Girls Pomfret pg 9 3-17-11
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- Category: Past Issues
POMFRET — The Pomfret School girls’ varsity squash team placed third in the New England Class C Tournament March 2.
Coach Greg Rossolimo said, “The Pomfret Girls Squash Team hosted the New England Class C tournament March 2 and the girls had prepared hard for this tournament and all peaked to play their best squash of the season when it counted most. Overall, Pomfret finished third out of the 10 teams. Each girl played three or four matches in the day-long tournament. In all, the Pomfret girls won 16 of their 22 matches in their best team performance of the season. Each player played within a bracket for their ladder position. Of particular note, Maddy Holloway ’11 won the number-seven bracket, going 3-0 on the day.”
The team includes, in order of bracket, Alyssa Brewer ’11, Lexi Gulino ’13, Amanda Pirog ’11, Lindsay Barber ’13, Patricia Francis-Hall ’13, and Julia Oswald ’12. Team points were earned based on each player’s placement in their bracket.
Varsity Basketball
Pomfret 48 Governors 51
March 2: In the NEPSAC B Quarterfinals, it was probably the best game you could hope for with a #6 and #3 match-up, and it was by far the closest quarter-final game in the Class B bracket. Pomfret came out strong and well-prepared to combat Governor’s 2-player attack, and the team jumped out to the early lead. Whitney Willingham led this early charge by bringing a defensive intensity we have not seen this year. She was charged with guarding Governor’s 6’2" sophomore All-Star and leading scorer and rebounder, and Whitney certainly rose to the occasion. In these early minutes Whitney notched two steals, hit a baseline jumper and went to the foul line 2 times, sinking 3 of 4. Governor’s was not about to let the opponent take control and they fought back by pounding the ball inside to their All-Star forward. Despite great efforts on the part of Whitney and Anyolina Montilla, she could not be fully contained and she kept Governor’s in the game by creating some nice scoring opportunities for herself inside. In the final stretch of the half, Pomfret struggled to score from the outside. Offenses were being well-executed, but the legs just didn’t seem to be there. As Governor’s was slowly mounting its comeback, Z Hutchins stepped up and hit a huge 3-pointer, the only one of the half. Alyson Chase was a nice spark from the bench, immediately creating a scoring opportunity within seconds of stepping on the court. And in what felt like a substantial cold spell, Meg Calderado stepped up once again by hitting a jumper off of the drive in one of the set offenses. Despite the team’s strong efforts, Governor’s went on a small run in the closing minutes to put them up 24-18 at the half.
The opening minutes of the second half were crucial. A talented team like Governor’s had the ability to take the 6-point lead and slowly build until the game was out of reach, and Pomfret knew they had to strike early. These opening minutes were some of the best of the season. In what can only be described as a true team effort, Pomfret went on a 8-0 run to take the 2-point lead with three minutes off the clock. Jamie Samociuk, Anyolina and Whitney each scored during this stretch, and perhaps most impressively, they worked to hold Governor’s scoreless. In this next stretch Meg Gaudreau found her opportunity to connect from behind the arc. After an unsuccessful first half in this regard, Meg hit a much-needed 3, and in the next few minutes, two more would follow. Pomfret had built a 5-point lead, the largest of the evening, and continued to battle Governor’s on the defensive end. The team was able to hold this small buffer throughout the remainder of the half. Opportunities to increase the lead presented themselves (Z, Alyson, Angie and Whitney each grabbed a steal during this time), but a few missed scoring opportunities and a call or no call here and there held the team back, allowing the opponent to stay within reach.
Governor’s would continue to close the gap to 2, and Pomfret would continue to push back to 4. Certain moments made it feel like Pomfret was refusing to let go of the lead. Z had one of her nicest moves of the season — she drove baseline around her defender and scooped a strong, left-handed layup. On another occasion, Pomfret missed the fast break basket but Meg Gauderau scooped up the offensive rebound, dished back inside to Alyson who found herself back on the line shooting two (Alyson would finish 5-6 from the line). The lead was back to 6 with only a few minutes remaining. Unfortunately these final minutes did not go exactly as scripted. Governor’s was able to capitalize on an offensive possession, then after holding Pomfret scoreless on the other end, hit another on their next trip down the court. Suddenly it was a tied game with 2 minutes left to play. A missed scoring opportunity gave Governor’s the chance to take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the half. Governor’s found their All-Star forward in the paint, and a nice hook shot found its way into the basket. In this closing minute, Pomfret found itself with two good opportunities, but unfortunately the ball just did not want to fall. Clutch foul shooting for Governor’s down the stretch kept Pomfret at bay, and the final opportunity for Pomfret came with 3.7 seconds left and one last diagrammed play and a shot for Gaudreau. Governor’s was well-prepared and Pomfret never really got a look at the rim.