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01/08/2022 11:00 PMThe North Haven girls’ basketball team entered this season with no seniors on its roster. While Head Coach Tom Blake was a bit concerned at first, he’s been pleased to see the Nighthawks step up in the early goings and demonstrate that they could be a squad to watch in the Southern Connecticut Conference.
North Haven played road games against Hillhouse and Branford in last week’s action and came away with victories in both contests. On Jan. 4, the Nighthawks defeated Hillhouse by the final score of 47-45. Three days later, North Haven was back on the road to face Branford and claimed a 58-31 victory to improve to 3-2 on the year.
The Nighthawks found themselves down 12-7 after the first quarter when they played Hillhouse, but rallied back to win the second quarter 14-10 and trim the deficit to 22-21 at halftime. Hillhouse won the third period 10-9 and took two-point lead into the fourth. However, North Haven came out on top in the final frame, outscoring the Academics 17-13 in the quarter to walk off the floor with a 47-45 victory.
Junior Julia Ball led the Nighthawks in scoring with 24 points on the night, shooting 40 percent from the field. Junior captain Olivia Johnson had three assists, three rebounds, and three steals in the win, and Coach Blake said that the junior guard did a great job of facilitating North Haven’s offense. Sophomore Ava Halovatch had 12 points and 11 rebounds for North Haven. All 12 of Halovatch’s points came in the fourth quarter as the sophomore went 3-of-3 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
“Hillhouse has a good team. We didn’t play a great game, but every time we needed a big play, my team responded. It was unbelievable,” Coach Blake said. “Ava Halovatch had 12 points in the fourth quarter, but it was a great team win. Julia Ball played well. Olivia Johnson played well. When we needed a big play, these kids didn’t quit. They stayed on top and got us the win.”
When North Haven took on Branford in its next game, the Nighthawks stormed out to a big lead by winning the first quarter 23-3. North Haven then outscored the Hornets 14-5 in the second quarter to take a 37-8 lead into halftime. Branford outscored North Haven 23-21 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as the Nighthawks went on to get the 58-31 victory.
Sophomore Damaria Williams-Davis had a double-double by scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for North Haven, including 10 boards on the offensive glass. Ball scored 17 points and had four steals, while Johnson had 13 points, two rebounds, and four steals. Johnson also committed just two turnovers in 24 minutes with Blake saying that she once again did a great job of jumpstarting the Nighthawks’ offense.
“I told my kids, every game we have to come out and play with energy,” said Blake. “I stand on the court and watch warmups, because I want to gauge how we’re going to play. Our warmups were great. We brought the energy, went up big early, and won the game.”
North Haven had lost two-straight games prior to facing Hillhouse, including a 54-36 home loss against Pomperaug on Dec. 30. Coach Blake felt proud of his club for shaking off those defeats by winning both of last week’s matchups. In his three years with North Haven, Blake said that his teams have never given up, no matter the situation or outcome.
“The one thing that has been a characteristic of all three teams is that these girls bounce back. We’ve taken some tough losses, but we come right back. That showed against Hillhouse,” Blake said. “It’s tough to go on the road and win. Our kids were resilient. We got hammered the game before, but they came back and stole a win. It’s 12 hours at a time with us.”
Blake has been especially impressed with this team’s resiliency considering that there are no seniors in the fold. The Nighthawks have three juniors, eight sophomores, and four freshmen on their roster. While he certainly values senior leadership, Coach Blake said that his juniors have done an excellent job serving as leaders and that North Haven’s younger players look up to them.
“We’re an inexperienced team. For them to do what they’re doing right now is great,” said Blake. “The juniors are providing what’s needed. They play hard every day, and the younger kids are seeing that.”
North Haven’s junior captains are Johnson and Talia Annunziato, who both play guard. Coach Blake described both players as ideal leaders for the Nighthawks with the hard work they put in each day. That type of effort has resonated with everyone on the team.
“They’ve provided us with great leadership. They don’t have the experience a senior might have, but I wanted to put people up there that I can trust, that the team could follow, and will make good decisions,” Blake said. “They’ve made good decisions. The younger kids are always looking at the older kids to see what’s going on. When they see the older kids working hard, they feel that’s what they have to do.”
North Haven’s other junior is Ball, who is currently leading the team in scoring by averaging 18 points a game. Blake called Ball an unselfish player who has learned to take better shots and read the defense. Blake said that Ball understands how to attack the basket and is always willing to pass the ball to her teammate for a better shot.
As North Haven moves forward, Coach Blake and company are going to focus on ironing out their offensive sets. Blake wants to see the Nighthawks focus on their execution and stay patient on offense in order to find the best shot every time down the floor.
North Haven may have a young team, but Coach Blake believes the Nighthawks could make some noise in the playoffs this winter. Blake is looking for North Haven to continue its winning ways and keep climbing up the ranks in both the SCC and the state.
“We want to get into the SCC Tournament. We want to get into the State Tournament. We don’t want to just get into them. We want to win a couple games in them,” said Blake. “There are some pretty good teams in our league, but we feel we’re competitive with each and every one of them. We feel we could do some damage when we get into the SCC and State tournament.”
The North Haven girls’ basketball team’s roster features junior captains Talia Annunziato and Olivia Johnson; junior Julia Ball; sophomores Zaria Bradley, Alyssa Cherian, Alyssa Collins, Erika Fronte, Ava Halovatch, Ava Johnson, Ava Papa, and Damaria Williams-Davis; and freshmen Olivia Ball, Alyssa DiGiovanna, Brooke LaPierre, and Kendall Washington.