North Haven girls’ basketball tipped off a new era when it began its campaign at West Haven last week and the Indians sent home first-year Head Coach Ray Degnan in triumphant fashion by dispatching the Blue Devils 60-44.

Degnan joined the program as JV coach last winter and now takes the varsity reins in place of Chris Barry, whose three-season stint was highlighted by a state tournament berth two years ago. Degnan has designs on North Haven contending for Oronoque title in what he calls a “wide-open division” and also wants his squad to make states with room to spare by being in the “12-to-13 win category.” Although his team still has many games to play, Coach Degnan was pleased to see the Indians open the campaign a good note with their opening-night triumph at West Haven on Dec. 10. North Haven then gave Hillhouse quite a battle in taking a 53-50 defeat at home two nights later.

“A lot of what we’ve discussed is the importance of getting out strong. I thought we started games flat last year and struggled to claw our way back and so we want to do the opposite this year,” said Degnan, who’s also been the pitching coach for North Haven baseball the past eight seasons. “We wanted to set the tone early and have our pace be something that West Haven had to chase. Going into the locker room up 12 and stretching it to 20 during the fourth quarter just kind of verified what we already knew, which is that we have a better team this year, and maybe more importantly, a deeper team this year.”

Degnan admitted that North Haven had a little trouble settling down with its decision making early versus the Blue Devils, yet the Indians still held a 13-10 lead after the first quarter. The coach said his club executed its game-plan more effectively in the second by creating turnovers and getting easier shots in transition, which resulted in a 30-18 advantage at halftime.

West Haven fought back by cutting the deficit to five in the third quarter, although Degnan said his Indians’ senior leadership “brought a calming influence” to the floor and helped work the lead back up to 10 at 39-29 entering the fourth.

North Haven then blew open the game in that final quarter by using a few drives to the hoop from point guard Jill Johnson, some buckets down low by center Nina Poloukhine, and clutch three-pointers from shooting guard Haley Arnaoutis and power forward Toni Velez to earn the 60-44 victory.

Johnson led the way with 28 points, Arnaoutis scored 10, Polouhkine netted nine points with 18 rebounds, and Velez’s trey midway through the fourth essentially iced the victory. Those four athletes are North Haven’s seniors and Johnson, Arnaoutis, and Polouhkine are the captains. Johnson comes off a junior campaign that saw her win the Indians’ Most Valuable Player Award and make All-SCC Oronoque for second year in a row. Degnan discussed what you can expect to see from Johnson and her three senior teammates this winter.

“Jill scores quite a bit with her tremendous offense, but what gets overlooked is her intensity and aggressiveness as she doesn’t take plays off. This year, we’ve asked Jill to do more as we need her to score, distribute the ball, play good defense, and lead, and she did all of that,” Degnan said. “Haley is a sound basketball player with great knowledge of the game and fundamentals. We’re asking her to be more of a 1-a scoring option who pulls the trigger when she’s open and I have nothing but confidence in her hitting her shots. Nina’s personality brings everyone together and she undertakes a large role by commanding the ball down low and grabbing every rebound there is to be grabbed. Toni is getting more playing time than in previous years, but rather than be overwhelmed, she’s risen to the occasion by working hard and showing versatility.”

The Indians’ junior class features starting small forward Julia Puzone, who Degnan credits for her ability to guard the opposition’s top scoring threat while also starting to find both her jump shot and inside game on offense. Degnan also complimented the energy off the bench from guard/forward Christina DeFalco, someone else who will lock down on the opposing team’s best offensive player. DeFalco was North Haven’s Most Improved Player last season. Forward Jill Oestriecher and guard Marissa Thomas are also juniors for the Indians and each received some playing time against West Haven.

North Haven’s sophomore class is led by Arianna Delvecchio, another guard/forward who Degnan said brings energy and grit to the defensive end of the floor.

After besting West Haven, Degnan and company took a 53-50 loss to Hillhouse in the Indians’ home opener. Polouhkine’s strong post play helped North Haven trail by just four through one quarter. The senior center then joined forces with Johnson in a solid second quarter to slice the deficit to two at halftime. Big shots from Velez, Arnauotis, and DeFalco then spurred North Haven to a three-point advantage entering the final frame and that lead grew to as much as six before the Academics used a late surge to come away with the slim victory.

“Despite losing to Hillhouse by more than 40 points last year, the team continues to be focused with renewed sense of confidence—determined to prove they are contenders in the division and conference,” said Degnan.