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- Category: Past Issues
Centaurs’ girls continue to battle through tough early season
It’s true the record is not what the Woodstock Academy girls’ basketball team was hoping for nine games into the season. But, behind the scenes, things are not as bleak as the 1-8 record thus far may indicate.
“I think we’re growing. I think we’re starting to come together as a unit. We’re taking small steps forward,” said Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton.
The Centaurs knew it would be a work in progress, having lost the majority of their ball handling and scoring from the year before.
The road has not been kind either and even when they are home, the Centaurs have had bad luck.
Early last week, Woodstock Academy finally got a chance to play a home game.
The Alumni fieldhouse gym had a leaking ceiling and was sending down a drop every minute or so --- right over one of the foul lanes.
The game was moved to the other side of the gym. The dynamics had changed and Woodstock lost to Stonington, 51-33.
The Centaurs made just 10 of 57 shots from the floor (17 percent) and were 8-for-19 from the line in the loss to Stonington.
Woodstock Academy fell behind 9-4 in the first quarter and the Bears (4-1) extended that to 10 early in the second.
But Alexa Pechie found the range with a pair of 3-pointers within 34 seconds of one another to cut that deficit to just four with 3:43 left in the first half. Pechie led the Centaurs with 13 points.
Stonington responded with eight of the last 10 points to take a 22-12 halftime lead.
Kayla Gaudreau opened the second half with a 3-pointer for the Centaurs just 30 seconds in.
But her basket was to be Woodstock Academy's only bucket for nearly the next seven minutes. The Centaurs missed their next nine shots and turned the ball over five times.
The drought allowed Stonington to take a 38-20 lead by the end of the third quarter and the Centaurs never got closer than 15 points the remainder of the way.
Peyton Saracina added 10 points for the Centaurs.
There weren’t many good numbers Jan. 10. The New London Whalers, one of the top teams in the state, handed the Centaurs a 65-30 loss. The loss dropped the Centaurs to 0-3 in Div. I of the ECC. Katie Papp led the Centaurs with nine points, Victoria Garcia added six.
Less than 24 hours later, the Centaurs lost to Montville, 53-36.
“I think we lost some legs (against New London) because we played tremendously hard against New London. That’s all I can ask for,” Fleeton said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy