This past Mother's Day weekend, the "old folks" from last years 16 Red team (with an honorary new member) participated in the traditional CT Storm "Mother's Day Classic". It was great seeing all the former players, coaches, fans, groupies, and everyone else that attended the games. The team went 2-2 on the weekend, but with no more than 8 players at any of the games, and playing 4 teams that regularly are practicing 2-3 times per week (and playing in a variety of exposure tournaments), it was a good result.
       The first game saw the 17's meet the CT Magic who had lost by 3 on a last-second shot to current version of 16 Red in the state tournament a few weeks ago. So how did this team whose last practice was sometime in early July 2008 do? Simply jumped out to a 19-point lead early in the second half and coasted to a 58-47 win. The octtet of Elisha Homich (Ludlow HS), Kristyn Wright (East Catholic), Paxton Thornton (Housatonic), Taylor Nkonoki (Middletown HS.....anyone reading this thinking of moving just a reminder there are excellent house deals in Middletown especially if you are a girl between the ages of 10-16 who can make layups and free throws!!!!), Damika Martinez (our new honorary member from Platt), Sam Riccio (Avon), Cassie Novicky (New Milford), and Tanisha Carter (East Catholic) combined for 58 points, 38 rebounds, and 13 assists.
       The second game saw us run into the vaunted LI Xtreme who "only" has one player already committed to play at Vanderbilt and another most likely headed to Duke or Notre Dame, plus many other skilled players. The team fell short, but showed great resiliency and played well until old age set in and I think we had 4 players needing respirators by the final buzzer. The quintet of Novicky, Homich, Wright, Nkonoki, Thornton, Carter, Martinez, and Riccio finished with 57 points, 35 rebounds, and 12 assists.
       Our first game on Sunday saw the 17's win a "squeaker", 89-36 against the Bay State Biizzard......before anyone starts badmouthing the coach, I did at half ask the other coach if we could keep our score the same on the scoreboard for the whole second half and also asked if we should just stop running and he asked us to keep playing like that. The team was without Sam, Paxton, and Kristyn, but welcomed Clare Fitzpatrick (Canterbury School) and Kat Woods (NW Regional) who combined for 26 points. The fabulous five of Taylor, Elisha, Cassie, Damika, and Tanisha also torched the nets for a combined 63 points, 23 rebounds, and 16 assists......not too shabby.
       Our last game was not very exciting so we will leave it at that :)......think the old age caught up to the team after being tied at half before falling in a close game....enough about that game.
       17 Red Notes: Best wishes to all of you as you head off to college in the very near future. It was amazing to see how competitive this team was without a practice against some of the top teams in the region. Thanks to Mallorie Michalak for stepping up and being the assistant for 17 Red. Good luck to the current 16 Red as you have continued to carry on the legacy from last years team and have gotten off to a great start.

       This weekend the 16 Blue tream was down on the shore for the CT Storm Mother’s Day Tourney. After having a weekend off, the team came out refreshed and played well overall. Game 1 vs. the Cougars got off to a little sluggish start, but we were able to play through it and got the victory. Becca Pope came out very aggressive on the offensive end and led the team in scoring with 10 points. Mariah Berry was a big presence down inside stepping in on defense and had 3 blocked shots in our 30-25 win.
       Game 2 vs. CT Fire was a game where all players brought their “A” game. The team played both ends of the court very well and was able to put together 2 great halves for the 47-24 victory. Lindsey Henry led all scorers with a game-high 19 points. Ashley Jordan led the game in assists with 7, while Alexis Marek owned the boards with 7 rebounds and several hustle plays. The team communicated and worked together on all 3 defenses and held the Fire to just 8 first half points.
       Game 3 was a game that tested how we would handle adversity. The first half vs. the City Jazz was well played, with 16 Blue ahead 29-11 at the break. The second half was when we where tested ;when City Jazz saw that we came out relaxed, they came out clawing and scratching to bring the game to 1 point with 4 minutes to go. Kelly Riddle sunk two 3’s, while Mariah Berry stepped up big time to lead the team in scoring with 12. Alexa Vernadakis and Becca Pope chipped in with 8 and 9 points. Maura Hall and Ellen Donahue were “knats” on defense and were the cause of City Jazz turning over the ball during crunch time. The girls were able to fight through the daze, and were able to win the nail biter 48-44.
       Game 4 ended with a win over a tenacious Bay State Blizzard squad. We outscored the Blizzard 25-13 in the first half and 33-14 in the second half for a 58-27 win. We got great offensive contribution from all 9 players, whether it was making the extra pass, hustling down the offensive rebound for a 2nd shot opportunity, or getting to the open spot on the court. Several players showed deep range from downtown, as we got 3's from Ellen Donahue, Lindsey Henry (2), Alexa Vernadakis (1), and Maura Hall (3). Mariah Berry and Alexis Marek handled the rebounding down low with 6 and 7 boards. Kelly Riddle and Ashley Jordan led the offense by setting up teammates and vocally running our offensive sets. Overall, I was very happy for the girls because they’ve been working really hard to put the pieces of the puzzle together the past couple of weeks in practice.
       This weekend they witnessed how hard work really does pay off by posting a convincing 4-0 record. I wish for this to continue the rest of the season and for the girls to continue to develop, learn, and grow both as individuals and as a team.

       15 Red- May 9-10th in New London.
       15 Red was matched up against the NEBC Bombers for their first game of the Mother’s Day weekend. They were a very skilled 14 year old team that shot the lights out against us. We started out slow and found ourselves down 10 very quickly. It was a constant battle to keep making the game close but at the half the Bombers had control with a 36-27 lead. The second half the Starters were only outscored by two, but the deficit was too large from the first half to make it a game. Sarah Benedetti was back from her concussion and led the team with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Kerri Stolle and Jessica Frawley both had 5 steals while Ali Berman had four steals. The final score was 59-48 with an 11 point loss for the Starters.
       Game two was a very different a story than the first game. The Starters played the R.I. Cyclones and took control within the first two minutes with a 12-0 lead. Kerri Stolle led all scorers shooting 100% from the floor with 15 points and Loren Pachesa (8 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals) followed her with 8 points and Taryn Roy had 7 pts. Tara Higgins did a great job on the boards with 6 defensive rebounds and Megan Roux had 6 steals. Sarah Raftery scored 5 points and had four rebounds. The Starters stayed strong and dominated the entire game with a final score of 72-25.
       Mother’s Day afternoon started against the CT Magic. It was another great start for the 15 Red with a 28-13 first half score. The Starters played well together and did a great job communicating on defense. Sarah Benedetti led the scoring with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Loren Pachesa went 6-6 from the free throw and Taryn Roy had Jessica Frawley both had 8 points. Ashley Kinney did an excellent job on defense with 5 steals while Tara Higgins controlled the boards with 6 rebounds. The final score was 58-39.
       The final game of the weekend was a rematch against the Spirit. The Starters came out strong and built a 42-29 first half lead with Sarah Benedetti scoring 23 of her 32 in the first half. Unfortunately, foul trouble and defensive breakdowns allowed the Spirit to get back into the game and actually pull out the victory with a final score of 78-73. It was a disappointing loss for 15 Red, but a character building one. Megan Roux had a fantastic game scoring 12 points and Taryn Roy was impressive on the boards pulling out our first double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. It was a great fight for 15 Red, but just lost the battle in the end. The Starters are now 14-6.
       We would just like to thank our parents and athletes for their classy behavior game in and game out. Don’t forget- it’s not always about the scoreboard-we are proud of the sportsmanship and positive attitudes displayed by our girls in a tough game.

       14 Red Goes 3-1 at CT Storm Tournament by winning 3 close games. Hello Folks, this is Victoria, Virginia's twin sister doing the write ups this weekend for 14 Red. Virginia got stuck at the casino on Saturday night and was unable to make it to the games this weekend. She will be back for the Memorial Day tourney in 2 weekends.
       The first game of the weekend on Saturday was against the CT Rain. This was very fitting seeing that it rained most of Friday and Saturday morning. It would be not be a good game for 14 Red. We only had 7 for the first game as a few players had some school, tennis and other issues to attend to. We were up early in the first half but the lead slipped away. The second half saw us not shoot the ball very well and we lost by the score of 42-31. Cassidy Caravella (Somers HS) scored a game high 13 and Chelsea Foster (Avon HS) added 11 for 14 Red.
       The second game on Saturday was versus the "Lobster" Newburgh Liberty. It was tied at 20 at the half. The second half saw us down 28-22 with 5 minutes left in the game. We proceeded to score the next 10 points to lead 32-28. A 3 by Claire Laing (Rocky Hill HS) cut the deficit to 28-25. A nice baseline drive by Chelsea Foster cut the lead to 28-27. Cassidy Caravella scored 5 straight to push the lead to four with less than two minutes left. Newburgh hit a three to cut it to 32-31, but was foiled on their last second attempt to win a great game. It was great to see the team win a close game. Cassidy and Claire both had 8 points to lead the team. Ashley Petrarca (Taft School) scored 6 points...after finishing school earlier in the morning. Kayleigh Shaughnessy (Fermi HS) had many offensive rebounds to help get us some 2nd chance opportunities.
       A great time was had by all on Saturday evening at "The Library". Most of the coaches were checking out new books. We all had a chance to dine together before checking in for 9 pm for curfew (per Joe). Sunday morning we played the RI Cyclones. This would be another great game and was tied at 19 at the half. We might have stumbled upon something this weekend that will help us down the road. We did a fantastic job on our "Blackjack" press (Wonder where coach got that name from?). Kristin "Sharapova" Van Gilst (Lewis Mills HS) scored 7 points, including 5-6 from the free throw line. Chelsea Foster had 8 to lead the team, including two 3's. We once again had to make a stop in the closing seconds to win 36-34. At this rate, coach will be completely gray or bald by July. After winning by 1 point and 2 points, what would be next for the 14 Red team?
       The last game of the annual CT Storm Mothers Day Classic was versus the CT Premier team from Fairfield County. We jumped out to a 10-2 lead and then before you know it we were down 23-17 at the half. We got off to a great start in the second half. We chipped away and took an 8 point lead with 5 minutes left. The Premier team cut it to two and had a chance to win it or tie it with 3 seconds left but super team defense negated an attempt at the hoop. We wound up winning by the score of 35-32. It was our third straight win by margins of 1, 2 and 3. Olivia Sutherland (Lyman Hall HS) scored 5 points and hit a huge free throw to push the lead to three at the end of the game. Gabby Desisto (Hamden HS) had 6 points and many rebounds to help propel her team to victory. A.J. Levy (Maloney HS) scored 7 as did Cassidy Caravella. Brie McClelland (Mercy HS) did good defensive work on the point guard from the Premier team.
       14 Red Notes: Wanna wish all the Mothers on the team a Happy Mother's Day...Congrats on Brie's prom on Saturday evening...We now have a 10-6 record and playing some good basketball...We failed to hit 40 on the scoreboard but are playing superb defense...We will practice on Wednesday from 7-9 at East Catholic...Remember girls, Coach Aly and Coach Jamie will be having a practice for post and guards; be ready to work hard as the practice will be individual and group drills. We will get back on the court in two weekends in our own tourney. Til next time girls, may your layups always go in and you never throw one handed passes.

       Mother’s day weekend was here and that could only mean one thing….THE CT STORM TOURNMENT! We opened up play at Fitch High School playing against the CT Premier. We had 7 players competing in this contest (No Dana or Allie) but that wasn’t going to stop the Starters on this day. Sara Hubbard (Hartford, 13 pts 5 steals) and Megan Schuppe (Avon, 11 pts 5 rebounds) led the offensive attack. The dynamic inside play of Rachel Franzluebbers (East Catholic, 8 pts 10 rebounds) and Demis Christodlous (Berlin, 7 pts and 7 rebounds) kept the bigger Premier players off the boards and out of the lane. Sara’s 3 pointer gave us our biggest lead of the day at 10 with under 3 minutes to go, however our girls went into cruise control from that point on and almost let the Premier steal the game. Final Score CT Starters 45 CT Premier 42.
       Game 2 of the day was against the RI Lady Cyclones. In this particular contest you saw a game of halves. The first half belonged to the Starters as we jumped out early and often behind the defensive pressure led by our 3 headed monster of Sara Hubbard (9 points, 6 steals) Brenna Roy (Stafford Springs, 4 pts 4 steals) and Paige Young (Berlin, 4 pts 3 steals). We led at the half 19-8. In the second half it was a very different story as we struggled with their aggressiveness and physical play as we managed to score only 5 second half points. Luckily, that was enough to hold on and send the game into overtime! In the final 20 seconds of Overtime the Cyclones took their first lead of the game at 26-25. Out of the timeout we drew up a man to man play, needless to say they went zone which caused some initial chaos but Sara found the right person, Carrie Polomsky (Wethersfield, 5 pts) deep in the right corner who drained a 3 pointer as the buzzer sounded!!!! Final Score CT Starters 28 RI Cyclones 25. Of note: all players scored.
       Mother’s Day morning came and we were matched up with the CT Storm Select team that we beat previously in the CT Association Tournament two weeks earlier. The girls played strong in the first half as we were able to get the ball into our bigger and stronger post players but still found ourselves down 2 at the half 19-17. However, in the second half the CT Storm took it to us in every category as they dominated the half and won the game by 11. Final Score CT Storm 46 CT Starters 35. Allie Caponigro (Plainville, 21 pts 8 rebounds) played very strongly in the loss.
       Last game of the weekend was against the Newburg Liberty. We started off the game very well as we attacked the basket aggressively unfortunately on one of those drives we lost Allie, to ankle injury forcing her to miss the rest of the game. The girls played some inspired basketball and fought very hard to only be down 5 at the half. Newburg came out firing on all cylinders as they expanded their lead to 11, as they connected on a deep 3 and old fashion 3 point play early on in the second half. Carrie Polomsky(11 pts) and Megan Schuppe(10 pts) answered the call, brought us back into the game after hitting clutch shots and making great moves to the basket. Unfortunately, the girls from Newburg made some big plays of their own to take control back of the game. Sensing time was running out on the Starters chances of winning this game; we changed defenses and the trio of Dana Queno (Wethersfield, 4 steals) Brenna, and Sara gave us an opportunity to tie the game with less than 2 minutes to go. Lady luck wasn’t on our side as our 3 pointer rimmed out and the rest was history. Final Score Newburg Liberty 33 CT Starters 27.
       Weekend Notes: First and Foremost want to wish a speedy recovery to Allie! Free throw shooting is an aspect we still need much work on as we shot 27-70 for the weekend!!!

       The CT Starters 12's played in the CT Storm Mothers Day Tournament in Stonington. The host CT Storm were the Starters first round opponent; this is the Storm team that won a gold medal in the 12-A bracket of the recent state tournament. The Storm held a first half lead of 3 points against a scrappy Starters team. Missy Bailey and Kelsey Clemens each had three buckets apiece with Caroline Teti chipping in 4 points to keep the game close in the first half as both teams seemed to be feeling each other out. The Starters offensive backcourt played well with steals and tight defense. Our opponent had many uncontested first half layups and it seemed as though a slight adjustment might send us to a first round victory if they played well in the second half. The second half opened up with the Storm hitting three open jump shots to increase their lead to 9 points. Lexy Prince had two consecutive buckets to keep the score at a 9 point deficit only to see the Storm hitting 2 layups to answer Lexy's hard work. The Starters crept ever closer nearing the end of the second half, closing the score to 6 points. Unfortunately the Starters couldn't stop the Storm from hitting two 3 point buckets to increase their lead and finishing up with a well deserved 59-46 victory. The difference in this game was the 6 easy layups the Storm had in the second half which kept the Starters from any chance of securing a victory in this game.
       Our second game on Saturday was against CT Premier. In a very sloppily played first half of basketball by each team, the Starters found themselves in a 26-18 halftime deficit. The Premier played a very aggressive style of basketball which found them running into foul difficulty. The Starters attempted 12 foul shots (converting 6), to only two attempts by their opponents. The Premier team's size under the basket led to their easily outscoring the Starters front court with easy second chance points. Again, a defensive adjustment at halftime saw the Starters come out and take it to their opponents. The Starters employed a pressure "Triangle" defense with 2 chasers that completely disrupted the Premier's offense leading to numerous turnovers. It was all about Margaret Frawley, Caroline Teti and the rest of the Starters backcourt that "stole " the show, leading to numerous easy baskets by Missy Bailey and Lexy Prince. These 4 players combined for all but two of the 30 second half points and a complete demolishing of the Premier team. Again, it was all about the defense creating turnovers into easy layups in the 48-38 win.
       On Sunday morning, the Starters 12's "breezed" to a lopsided victory against the CT. Breeze, crushing their opponents 63-36. The first half saw the Starters play a great half of basketball. Missy Bailey led all scoring at halftime with 12 points followed by Lexy Prince with 8, Margaret Frawley and Nikki Nash with 6 and Kelsey Clemens hitting for 5 points. Caroline Teti and Lily Dolyak played their positions well with Frawley and Nash contributing to one of the best half of basketball by the Starters all season. A good halftime talk by Coach Eco, appealing to his girls to play up to their ability seemed to get this team off to a great start in the second half. Mika Howard hit her first 3 of the year to help lead second half scoring. Kelsey Clemens had 8 points & Lily Dolyak added 4 points. Nikki Nash was unstoppable today with 9 points and a fine overall game. She defended well and caused turnovers leading to many fastbreak points. A fine game by this Starters team pushed their record to 2-1 for the weekend with a 63-36 win.
       Going into afternoon play, the Starters were opposed by the Bay State Blizzard. Each team played well with the Starters holding onto a 21-19 halftime lead. Nikki Nash had 4 points at halftime along with Lexy Prince and Caroline Teti. Missy Bailey chipped in a team leading 9 halftime points. In the second half, both Margaret Frawley and Caroline Teti hit 3's. Kelsey Clemens scored 8 second half points to increase the Starters lead and cruise to an easy 46-28 victory. Missy Bailey had a sound game leading the Starters with 16 points. Caroline Teti finished with 11 points, easily her best offensive output of the season.
       The Starters 12's finished the weekend tournament with a 3-1 record. Next weekend the Starters will not be in action.They will, however, be hosting their own tournament the weekend of May 23-24. We must note that Coach Eco received the first technical foul of the 2009 AAU season by any CT Starters coach for arguing with a ref and giving the infamous "Eco Hand Wave". Go Eco!!!

       The 11 Red team went 2-2 this weekend. In our first game of the weekend we play against the CT. Storm. We ended up losing a close game, 34-33 in a very exciting game. Nicole Rojas was the leading scorer with 10 points, while Cindirose Morgan and Hannah Michalik each scored 6. Tashai Price chipped in with 3 points and brought down 7 rebounds.
       The second game of the day was against the Wescon Fillies. We played well throughout the whole game and won 40-24. Michaela Marcus led all scorers with 17 points and 4 steals. Jeanna Willis and Nicole Rojas combined for 11 assists. Jessica Berry had 11 points and 3 rebounds. Cindirose Morgan chipped in with a double-double(10 points & 10 rebounds), while Natalie Ruel played great defense with 3 steals.
       Sunday we were up bright and early for our 8:30 am game against the CT Breeze. We won the game by the final score of 63-12. We had four players in double digits (Rojas 16 points, Marcus 12, Morgan 11 and Ruel 10). Tashai Price brought down 5 rebounds to go along with 3 points and 3 assists. Jeanna Willis chipped in with 6 points and added 4 assists. Jessica Berry played good solid defense for us adding 4 steals and 6 rebounds.
       Our last game of the weekend was against the WBA Knicks. It was an exciting game which ended in a double overtime one-point loss. Nicole Rojas did a great job getting to the rim and scoring 14 points. Cindirose Morgan had another double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Tashai Price did a great job with 9 rebounds. Jessica Berry scored 10 points and again played solid defense for us, while Hannah Michalik chipped in with 6 points and 3 steals.
       We are off this weekend and then look forward to helping host the annual Starters Summer Classic over Memorial Day weekend.

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