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The girls’ basketball season for the Woodstock Academy Centaurs came to a close last week.
But the Centaurs did leave a little something behind; momentum going into next winter.
“I’m really proud of these kids to start 1-9, but keep their nose to the grindstone and finish 6-4 on the back half. The opponents didn’t change much. It was just as competitive, still tough teams, had a couple of close games that we won. I think it’s a true testament to them that they stayed focused,” said Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton.
The Centaurs did so with only four seniors on the roster.
Katie Papp, Kayla Gaudreau, Rachel Lambert and Hallie Saracina have donned a Woodstock Academy basketball uniform for a final time.
“They will certainly be missed. They brought some of the grit that has been created in the program. That will, obviously, be missed and I hope they were able to transfer that same passion to the underclassmen,” Fleeton said. “They’ve been in the program all four years and I watched them grow up in life and in basketball.”
Papp finished tops on the team with eight points and seven rebounds a game despite being undersized.
Gaudreau averaged 7.6 points per game and led the team with 29 3-pointers while Saracina was the assists leader with almost two per game. Lambert chipped in just about everywhere.
Aurissa Boardman, sidelined for over half the season with a broken finger, will return as the leading scorer for the Centaurs next season.
The sophomore finished with 7.2 points a contest and, despite playing only half a year, was third on the team from beyond the arc with 11 3-pointers.
Junior Alexa Pechie will have the honors as the top returning long-distance threat as she had 16 on the season and averaged a solid six points a game.
Other players the Centaurs expect to have back include soon-to-be-seniors Peyton Saracina and Kaitlin Birlin and Victoria Garcia who will be a junior next season.
One thing he would like to see is his players get on the court in the offseason between now and next winter.
Most of his players have other athletic pursuits.
“I think it’s necessary considering the opponents we face because their players all play (in the offseason). I think the more we touch the basketball the better although we seem to be well-rounded with other sports and activities. That’s good. It’s a problem per se for a basketball coach, but it’s not a problem in life. They should experience everything they can right now. One day, they won’t be able to. They just have to find time to wiggle time in for things that they want and it’s necessary (for his players to play offseason basketball) if we’re going to compete in the (ECC),” Fleeton said.
The Centaurs got a taste of it again in their final game of the season, qualifying for the Class LL state tournament as the 29th seed.
Unfortunately, for the third time this season, they were matched up with Norwich Free Academy, the No. 4 team in the division. The result was similar to the two previous meetings, a 65-37 win for the Wildcats.
The game was close early but a 16-0 run by NFA, thanks in part to nine steals, contributed greatly to the Centaurs downfall. Woodstock Academy trailed, 37-16, at the half.
“I think that game symbolized the whole season. We played neck-and-neck with them for a quarter and a half. They made a run going into the half and then we battled the rest of the way with them. We may have fallen behind, but we were still battling and that’s a credit to my players and their effort and desire to play. That’s what made it a successful season in my mind,” Fleeton said.
Gaudreau led the Centaurs with 10 points in the loss while Papp added seven.
Woodstock Academy finished the season with a 7-15 overall record.
The ECC did decide recently to shift the Centaurs to Division II next season.
Bacon Academy will move up to Division I while Stonington will move from Division II back to Division III and Killingly will move up.
It means the Centaurs will play Fitch, Ledyard, Killingly and Waterford twice each.
It will only have to play NFA, New London, East Lyme and Bacon Academy once.
“I have to say, I think it’s better but every game out, we will play someone tough regardless. I think where it will help is that we will have a fuller schedule from the league because there are more teams in the division. I think that’s a bonus. We’re not going to have to go shake the bushes to fill the schedule out. That’s the biggest benefit but I don’t think much changes on the basketball court. We still face the better teams in the league,” Fleeton said.
The Centaurs have also been invited back to play in the Cranston (R.I.) tournament during the Christmas break next season.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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