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12/15/2019 11:00 PMAfter seeing some struggles during the 2018-’19 season, the Old Saybrook girls’ basketball team is looking to take a step in the right direction this year. Head Coach Steve Woods’s squad returns the bulk of its players and will be looking to put a few more victories in the win column after going 3-17 last winter.
The biggest change for the Rams is the departure of Mandy Beck, who graduated earlier this year. However, Coach Woods feels encouraged about the growth of the other players who are currently on his roster. Even though Old Saybrook is without Beck, she was the only senior starter last season. Everyone else who played major minutes is back with the Rams, and that kind of continuity is crucial for any high school basketball team.
“We lost a pretty special kid in Mandy. She did everything for us. The good thing I’m seeing in the preseason is that these other kids are coming into their own,” said Woods. “We’ll look different. We can’t just come out and depend on Mandy. They’re a year older and a year more ready to go. I think we’re going to get better as the year goes on. Everybody on that team last year is back except Mandy.”
Luckily, Coach Woods has a pair of senior captains who are ready to motivate his squad and get his players to step up. With the input of his players, Coach Woods decided that Wendy Bowden and Taylor Cote would be the captains and that the choice was a simple one.
“Wendy Bowden is an All-State field hockey player, and Taylor Cote is a great softball player, too,” said Coach Woods. “I have the kids give their input as well as the coaches. We were all unanimous. They are the two obvious kids to pick. They are solid starters who are positive, great kids. It made a lot of sense.”
In the backcourt this season, Coach Woods will look to junior Kayla Holt to take over ball handling duties at the point guard position. Holt will share the back court with fellow junior Jenna Tully at shooting guard.
“Kayla played all game every game last year and never came off the court,” Coach Woods said. “Jenna Tully has improved a lot at the two-guard position, as well. They’re both getting better as players.”
As for small forward, Coach Woods expects to see some combination of sophomore Belldina Feratovic and junior Priscilla Gumkowski handling those duties. Woods believes that Gumkowwski offers some solid shooting in that position and that Feratovic has tremendous upside as a player in general.
“Feratovic is a talented player and could be even be a star in this league,” Woods said. “Gumkowski is a good shooter and hit the threes on certain nights, and she’s a good defender.”
Playing in the paint for the Rams will be a rotation that includes the two senior captains Bowden and Cote, as well as sophomore Cassie Johnson. Occasionally, Feratovic will slide over to the four as well.
“That group will all play a lot. Bowden and Cote are rock solid. I think Taylor, Wendy, Cassie and Belldina are all talented around the basket,” said Woods. “I love a player who you can feed inside who can get a basket.”
Other players that figure prominently into the mix are senior Amina Cecunjanin, junior Abby Bergeron, junior Taylor Stone, and sophomore Lily Coty. Overall, Coach Woods feels that his team can mix and match well with this array of players.
“I don’t really know that I will have a set starting team necessarily,” Woods said. “That fifth starter will change depending on the opponent and what we’re trying to do.”
On the offense, Coach Woods hopes to develop an attack that doesn’t depend too much on one facet of the game. The Rams have solid shooters, but also some players that can get the job done in the paint.
“I think we’re going to be a lot more balanced,” Woods said. “So far in the early going we’re taking more perimeter shots, but we need to get the ball inside more. Our inside players are tough as nails and capable.”
On the defensive end, Coach Woods wants to keep the competition on their toes. By sending a variety of looks at the opposing offense, Coach Woods hopes that will break apart what the other team is trying to accomplish.
“My point of emphasis is defense. If you can play defense you can play for me. We have to be good defensively and slow teams down and take things away,” Woods said. “I want to mix it up more this year. We’ll play some zone, some match up, and some man to keep teams off balance. If you send in one defense all the time, it can be good for a while, but then teams can figure it out.”
One thing working in the Rams favor to start the season is that other teams will have a harder time game planning against them. Old Saybrook’s success will be reliant on good team play rather than a good night from a single player, and that is a harder thing to stop for the opposition.
“We just have to take it game by game and work to get better. I can tell in the preseason there are good signs. We are still finding how we’re going to win our games,” said Woods. “Last year, we competed with everybody all year long, and we won just three games. We don’t know who we’re going to count on, but we’re hoping we can spread that out. I don’t think people are going to know what we have. I think that bodes well for us.”
Coach Woods has his team’s sights set on qualifying for the Class S State Tournament this year. He know that’s going to be a challenge for sure, but he knows that his athletes are a capable group as long as they believe that they can do it and work hard to get it done.
“One of the biggest things is going to be integrating the younger players and getting the kids to believe in themselves. You have to get the kids to take the reins,” said Woods. “I want us to get to the state tournament and get our eight games. I don’t expect miracles, but I think we can do it if we work hard and take it one game at a time. We want those eight wins.”
• The Old Saybrook girls’ basketball team’s roster features senior captains Wendy Bowden and Taylor Cote; seniors Rachel Baldi and Amina Cecunjanin; juniors Abby Bergeron, Priscilla Gumkowski, Molly Henderson, Kayla Holt, Taylor Stone, and Jenna Tully; sophomores Lily Cody, Belldina Feratovic, Ella Hagleston, and Cassie Johnson; and freshmen Abby Colella and Juliet Condulis.
• Head Coach Steve Woods’s coaching staff includes assistant coaches Sarah Thompson and Koren Torre.
• The Rams’ schedule this year features home games versus Old Lyme, Morgan, Cromwell, St. Bernard, Westbrook, Valley Regional, Portland, Amistad, and East Hampton. Old Saybrook will play road games against East Hampton, Hale-Ray, St. Bernard, Morgan, Coginchaug, Haddam-Killingworth, Ledyard, North Branford, Westbrook, Old Lyme, and Portland.