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02/01/2017 11:00 PMFor the first time in several years, the Valley Regional girls’ basketball team has qualified for postseason play this winter, and senior Libby Spitzschuh feels proud to be part of the Warriors’ resurgence. Libby, who captains the team alongside Francesca Daniels and Brianna O’Brien, was confident that Valley could put together a memorable campaign, and that plan is playing out quite nicely thus far. The Warriors are currently 8-4 and riding the wave of a six-game win streak.
“We all thought we could do something pretty special this year because the stars aligned,” says Libby. “We lost our first games by one or two and now we’re on a winning streak. We’re playing really well. I’m proud of what we’re doing and I think we could go far into Shorelines.”
Libby has played alongside many of her teammates since she was very young and that’s helped develop their chemistry. Libby has built close friendships with her colleagues through the time they’ve spent both on and off the court.
“It does shape who your friends are and keeps your friend group close,” says Libby. “Because you’ve been playing so long together, your playing styles mesh and you complement each other on the court.”
This year isn’t the first time that Libby has served as one of the Warriors’ leaders; she and Daniels also captained the team as juniors last season. Libby, a guard, also leads Valley from a statistical standpoint by averaging a team-best 4.1 steals per game to go with 10 points and 3.1 assists a night—both second-best on the team. Valley Head Coach Geoff Konstan, who was also an assistant coach on Libby’s 7th-grade squad, says that she exemplifies all the traits a coach wants to see in a captain.
“Her leadership as a captain can’t be measured just by stats. Libby, along with the other two captains, Francesca Daniels and Brianna O’Brien, gets the entire team pumped up for games, is one of the emotional leaders on the court, and always helps keep the energy up and spirits high, even when things aren’t going so well for the team,” says Konstan. “Libby also is the consummate captain. She’s at every practice, always there early, and ready to get everyone motivated for the upcoming session. One of her greatest attributes as a captain is how well she works with the younger players on the team, always making sure that, despite there being a JV team and a varsity team, we are one team.”
Konstan says that Libby’s speed is key for the Warriors’ up-tempo style and that she does a great job of leading their fast-break transition. Libby found another outlet for her speed during her freshman year at Valley. Looking to stay in shape for basketball, she joined the Warriors’ outdoor track team and has since seen success in the 100-meter dash and the long jump. Libby qualified for Shorelines and states in both events as a junior last year and advanced all the way to the State Open in the latter event. Libby would love to repeat those achievements in the upcoming spring season, but for now, she’s concentrating on helping her basketball squad go as far as it can.
“If we play with confidence and play basketball the way I know we can play, I think we can go pretty deep in the tournament,” Libby says. “Personally, I want to make my free throws, make my plays, play each possession at a time, and not be intimidated when we play bigger teams. We can take on any team when we play our game.”
Libby played in two varsity games as a freshman and then got several starts after some of her teammates suffered injuries the following year. Libby solidified her status as a varsity regular in her junior season and now she starts every game this year. Through it all, Libby has constantly seen the Warriors improve.
“We’ve had a rough time with a rough record freshman and sophomore year, but this year, we’re playing really good basketball,” says Libby, who thanks her teammates for their hard work, plus Coach Konstan and her family for their support. “We used to get blown out by these teams like East Hampton or Old Saybrook and now we’re playing with them and beating some of them. It’s incredible to be able to play with these teams and be a viable candidate to compete in Shorelines.”
As Valley approaches the home stretch, Libby isn’t thinking too much about the fact that this is her last season playing for the Warriors. Instead, she’s simply enjoying the moment and savoring the time with her teammates.
“It hasn’t hit me yet, but I know once the season is over, it’ll be emotional,” Libby says. “It’s awesome. I’ve been able to play with these really cool girls. We care about each other. After four years playing basketball with a high school team, I feel like my time is up, and it’s time for another group of girls to come in and see what they can do.”
While a new group of players will be coming in next year, Coach Konstan knows that it will be difficult for anyone to replace the positive attitude and all-around happiness that Libby brings to the team.
“Libby is honestly one of the greatest kids I’ve ever gotten to know. I know when going to practice that some kids may have had a bad day and may be in a bad mood for whatever reason, but it’s as if Libby just doesn’t know how to even be in a bad mood,” says Konstan. “She’s somebody you want success for so badly because she’s just that nice a kid. She’s also hilarious and never fails to make the coaches and her teammates laugh. I may coach at Valley for 20 more years and not ever come across someone that’s as good of a human being and as genuinely kind as Libby Spitzschuh is.”