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- Category: Past Issues
Pomfret School
Pomfret 36 Portsmouth 26
Jan. 13: In the words of manager, Kevin Hutchinson, “it wasn’t pretty but we still won!” The first half was perhaps the sloppiest half of basketball played yet this season. Attempts at offense were marred by countless turnovers - 17 in the first half to be exact. Whitney Willingham was the only player who gave a consistent 16 minutes, and she finished with 8 of Pomfret’s 16 first-half points. The other 8 came from Meg Gaudreau. Score at the half was 16-15, Pomfret.
The 12 girls gathered at the end of halftime to regroup, but unfortunately this did not provide the much needed spark. These opening minutes were marked by more turnovers, and Z Hutchins was the only player to hit a basket for the Griffins. Po Abbey responded, and in total dismay, the coaches watched as the score literally sat at 18 a piece well into the second half. Then Po Abbey took the lead.
It turned out that the much needed spark came from a couple of girls off the bench. Kevalin Hutachinda was the first sub of the half, and she brought a hustle and a determination that would prove to be the difference in the second half. Her active, team defense at the top of Pomfret’s 2-3 zone and her willingness to hit the floor for loose balls brought her teammates up. The next subs were Alyson Chase and Joddie Iyalekhue, who continued to bring renewed energy to the team. Chase went on to hit two big 3s in the final minutes as well as go 2-2 from the foul line.
Suddenly Jamie Samociuk came alive, and her play at the top of the 2-3 zone made it virtually impossible for the Po Abbey guards to penetrate on the dribble. And though Jamie would struggle to connect on a field goal, her defensive intensity brought new life to the team’s offense. Jamie finished the half with 5 steals. The final sub of the half was Meg Calderado, and she proved to be the perfect last addition to the group of Jamie, Meg G., Alyson, and Whitney. This five closed out the final 7 minutes of the game, slowly building and holding the lead of 10.
Pomfret 56 Hyde 24
Jan. 14: The girls were slow out of the gates against Hyde this evening, and after taking a small lead seemed content exchanging baskets with the opponent. It wasn’t until the closing minutes of the half that the girls tightened up defensively and found a lot of opportunities to score on the break. Whitney Willingham got things going once again, and ive other players contributed points in the first. Meg Gaudreau scored her 11 points in these opening minutes, while Jamie Samociuk notched 3 assists and Alyson Chase grabbed 3 offensive rebounds. A lot of players stepped onto the court and provided good sparks for Pomfret, notably Anyolina Montilla and L’or Iman Puymartin. L’or took a nice drive to the basket and finished the shot even though she was bumped hard off the ball, scoring her first varsity points of her Pomfret career and going to the line for the ‘and 1’ opportunity. Angie played aggressive defense on Hyde’s quick point guard, picking her pocket twice and taking it up for the easy basket.The second half saw all 12 players contribute to the team effort, and Pomfret pulled away for the 56-24 victory. Meg Calderado had a nice rhythm in the opening minutes, sinking two deep field goals, and by the end of the 16 minutes eight players scored. Joddie Iyalekhue pulled down a team high 8 rebounds, Caroline Kozlowski kissed the glass for a nice outside jumper (cementing her position as player with the highest shooting percentage), and Liv Dalton-Hoffman showed composure at the point position.
Pomfret 50 St. Mark 28
Jan. 15: The third in a three game stretch, a somewhat fatigued girls’ varsity team took on and defeated Class B opponent, St. Mark’s, in a score of 50-28. Though the score may indicate an easy victory, that was not the case as Pomfret slowly built momentum over the course of the 32 minutes and the St. Mark’s players never game up, fighting until the final buzzer. Pomfret continues to struggle to finish shots, but the teams saving grace today was their foul shooting. The team stepped to the line a season-high 24 times, and hit on 20 of those opportunities. Anyolina Montilla led the way with 16 foul shots taken, 15 scored.The spark from beginning to end was Montilla, who showed her team that you don’t have to be a good shooter to score. It seemed that every time a shot went up Angie was there on the weak-side boards to grab the rebound, and she was most definitely rewarded for her efforts. 16 rebounds, 23 points.
Joddie Iyalekhue was also a good reminder that sometimes simpler is better. After posting up on the low block Joddie received a pass; she kept the ball, turned and squared up to the hoop and shot the ball of the glass. Joddie finished 2-2 on the day.
Varsity Hockey
Pomfret 1 Lawrence 3
Jan. 14: Senior Cassie Catlow scored her second goal in as many days, but the Griffins were unable to hold their early lead. Jaimie Leonoff turned aside 30 shots. Pomfret was rewarded for their efforts only four minutes into the contest. Valerie DiLella made a smart play and got the puck deep to a speedy Izzy Regine, who centered a pass perfectly to the stick of Cassie Catlow, who one timed it into the back of the Lawrence net.
The girls were upbeat heading into the second, but had seen the potential in the skilled Lawrence squad. There were a lot of back and forth rushes between the two teams, but it took 10 minutes for the Spartans to lock the contest at one.
Pomfret took a hooking penalty just two minutes later. Great penalty killing by Jordan Lipson, Moira MacArthur, Candace Lu and Brooke Bytalan and Cassie Catlow kept the Spartans from going up by one. A minute after the penalty expired however, Lawrence scored the eventual game winner off a screened shot. Alex Gerew, Victoria Geary, Alison Horst and Nataly Maloney continue to play hard and Gabby Criscuolo was making good break out passes and pinching well. Andi Nicholson was like a wrecking ball, forcing turnovers all over the ice and sending Ashley Anctil on some nice offensive rushes. With 5 minutes left in the third, Lawrence got the puck towards the goal and an ensuing scrum lead to final goal of the game.