Feb. 29, before the Pomfret School girls’ basketball game against Westminster, four senior players were honored: Sel Gonzalez, Teagan O’Hara, Molly Vincent, and McKinley and two senior managers were: Eva Steinitz and Colin Kroll. Pomfret won 58-31.
Senior Game jitters got the best of us early as open shot attempts did not fall while Westminster’s did. Layups from Brooke, Tay, and McKinley were followed by a corner three from Teagan. A nicely executed play allowed Tay to find Alba in the corner and she sank a three close to the buzzer. At the end of the first, Pomfret led 16-10. In the second the defense stepped up and held Westminster to zero points during the first 7 minutes of the quarter. Griffins Brooke, Molly, McKinley, Alba, Michaela, and Tay all picked up steals that lead to transition baskets or efficient offensive possessions. McKinley showcased both her outside shot and driving ability during the quarter, while Teagan knocked down two nice mid-range jumpers. At the half, Pomfret led 27-15.
In the third, Molly knocked down a layup and a three, closely followed by three threes for Tay and a driving layup from Brooke. In the fourth the Griffins continued to move the ball well and take good shots. Mckinley had 6 in the quarter, while Tay added another 3.
Feb. 26 the Pomfret School girls’ basketball team went up against St. George’s and came away with a 59-47 loss.
St. George’s boasted the Rhode Island State player of the year at forward. The Griffins, due to illness and injury, were only able to suit up seven players and while all seven worked incredibly hard, the limited numbers (and a few injuries during the game) had its impact.
St. George’s got out to an early five-point lead and was able to hold onto for a large majority of the first half. Pomfret cut their lead to 1 halfway through the third quarter, but their shooting then went a bit cold while St. George’s knocked down some key outside shots. The three-pointer was a big difference as St. George’s hit 6 and Pomfret hit 2.
On her 18th birthday, Tay Guirantes lead Pomfret all over the court. She scored in numerous ways, rebounded the ball effectively, and played point forward throughout. Some of her assists were top notch.
On her 17th birthday, Michaela Nsubuga gave played strong minutes during the third quarter. Her communication was outstanding and she picked up three big defensive rebounds during an important stretch of the game.
On her 16th birthday, Brooke Zahansky played one of her strongest games of the season. She played outstanding help-side defense and crashed the defensive boards very well. Brooke also had a number of assists in both transition and the half-court.
McKinley White was great on the offensive glass and got to the foul line 7 times (it should have been more).
Teagan O’Hara knocked down a great three and went coast to coast on two occasions and was strong defensively. Her ability to disrupt St. George’s point was important.
Alba Samu continues to show an ability to guard multiple positions and make things happen on the offensive end. She got to the rim when she wanted, and although a few close shots rimmed out, she was a spark late in the game with two big steals and layups. Molly Vincent battled hard even though she was struggling with a hip injury throughout.
By Patrick Burke

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caption:

Honored
Woodstock Academy’s (from left to right) Grayson Walley, Logan Talbot and Ethan Davis received their conference awards. Photo courtesy of The Woodstock Academy.



The wins came in bunches for the Woodstock Academy boys’ basketball team this season.
Four in a row near the beginning of the season and four more, including three in a row, at the end.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, the season came to a close Feb. 27 with a 73-43 loss to undefeated Norwich Free Academy in an ECC Div. I tournament quarterfinal game.
“We battled adversity, injury and illness, and I would like to turn back the clock, but it brought us to where we are,” said Woodstock Academy coach Marty Hart. The Centaurs finished up the season with an 8-14 overall record.
Woodstock Academy, the eighth seed in the ECC tournament, downed No. 9 Bacon Academy, a team that had defeated the Centaurs twice already this season, 74-44, Feb. 26.
Senior Aidan Morin said, “That’s a team that we played twice and we know we could have beaten them twice, just as we did (Wednesday). To actually come through with it, play our best game, move the ball. The 1-3-1 (defense) worked perfectly.”
The Centaurs scored the first 19 points in the game.
Junior guard Logan Talbot (26 points) and Andrew Johnson (17) both had two 3-pointers in the early barrage against Bacon Academy.
“You don’t see shutouts like that, especially in the first quarter. I think that’s one of the biggest things we can take away from this game, how fast we came out and how aggressive our defense was,” Morin said.
Bacon Academy (6-15) scored its first basket with 2:12 left in the first quarter and it spurred seven unanswered points.
But the second quarter was a repeat of the first, much to the Bobcats’ dismay.
Woodstock Academy scored the first 13 points including six points from Morin (16 points) and five from Talbot.
The second run gave the Centaurs a 32-7 lead and they hung on to that 20-plus point lead at the half, going into the locker room with a 39-17 advantage.
Prior to the game, Hart said for Woodstock Academy to be successful, it had to shoot well. The Centaurs made 7-of-13 in the first quarter and 7-of-12 in the second.
“They have really been working on their footwork, and either catch-and-shoot or pass-and-cut. When we took the useless dribble out of the offense with a flat basketball, they started to get after it and started taking good shots within their range with confidence,” Hart said.
In the third, Woodstock Academy was outscored, 17-14, and saw their lead slip to 19, 53-34. But a 16-6 run through the first six minutes of the final quarter guaranteed the Centaurs the win.
It was a nice note for Morin and fellow seniors Efstathios Savvidis, Nick Bedard and Grayson Walley to go out on.
It was a little tougher in Norwich. The Wildcats (21-0) jumped on top early thanks to seven first quarter points each by Nolan Molkenthin (26 points) and Jared Martin (16).
NFA enjoyed the 22-7 lead after the first quarter and raised that to 18 points, 43-25, by the half. Talbot again led the Centaurs with 11 points, Morin added nine.
Talbot, who transferred in from Holy Name High School in Worcester, led Woodstock Academy in scoring this season with a 15.8 point per game average.
He also hit three 3-pointers against NFA, giving him 49 for the season.
Talbot was named an ECC Div. II first team All-Star (the Centaurs competed in Div. II in the regular season. The league combines Div. I and II for tournament play).
Morin was named an honorable mention All-Star while Walley was the team’s Scholar-Athlete award winner and sophomore Ethan Davis was given the team’s sportsmanship award.
 “This is good for next year. They saw what they are capable of. There are only four seniors and we didn’t do all the magic that we’ve come across in the last three games,” Morin said. “It’s all the guys stepping up, working hard, and it’s mostly happening in practice.”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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The enthusiasm never waned. Before the Woodstock Academy girls’ hockey team’s last contest, a junior varsity game Feb. 27 against the Pomfret School, coach Jeff Boshka gave the team a choice.
The team had two ice slots available during the week leading up to the final JV game.
Practice on Sunday, practice on Tuesday, practice both days or neither?
“I threw it out to them and everyone said they wanted to do both, even if it meant another late night which Tuesday was and everyone was there. That just shows they like each other and like to play,” Boshka said.
The Centaurs completed their first season as a member of the Central Massachusetts girls’ ice hockey league with a 3-8-3 overall record and a 1-2-3 record in the B Division.
“Overall, I was happy,” Boshka said. “We made some good, positive strides. It was very encouraging with the really good start and then we hit a tough road. There was the hope to pull out a few more wins.”
The Centaurs suffered two close losses early to a pair of Connecticut teams, but then hit their stride with three consecutive victories over Central Mass League opponent, Auburn, 4-3, and two consecutive wins over non-league opponent, Warwick, R.I., 2-1 and 1-0.
They followed up with a pair of ties against conference foes Leominster (2-2) and Oakmont (1-1), the game with Oakmont decided when the visiting Spartans scored in the final 31 seconds.
There is no overtime in the Central Mass League.
The Centaurs lost at St. Peter-Marian (5-0), came home and suffered a 4-2 setback to Smithfield, R.I., and went back on the road and settled for a 2-all tie with Auburn.
In the last four games, the Centaurs would score only one goal.
“The goals went away and it’s a quandary as to why,” Boshka said. “We concentrated our drills on shooting and getting in front of the net, all the things you need to do to score, and there was definitely some frustration. You can only win games when you score.”
Junior Eliza Dutson was the team’s leading scorer with six goals and 10 points overall. Senior Chelsea Willis (5 points) had four goals while sophomore Sydney Haskins (6 points) added four assists.
The Centaurs also had it rougher against the Central Mass League A Division teams. They lost to Longmeadow (8-0) and Shrewsbury (12-0) in addition to St. Peter-Marian.
“The positive attitude really showed in the Longmeadow game. It was away, against a tough team, but we kept a great attitude and framed it as an opportunity. They were playing against a half-dozen players who had already committed to playing in college,” Boshka said. “It gave us something to shoot for. Longmeadow wasn’t executing amazing, complex plays, it was doing the basics and doing them well. I’ve been coaching for a lot of years in a lot of sports (at Woodstock Academy) and I’ve come to the conclusion that if you can do the basics well, you can go far.”
Another positive for the Centaurs was the youth on the team.
There were only three seniors, Marie Gravier, Willis and Linda St. Laurent, in uniform. There were seven middle school athletes. It’s the most Boshka has ever had.
He’s used to having just a couple of eighth-graders.
The next step for the program will be a big one.
Kat Hannah was recently announced as the new head coach with the goal being to field two girls’ ice hockey teams based on the model of the prep basketball program at Woodstock Academy.
The Gold team will play a prep/club schedule while the Blue team will remain the high school team.
It’s unsure whether that will come to fruition as soon as next season.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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