The Morgan girls basketball team had a season full of ups and downs this past season. The team made it to the state championship, shoreline championship, and ended the season with a record of 21 wins and 6 loses.
The state championship was played at Mohegan Sun on Sunday, March 16th. Morgan played against Coventry, a team out of the North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC), but lost, 49-38. Two weeks earlier, Morgan lost to Coginchaug, 45-43, at the shoreline championship at North Branford High School on February 25th.
The season marked a huge step for the program, given that last season, the team’s record was 16 wins and 7 loses.The team only got as far as the second round of states and ended up losing to Kobe Cathedral, 61-51.
Last Year’s Team
The team this season was very different compared to the team last season. Last year, there were five seniors on the team that made a massive impact on the season and were great role models for the underclass man. One player that left an enormous impact on the team was Ava Johnson. Ava Johnson led the team last year with 15.6 points per game and stepped up in big moments.
About halfway through the season, Johnson’s appendix ruptured, which caused her to be out for almost the rest of the season. She wasn’t able to return until about three days before the shoreline championship. While Johnson was out, the team suffered and lost three games in a row.
Team Bonding Taken to a New level
Despite losing five players, this year’s team has used that as an advantage. Last season the team had 21 players. This season the team only had 17 players, including JV and varsity.
Many players on the team said that having less players on the team was a benefit given that all the players were very close with each other, which made winning games a lot easier because of the strong chemistry that the team held. Most of the team’s chemistry was built during practice and team bonding activities, such as going out
to eat or having pasta parties.
Senior Olivia Ruotolo was a big fan of the pasta parties. She stated, “I really enjoyed when we would have pasta parties the night before games. It was a tradition we had all my four years on the team, and it’s a fun way to get prepared for the game and to get to know everyone better. I remember laughing so much at some things we would talk about.”
The three senior captains on the team were Liliana Luciani, Cora Dunham, and Alana Zirlis. Younger players were greatly influenced by the three captains this year. “The captains this year were great,” said sophomore Katrina Harris. “They really helped to make the team better by encouraging us all to work together more and bond. They always got us hype and had great energy in the locker room before games.”
Junior, Sadie Passante agrees with Harris, “The captains had a huge impact on our team, bringing the energy, support, and motivation. They were a huge part in our run to the state championship, and I’m going to miss them so much next year. Luc definitely influenced me the most because she was so supportive and fun to play with. She was always encouraging and lifting up everyone. She always brought the energy and made practice so much fun.”
State Championship Experience
Coach Woods, who participated in her first state championship this year, has also seen a very drastic change in the team this season compared to last season. Woods said, “A difference between our team and last year’s team is our energy level. Last year’s team was so successful and effective, but this year, we have definitely stepped it up with our energy and intensity.” Woods credits the captains for this because they generated all the energy which made practices more intense and helped prepare the team for big games.
After the team’s loss to Coginchaug in the shoreline championship game on February 25th, the team bounced back, and in their minds started a “new season.” The team agreed that winning a state championship is way better than winning the shoreline championship and went into states with that mentality. For the next three games, that was true. Morgan came into the championship with a combined point differential of 28 points over those three games.
Season Coming to an End
Throughout the whole state championship game, it was a very close game. Despite a tough loss in the state championship, the team’s connection was unbroken. At halftime, even though the team was losing 18-23, everyone stayed positive and encouraged each other. The team believed they would come out in the third quarter very strong, which they did.
The score at the end of the third quarter was 30-34. In the fourth quarter, the team did not play as strong as the third quarter, which led to the loss of 38-49. After the game, the bond continued – players were seen emotional and comforting each other. Given that this was the last game for many seniors, emotions were very high. The team did not let this loss define their season, they realized that getting to Mohegan Sun was an accomplishment itself.
Senior captain Alana Zirlis commented on the season, “This season has been my favorite Morgan team to play on. I think the team chemistry was amazing, which helped us get so far into the season.”
