Take a look at the top of the NVL girls basketball standings, and the usual suspects are there.
By KEVIN ROBERTS
St. Paul (10-0 NVL), Holy Cross (8-1), Sacred Heart (8-2) and Naugatuck (7-2) occupy the top four spots. The team tied with Naugatuck for fourth place, Seymour (7-2), may just be the hottest team in the league.
The Wildcats, 8-3 overall, have won eight straight games since they lost three straight games to Holy Cross, Sacred Heart and Immaculate. Seymour has allowed just one opponent, Ansonia (6-3 NVL), to eclipse the 50-point mark during the win streak. The Wildcats won that game at Ansonia, 69-59, on Jan. 13.
On offense, Seymour features a balanced attack where four players average in double figures in scoring, led by junior Kiley Drezek at 15.4 points per game. Junior Morgan Teodosio (13.7), senior Arlinda Peraj (10.5) and senior Kolby Sirowich (10.5) also average over 10 points per game, and Sirowich is capable of a double-double every time she walks on the court.
St. Paul has also won eight straight games, with all of them coming against league foes. The Falcons did struggle down the stretch against Ansonia at home last Friday, but they were able to squeak out a 43-42 win. On Monday, St. Paul authored a more impressive 53-50 home win over archrival Holy Cross. The Falcons are led by their senior All-State caliber players Janessa Gonzalez (17.9 points per game) and Jade Udoh (11.2), though both didn’t play well against Ansonia.
“(Janessa) and Jade played kind of a stinker the other night,” St. Paul coach Joe Mone said following the Holy Cross win. “Tonight, they stepped back up. That’s a sign of great players to come back and just do what they’re supposed to do.”
The Falcons will be even tougher to beat if they continue to get scoring help for their dynamic duo from seniors Olivia Heslin, Olivia Stump and Kailyn Bielecki. That trio combined for 26 points, the same amount as Gonzalez and Udoh, in the Holy Cross win. St. Paul didn’t have a ton of scoring outside of Gonzalez and Udoh last season. Heslin was also a returning starter from last season, along with Gonzalez and Udoh.
“This year, those two seniors, Olivia Stump and Kailyn Bielecki, are starting to hit those shots, and they’re huge shots at the right time,” Mone said. “I think it’s making us a lot better, and that’s one thing that I notice on film is we have more kids that can score this year.”
The loss to St. Paul marked the end of a seven-game win streak for Holy Cross. Coach Frank Lombardo pointed out that his team is very young. The only senior on the Crusader roster is Jenna Mowad. Holy Cross started Mowad, freshman Mya Zaccagnini, sophomore Cayla Howard, sophomore Maeve Perrone, and junior Alyssa Hebb against St. Paul. Lombardo was impressed with the defensive effort from his team, which included holding Gonzalez and Udoh to 13 points apiece. Mental focus and execution eluded Holy Cross in the fourth quarter, however, and helped lead to the loss.
“We’ll work on mental focus and being able to execute in the fourth quarter,” Lombardo said following the loss to the Falcons.
Howard leads Holy Cross at 17.1 points per game, followed by Hebb at 13.5 The pleasant surprise has been Zaccagnini (12.3), who has looked nothing like a freshman in many of the games she has played in. In the fourth quarter against St. Paul, Zaccagnini confidently pushed the ball in transition and pulled up for the game-tying 3-pointer at the top of the key. Her previous attempt had gone in and out, but she showed no fear in taking the next shot.
Sacred Heart will play a game for the first time in a week when it takes on Kennedy tonight at 6. The Hearts were scheduled to face top-ranked Notre Dame-Fairfield last Saturday, but that game was postponed due to snow. That may have been a blessing in disguise for Sacred Heart, which has been nursing injuries to several key players. Senior Aamya Rivera (17.1 points) and junior Mikayla Mobley (13.4) are the top scorers for the Hearts.
Naugatuck has won two straight games since its loss to St. Paul on Jan. 13, but the road gets tougher. The Greyhounds are at Ansonia tonight at 6, followed by a home game against Seymour on Friday at 7. Naugatuck is then off for nearly a week before returning to the court to host Holy Cross on Jan. 30. Sophomore Sara Macary leads the Greyhounds at 14.5 points per game. She is followed by sophomore Kaylee Jackson (8.7), senior Hailey Russell (8.1) and senior Brielle Behuniak (7.4). Sophomore Emily Ronalter (9.6) and senior Paige Carroll (7.4) also help with the scoring load.
Woodland saw its three-game win streak snapped by Seymour, 63-46, last Wednesday. The Hawks snuck past Kennedy, 39-37, last Friday to get back in the win column. Woodland returns to the court this evening against Derby at 5:30 at home. The Hawks host Torrington on Friday at 7 p.m. Sophomore Kylie Bulinski leads the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game.
Ansonia has lost three out of four games since starting 6-1, though it came really close to upsetting St. Paul in Bristol last Friday. Senior Natasha Rivera (16.9 points) and sophomore Jojo Sanchez (14.1) are the leading scorers for the Chargers. Ansonia has a big game tonight against Naugatuck, then hosts Kennedy on Friday at 6.
If the NVL tournament began today: St. Paul, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Naugatuck, Seymour, Woodland and Ansonia would be the top seven seeds. They are also the only teams that are over .500 in league play.
State tournament: St. Paul, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Naugatuck, Seymour and Woodland have already punched tickets to the state tournament. Ansonia needs one more win while Torrington (5-6 overall) and WCA (5-7 overall) need three more victories. Wolcott (4-6), Derby (4-6) and Kennedy (4-7) each need four more wins.