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PSA names
new girls'
coach
PUTNAM— Seventy five applications came in to Putnam Science Academy for the newly opened girls’ prep basketball team and June 24, Amanda Morales was named coach.
Morales comes from a family that knows a thing or two about hoops as her father, Rafael won 10 state championships as a longtime AAU Coach and also referees on Board 6 with his wife Carmen.
Morales played high school ball at Manchester High School under coach John Reiser where she was a part of the 2005 State Championship team that went 28-0. In her time at Manchester High School, Amanda set two prestigious records with the most three-point field goals made in a single season along with the most three-point field goals made in a game with 10. She is also top 5 in the record books for most points in a single game with 36 against Buckley High School.
Following high school, she earned a bachelor’s in mathematics from Langston University in Oklahoma. She played her final season of college hoops for Langston University in which her team finished with a record of 30-4. The team was the conference regular season champs. Her team went on to compete at the NAIA National Championship and made it to the Sweet 16.
In 2016, Coach Morales moved back to her home state of Connecticut where she continued to coach and teach for three years at Watkinson School in Hartford. In her first year as a head coach for the girls’ basketball team at Watkinson, her team finished with an overall record of 19-4 and qualified for the Class C NEPSAC Tournament for the first time in school history. They continued to qualify for the tournament the following two seasons, most notably making it to the Class C Semi Finals in 2019 and finishing with an overall record of 18-6.
Athletic Director at Putnam Science Academy Tom Espinosa said: “We ultimately decided on Amanda as a committee and what stood out was her knowledge of NEPSAC Basketball in New England. Her passion for the game and her love for the sport was a big factor along with her ability to recruit kids made this an easy decision for us.”
She replaces former Head Coach Derek Marchione ho accepted a Head Coaching position at SUNY Sullivan University.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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