ALBANY CAPITALS INVITATIONAL @ SIENA COLLEGE
       Game 1 vs Albany Capitals: The Albany Capitals jumped out to early 14-2 lead but 16 Red never gave up. We picked up the defensive pressure and were able to close the gap to only 4 at half. Damika Martinez (Platt H.S.) led the team in the first half with 9 of her overall 15 points coming off drives to the basket. The second half started off the same way with the Capitols pulling ahead by at least 9 points, but Red fought back again and in the closing seconds of the game Coach Medeiros called a timeout to set up a play which was run perfectly. Martinez attacked the basket and dished to Sara Kelly (Newtown H.S.) for the lay up that tied the game and forced the game into overtime. During the quick 2 minute overtime, the teams took a combined 14 free throws. Unfortunately the Capitals were perfect from the line and Red missed one. Sara Kelly had 8 points in the game while Jen Ruys, Elise Chase and Alexys Vazquez combined for 10 in the losing effort.
       Game 2 vs Mass Frenzy: The coaches demanded a more uptempo pace in the pre-game talk,but in the first few minutes we couldn't find any rhythm offensively. After a Damika Martinez (Platt) drive, the score was 9-9 and the press was called. Suddenly Amamda Cormier (Wethersfield), Jen Ruys (Lyman Hall) and Reynesha Archer(Manchester) came up with big steals and the Red was off and running, leading 34-25 at the half. However, the Frenzy got hot late and often from deep on their way to 11 three-pointers! The game came down to the closing seconds as Jen Ruys hit several big shots and Amanda Cormier and Alexis Vazquez (Berlin) hit huge threes; however we couldn't convert with 3.3 seconds to go and went into overtime. The teams traded big shot after big shot with no one able to get a stop and the result was overtime # 2. Jen Ruys put us up by two and after a defensive stop, the Frenzy had to foul. Sara Kelly (Newtown) went to the line and nailed both free throws to solidify the 66-62 win, as we now had played a total of 3 overtime periods in our first day.
       Game 3 vs CT Shamrocks: After not having them played them all season, we looked forward to the game against the CT Shamrocks. Unfortunately, they jumped out to a 14-2 lead but the Red never panicked and got their first lead at 24-23. In the second half a slight adjustment led to Alexis Vazquez (Berlin) heating up as she scored several baskets, including a huge three from the left corner that put us up 49-38. This led to spreading the floor and making them foul and the Red went 21-27 from the line in the second half and won 65-48, outscoring the Shamrocks 63-34 over the game final 24 minutes. Vazquez finished the game with 13 points while Damika Martinez led all scorers with 16 points. Jen Ruys (Lyman Hall) and Amanda Cormier (Wethersfield) combined for 9 points in the win.
       Game 4 vs New Hampshire Shooting Stars: 16 Red jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. We were up 19 at half and finished with a 65-45 win and an overall 3-1 record at Siena College. Alexys Vazquez finished the game with 16 points, while Lindsey Karle had 12 points and 3 steals. Elise Chase added 4 points, 8 rebounds and Amanda Cormier had 5 points, 3 steals, 4 rebounds while Jen Ruys had 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks..Overall it was a good weekend; 16 Red stayed composed even while being down large margins and were able to come back and pull out victories. Right now with four tournaments remaining, 16 Red has an overall record of 24-6. Keep learning and working hard. See you at practice

       The Starters 16 Blue team had a good weekend up in Albany at the Summer Slam. The event had a tournament format and we went 3-1, going undefeated to win our pool, but then losing in the quarterfinals.
       Game 1 vs. the Rotterdam (not the Netherlands) Grizzlies got off to a good start with us leading at the half 22-9. Lindsey Henry and Becca Pope were our leading scorers for the game with 10 points each. Ashley Jordan, Kelly Riddle, Lindsey Henry and Mariah Berry showed some range as they combined for seven 3's from behind the arc. Defensively, it was a team effort to tame the Grizzlies. With there being a motivation factor of getting free hot dogs for holding your opponent to 22 points or less, the girls took advantage by holding them to exactly 22 points for the game. The final score was 52-22.
       Game 2 vs. RI Hornets got off to a shaky start (it may have been due to those darn hot dogs!). We scored only 9 points at the half, while giving up 18. After some half time chatting and some “buttons being pushed”, the girls came out determined to turn the game around. We scored 32 points the second half while holding our opponent to 12. Talk about complete turn around! Ellen Donahue knocked some big 3’s in from downtown, while Alexa Vernadakis dominated the defensive bounds. Alexis Marek took the “Hustle Award”, tying up jump balls and getting on the floor for loose ones. Kelly Riddle, Ashley Jordan, and Ellen Donahue help execute great fast breaks; the most we’ve had all season at that. We clinched the victory by a final score of 41-32.
       Game 3 vs. Albany Lady Faclons was a very physical and feisty game. I have to applaud the girls for keeping their composure and not getting mixed up in any of the unnecessary things during the game. We were able to get offensive contributions from the entire team and defensively, we stepped it up in the second half. Ashley Jordan (12), Kelly Riddle (12), and Alexa Vernadakis (10) led the offensive charge. Mariah Berry was a force inside with 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. The final score was 58-31. This raised our record for the weekend to 3-0, which was good enough to win our pool and advance us to the quarterfinal playoff round.
       In the quarterfinal game vs. Bay State Blizzard, we got off to a shaky start. We turned the ball over 5 times within the first 3 and a half minutes of the game, weren’t being aggressive on the offensive end, and allowed their shooters to get open looks from the outside. At the half, we were down 28-17. In the second half, the girls came out to play, but it wasn’t enough to contain their shooters. We did show some resiliency midway through the second half, but then let up again. Lindsey Henry was the leading scorer with 15 points, while Becca Pope shot 5-5 from the free throw line. The final score was 51-43 in favor of the Blizzard.
       At this point in the season, I can witness the skill level and play of the girls progressing. Our chemistry on the court is starting to show and we have vocal players that step up and encourage or take the lead when necessary. I look forward to the remainder of the season and can’t wait to be stuck in the middle of nowhere (Pomfret) with all of them at the end of this month.

       15 Red – Albany Capitals Tournament, May 30-31
       The last weekend in May was at the Albany Capitals’ tournament in New York. The Starters have been going to the tournament for several years and always finds good competition and a well run weekend. This year was no exception! 15 Red started off with the Massachusetts Shamrocks on Saturday morning. It was a great start for the Starters pulling out to a quick 9-0 lead. The game never got any closer because all ten players contributed and shot down the Shamrocks. The lead at the half was 31-19 and 15 Red had only 3 turnovers and had 25 rebounds. The Shamrocks really had no chance to stop the team play of the Starters. Taryn Roy had a great all around game with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and four steals. Both Kerri Stolle and Ali Berman had 8 points and Sarah Raftery chipped in with 6 points and seven rebounds. The final score was 62-38.
       The second game on Saturday was a tough battle against the Rhode Island Breakers. The Breakers were big and tough at both ends of the court. The Starters started strong breaking the press, but struggled when the opponent switched to a half court attack, finding themselves down six at the half, 29-23. The second half was a half of runs by both teams. The last two minutes were very exciting and the Starters were up ten points. The Breakers pressed and firced the Starters into three trunovers in a row cutting the lead to four points. The Starters in bounce and get fouled, but miss both and the Breakers come through horrible defense and score to make it a two point game. Then we turned it over again and fouled instantly. The Breakers take it out of bounds and the Starters have a poor defensive set and foul on the shot with no time on the clock. Thankfully, their girl goes to the line and misses the first one and the Starters win 59-57. As sloppy as the last few minutes were the Starters pulled out the victory. Taryn Roy played very well and had 16 points and Jessica Frawley and Ali Berman both had seven points. Tara Higgins did an excellenet job on the boards pulling down 9 rebounds. Ashley Kinney gets the defensive game ball for this game. She did an outstanding job defending and stopping dribble pentration and came up with three huge steals for the Starters. It was a great win for the Starters!
       After an exciting game on Staurday afternoon, the Starters came back on Sunday to face off against the Future Stars. The Starters came out flat but were still ale to control the game with a 31-12 halftime lead. Sarah Benedetti found her shot and went 4-4 from the free throw lione and 6-9 from the floor totalling 18 points. Loren Pachesa and Tara Higgins both had 6 points and Kerri Stolle added 7 points. The game was controlled by the 15 Red from the first tap and the final score was 51-34.
       The Starters had one game off and then were matched up against the tournament host and reputable Albany Capitals. 15 Red knew it would be a battle, but were up for the challenge. The only problem was the Capitaks were ready, too. The first half was conrolled more by the oppponent, but the Starters fought hard and kept it close with a halftime score of 28-21. The Starters knew what needed to be done to stop the Capitals, but just were not able to do it. We cut the lead down to two but could never really get back in it. Sarah Benedetti led all scoring with 18 points and Ashley Kinney, Megan Roux, and Kerri Stolle chipped in with 6 points. The Starters were not able to execute the way they needed to and that is a credit to the opponent, but the Starters also forced the Capitals into some turnovers and to adjust their game. A great effort by both teams and a tough loss to end a great weekend. The final score was 58-46.
       The 15 Red now has next weekend off before getting back on the game floor the following weekend. The team has done some great things and continues to grow both as a unit and as individuals. Keep up the hard work and we will see you Wednesday at East 7-9 PM.

       Hello Sports Fans- Its Al Bany doing the write ups for 14 Red. 14 Red went 2-1 in the Albany Capitals Summer Slam. Our first game pitted us against the Albany Capitals; it was a very close first half that saw us trail 22-20. Chelsea Foster (Avon HS) scored 11 points as she hit three 3 pointers to keep us in the game. The second half saw us get off to a sluggish start. The Capitals played very well and we lost by the score of 43-26. We only scored 6 points in the second half. Olivia Sutherland (Lyman Hall HS), Claire Lang (Rocky Hill HS) and Cassidy Caravella (Suffield Academy) scored our second half baskets.
       The second game on Saturday saw us play at 8 PM. I think we were the ESPN game. Our opponent would be St Matthews from Canada. It was a close game in the first half and we led 15-9 at the half. After a pep talk the team exploded in the second half. We played tremendous defense and were able to turnover the Canadian team. Kristen Van Gilst (Lewis Mills HS) scored a game high 13 points for us and was 3-4 from the line and Ashley Petrarca (Taft School) hit a 3 pointer off an inbounds play. The final score was 41-18.
       We played early Sunday morning vs the WBA Knicks. We had played this team two weeks ago in CT. All the players (and parents too) were very excited about the early morning start. The offensive juices were flowing as we jumped out to a 30-14 halftime lead. A.J. Levy (Maloney HS) was very aggressive to the basket which resulted in 8 first half free throws. Kayleigh Shaughnessy (Fermi HS) scored 4 points on two nice drives to basket. Gabby Desisto (Hamden HS) was a force on the boards and blocked 3 shots. Brie McClelland (Mercy HS) did a fine job at the point directing the offense. Kristin Van Gilst scored 12 points, while Cassidy Caravella had 9 and Chelsea Foster added 7. The final score was 46-41 as we started to run out of gas towards the end of the game.
       14 Red Notes: Congrats to Ashley Petrarca who celebrated her 15th birthday with her teammates. It was a good chance for the team to bond as it was our first overnight trip of the year. Also, some of the parents bonded as well on Saturday night playing "War" and "Uno" in the lounge (Thank you, I hadn't played those games in a while). Please don't believe any story involving a coach and cereal. It is not true. Our record is now 15-8 and we are off for a couple of weeks. We head to Portsmouth, New Hampshire on the 19th of June for the Seacoast Summer Slam tournament. Parents/Players- only 46 days until the D2 tourney in Virginia. Til next time- cya.

       14 Blue went to Albany this past weekend and competed in the Albany Capitals Summer Slam. This year the tournament was being played under championship rules with the top team advancing out of each pool. We were in Pool A, and our first game was played at the main arena on the campus of University at Albany. First up was the Uncle Sam Lady Hoopsters. Both teams struggled early on but as the half went on the Starters put their foot down on the gas and jumped out to a 24-8 half time lead. The attack was led by the hot shooting of Carrie Polomsky (Wethersfield, 11 pts) and Sara Hubbard (Hartford, 9 pts, 4 steals). In the second half the defense was outstanding, led by Dana Queno (Wethersfield, 3 steals) Brenna Roy (Stafford Springs, 3 steals) and Demis Christodlous (Berlin, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) as we limited them to only 4 points! Megan Schuppe (Avon, 15 pts) led us in scoring in the victory. Final Score Starters 41 Uncle Sam Lady Hoopsters 12.
       Next up was the Saratoga Sparks, the same team that we played in our first game of the season. This proved to be the best game of the bracket as the winner would advance out of the pool and compete for the championship! Saratoga jumped out on us early as we were slow to get off the blocks. The inability of making free throws (12-26 for the game) limited our scoring opportunities in the first half while the Sparks were able to connect from all areas on the floor. The score at the half was Sparks 21 Starters 14. Sara Hubbard connected on the first basket of the second half, however, and that seemed to "spark" the Sparks, no pun intended, as they went on a 9-0 run! Finding ourselves down 14 points with 9 minutes to go we went to our man-to-man full court press hoping to cause some "organized chaos". It ultimately did as our guards (Dana, Sara, Brenna, Paige) caused multiple turnovers and forced bad shots for the opposition, while Rachel "Franztastic" Franzluebbers (East Catholic, 6 pts, 12 rebounds, 8 blocks) cleared up the "garbage" around the basket! Megan Schuppe put us on her back offensively as she scored 18 pts (8-10 FT), none bigger then the 3 pt play she had to cut the score to Sparks 35-Starters 34 with under 2 minutes to go. Unfortunately, we couldn't get over the hump as we were unsuccessful on our chances to take the lead in the closing moments. Final Score Saratoga Sparks 38 CT Starters 34.
       Sunday afternoon came and we played the Bethlehem Orange on the campus of Union College. The girls jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind our 2-2-1 press and the hot shooting of Carrie Polomsky (6 in the run, 13 for the game), however, it took us quite some time to find the score board again. After a time out and an opportunity to refocus, the girls started playing again and finished the half leading 25-8. The second half was much of the same as we breezed to a 46-23 victory, to finish the weekend 2-1. Everyone scored in this contest; Carrie 13, Megan 8, Sara 7, Brenna 6, Rachel 4, Paige 4, Demis 2, and Dana 2.
       Weekend Notes: The girls earned 2 dozen hot dogs as we held two of our opponents under 24 pts, unfortunately we were only able to cash in on one of those games. Also, like to thank the girls who gave me a suprise birthday party at the cheesecake factory, even though it was 7 months early. Now, on a serious note, like to continue to send our best wishes to Alle Caponigro (Plainville) who has been out due to ankle injury since the Storm tourney. See You next week at practice Tues at East 6:30-8:30, Thurs at Sheehan 6:30-8:30

       The CT Starters 12 Red Team traveled to Albany NY to participate in the Albany Capitals Summer Slam. Our girls were scheduled to play two games Saturday May 30th at UAlbany and a single game on Sunday at Union College. There were 8 teams split in two divisions and the winner of each division would meet in a Sunday afternoon game at Union College to play a fourth game. All we had to do was win...and win we did!
       Our first round opponent at 11:50 am was against a team from Bethlehem NY. The Lady Orange of Chuck Vacaarino got a good taste of what AAU basketball at the 12 year old level in Connecticut was all about. Lily Dolyak found her shooting touch early in the game hitting for 8 first half points. Missy Bailey played a strong first half on the defensive side intercepting passes and dishing off many assists. It seemed when Sarah Thompson entered the game, the Starters didn't miss a beat. Her strong work rebounding the ball and tight defense continued the extreme pressure on our opponent. Kelsey Clemens had two buckets and was unstoppable under the boards as she was rewarded with 9 free throws. Lexy Prince and Nikki Nash each had 4 points to go along with Mika Howard and Caroline Teti's single baskets. It was the defensive pressure on the ball however by Caroline Teti, Lily Dolyak, Margaret Frawley and Missy Bailey that pitched a shutout in the first half of this game. Yes, the Starters team scored at will scoring 32 first half points while limiting their opponent to zero first half points. With the "cows safely in the barn", Coach Eco kept the girls fresh by substituting freely in the second half. Lexy Prince led second half scoring with 6 points as she and Lily Dolyak were game high scorers with 10 points to lead the scoring. The Starters attempted 22 free throws and made half of their attempts. Final Score: CT Starters 49, Bethlehem Orange 12.
       The FM Starz from Thomastown,NY were the second round opponent for the Starters. With Missy Bailey seeing limited playing time in the first game due to the unusually lopsided score, she broke out with a scoring vengeance in this game. Before each teams parents and family were comfortably seated for this game, Missy Bailey personally stole the show. Scoring the first 10 points in the game, Missy staked our team to a very comfortable lead of 10-0 with 13 minutes left in the first half. Kelsey Clemens and Nikki Nash each scored 4 points and Margaret Frawley chipped in with 2 points. Again, our girls played pressure defense early in this game to create many turnovers. When the dust cleared, the Red 12 Team were comfortably ahead 24-9 at halftime. Mika Howard's quickness to the ball led to two steals which turned into easy Starter buckets and a 24-9 halftime lead. Lexy Prince started the scoring in the second half with an easy put back to increase our lead to 17 points. Lily Dolyak stole the ball and received a return pass from Sarah Thompson for a jumper inside the 3 point stripe to add to an already insurmountable lead. Then Kelsey Clemens got busy on the offensive end, scoring the next 4 baskets. Missy Bailey finished with 8 second half points to lead all scorers with 22 points. Kelsey Clemens scored 14 points for the game and Nikki Nash had a good overall game with 6 points. The Starters defense allowed only 4 second half points. Final Score: CT Starters 51, FM Starz 13
       The Starters moved to Union College to play their 3rd round game against Whipple City Magic. A victory against their opponent would put them in the Championship Game against the Albany Capitals who played earlier that morning ,finishing up with a 3-0 record in their pool. Our girls absolutely controlled play in the first half, outscoring their opponents 28-6. Leading the scoring was Lexy Prince who was unstoppable inside the paint with 8 points. Kelsey Clemens and Missy Bailey each dropped in 3 buckets apiece in a fast paced first half. Lily Dolyak (4 first half points) and Caroline Teti controlled the middle of the floor with great ball handling and stingy defense. Margaret Frawley and Mika Howard entered the game at the 13 minute mark and quickly made their presence known. Frawley hit a nice jumper from the right side of the key and Howard drained a pull up jumper to close out the first half scoring. Sarah Thompson started out the second half with a free throw after getting fouled attempting a put back of a missed shot. Kelsey Clemens had 4 second half points to increase an already big lead by the Starters. Missy Bailey and Lexy Prince ended up with 8 points in the game, while Kelsey Clemens had her second straight strong game with a game high 10 points. Final Score: CT Starters 39, Whipple City Magic 14.
       Union College Court 2 was the site of the Championship Game that pitted the Connecticut Starters 12 Red team against the host team, Albany Capitals. The Capitals had earned a spot in the Finals by easily handling their pool opponents. They were a scoring machine, averaging a bit over 32 points a game and allowing just 15 points a game. The Starters team easily beat their three opponents by even bigger margins so all things pointed to a good contest between the two teams. The center jump was controlled by the Albany Capitals. Control is not what they would accomplish in the first 8 minutes of play as the swarming Starters kept the Albany team from playing any uptempo game. Our guards easily played their zone defense and kept the Capitals offense on the perimeter. Many shot attempts by Albany were off target and strong rebounding by Sarah Thompson and Kelsey Clemens led to scores by CT. Coach Eco kept the pressure D on for most of the game, substituting when a defensive player seemed weary. Nikki Nash was summoned off the bench to give Lexy Prince a rest and responded with 5 first half points as the Starters inside game was producing many second chance points and rebounds. Caroline Teti took advantage of the sagging Capitals defense to drain a 3 pointer with 4 minutes remaining in the first half and the lead was 14 by the visitors. Margaret Frawley had two foul shots to answer a Capitals basket, while a miss and another Capitals score brought the score to 24-13 Starters. Mika Howard then hit a 3 pointer to increase our lead back to a 27-13 halftime lead as this game seemed to be in Starters control. Even they dressed 12 players, it was the Albany Capitals who seemed to wilt in the afternoon heat in the Union College Gym. The host team only scored 9 second half points to 11 by the Starters. Lily Dolyak's 3 pointer from the top of the key with 6 minutes left gave everyone in the "Blue and Black" points for the game. Nikki Nash led all scorers with 9 points followed by Kelsey Clemens with 8. Sarah Thompson and Missy Bailey each chipped in with 4 points and Lily Dolyak and Caroline Teti each had 3 points, while Lexy Prince and Margaret Frawley had 2 points each. This marked the first time 12 Red had everyone contributing points. The real contributions were from the 4 bench players: Mika Howard, Margaret Frawley, Sarah Clemens and Nikki Nash as they substituted into a contest needing to keep play at a very high level. Our opponent had ability and anything less than great defense would have let the Capitals back into this game. Our bench players were the MVP's of this game. Final score and champions of the Albany Capitals Tournament: CT Starters 38, Albany Capitals 22.

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