnerty, Konstan hopes that this year’s sophomore class will come back just as energetic and hungry as juniors. Konstan knows that the Warriors will have to have to feature a more balanced squad to pick up the slack in Finnerty’s absence.
“Next year, we have no seniors. We will do everything that we can to win games, but we’ll be looking at it as a two-year project. Our sophomores are energetic and enthusiastic, and I can’t wait to see them come back,” Konstan said. “Losing Lexie will be extremely difficult, but that means we’ll have to be a more balanced team next year. A lot of younger kids got significant playing time. For a team with no seniors, there’s going to be a lot more experience on the floor than anyone would expect.”