By JOE PALLADINO
BRISTOL — Well, that should answer a question or two.
Now that we are half-way through the NVL girls basketball season St. Paul Catholic has emerged as the clear title favorite. For the season’s second half we have a new question: Can anyone catch these guys?
The Falcons played what can only be described as a perfect half of basketball — well, almost perfect — en route to a decisive 63-34 victory over Watertown on Friday night in the Rev. Monnerat Gymnasium.
May I be allowed to say it wasn’t even that close? It wasn’t. Not even.
The lead was 28 points at the half, and St. Paul (9-2, 9-0 NVL) simply nursed it home from there.
What was most impressive is too numerous to mention. Jade Udoh scored a game high 23, with eight rebounds, and they were an impressive 23, scored in every way you can think, with the left hand down the lane, little pull-up jumpers, put backs, and spinning, whirling drop steps.
Janessa Gonzalez was next with 22 points and five steals, and then everyone else did everything else. Olivia Heslin grabbed six boards to go with five points, and Emma Gretella scored six, but had three assists and five steals.
It was a mauling.
“That’s St. Paul basketball right there,” said Udoh. The Falcons lost twice, out of league, in a Christmas tournament to Fairfield Warde and Ludlowe and “that helped us realize that we have to play as a team and we have to get things going,” Udoh added. “Every single win that we’ve had since then, we have picked things up more and more.”
As Gonzalez noted, “We played great straight from the tip,” and Cretella added that “everyone was in sync and it was just perfect. We were all just in the zone.”
Dare we say it, but there were even a few mentions of the M word. You know the M word, the M for Mohegan. But that’s for another time. Back to the key question here: What will it take to beat a team that looks very tough right now?
Watertown (8-2, 7-2 NVL) was led by Jordyn Forte with 13 points — the only player in double figures — and she added 10 rebounds and four steals. The Indians were one team that had a shot at St. Paul.
So Jordyn, what’s to be done?
“We all have to keep our heads up,” said the Watertown senior. “We can’t go into the (game with St. Paul on Feb. 5) thinking that we lost by 30. We have to go in like it is any other game and keep on working hard.”
The Falcons have now knocked off most of the NVL contenders. They have wins over Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Naugatuck, now Watertown, and meet red-hot Ansonia next week, and later, Seymour.
We’re half-way home. The Falcons are the team to chase.
ST. PAUL CATHOLIC 63, WATERTOWN 34
Watertown (8-2): Jordyn Forte 4 5 13, Chloe DeFeo 1 2 4, Marissa Forino 0 2 2, Allie Mazzarella 1 0 2, Alyssa Santangeli 1 0 2, Emily Deptula 2 0 4, Nicole DeFeo 0 2 2, Cayla D’Elia 2 0 4, Ashley Janusonis 0 0 0, Kristina Kyle 0 1 1. Totals: 11 12 34.
St. Paul (9-2): Janessa Gonzalez 8 3 22, Jade Udoh 11 1 23, Olivia Heslin 2 1 5, Catherine Ciampi 0 0 0, Ashley Suzio 0 0 0, Sophia Gerst 1 2 4, Emma Cretella 2 1 6, Olivia Stump 0 0 0, Kailyn Bielecki 0 0 0, Maddie Farrell 0 0 0, Morgan Kolb 0 1 1, Hannah Stanford 0 0 0, Lily Sirois 1 0 2, Zoey Rubins 0 0 0, Cameron Boston 0 0 0. Totals: 23 9 64.
Watertown 12 5 8 9 — 34
St. Paul 24 21 12 60 — 63
3-point field goals: W — none. StP — Cretella 1, Gonzalez 3.