The Guilford girls’ basketball squad has a mix of seniors and underclass athletes running the floor this year. Although the Indians endured some ups and downs during the first half the campaign, they’re hoping to use what they’ve learned to go on a second-half run that will propel them into the postseason, while paving the way for a bright future.

Last year, Head Coach Bob Welsh and the Indians finished 14-6 on the regular season to earn a home game in the SCC Tournament. After defeating Amity, the Indians upset 3rd-seeded Career 58-40 to make their first conference semifinal in 10 years. Guilford lost to eventual SCC champion Mercy, but then earned home victories against Platt and Farmington in the first two rounds of the Class L State Tournament. Welsh’s club finished the year with an overall record of 18-8 after dropping a contest to top-seeded Holy Cross in the quarterfinals.

This season, the Indians stormed out of the gate to the tune of a 4-0 start, before losing four in a row against Amity, Hand, Mercy, and Rocky Hill. However, Guilford snapped that skid with a divisional win against Branford and, last week, the Indians defeated SCC Hammonasset Division opponent Sacred Heart Academy 62-46 on Jan. 16 to move its division record to 2-2. The Indians then improved to 7-4 and drew within a win of making the postseason by posting a dominant 66-24 victory over Shelton on Jan. 19.

With six seniors and 14 freshmen on his roster, Coach Welsh is seeing plenty of positives in both the present and the road ahead--even in the Indians’ defeats.

“We have a lot of promise. Having 14 freshmen is a really good thing for us going forward, and it gives us a good nucleus to build around. I knew we would have a young group this year, but that we also had a nice mix of seniors,” Coach Welsh said. “We would love to host games in the SCC and State tournaments, and we’d need probably around 13 wins for that. We beat a good Coginchaug team to go to 4-0. We showed a lot of character there. We had a tough stretch with a tough Amity team and then Hand early at 11 a.m. after a snowstorm. We turned right around with Mercy, and we battled and played physical with them. Free throws were the difference with Rocky Hill. We shot lights out versus Branford.”

Senior Julia Hyman is the lone captain for Guilford and has emerged as the primary point guard who’s running the Indians’ offense. Rounding out Guilford’s senior class are guard Hannah McDermott; forwards Amanda King, Emma Rand, Jordan Hedge; and center Molly Linell.

“Julia is a great kid with good leadership skills. She does a strong job defensively and has quick hands. We’ve had point-guard-by-committee, but she’s running the show offensively now and taken reins as the point guard. She is a great communicator and shows nice leadership on and off the court,” Welsh said. “On the inside, we have Amanda and Molly, along with a junior in Janie Danaher. Hannah McDermott also started the first four or five games this season.”

Guard Sam Leiby, who saw some postseason minutes last year, is out to a superb start in her sophomore season. Fellow sophomore Elle Petra, a forward, does double duty by playing for a pair of teams in the program.

“Sam is a good guard and an AAU player. She jumped in for about seven to 10 minutes in the state quarterfinals against Holy Cross last year and played pretty well,” Coach Welsh said. “Elle plays JV and varsity and can run the floor.”

In last week’s win against Sacred Heart Academy, Guilford jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead and then opened the third quarter on an 8-1 run to go up 48-26. The visiting Sharks mounted a rally by going on a 17-3 run that cut the lead to 51-43, but the Indians managed to right the ship, and finished strong to secure a 62-46 victory. The senior trio of King, Linell, and Hyman paced the Indians with 11, 11, and 10 points, respectively.

For the Shelton victory, the Indians knocked down seven 3-point field goals in the first half en route to a 44-13 halftime lead. Hedge, making her first start, nailed a trio of threes early to jump start the offense. King led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points, Hedge had 11 points, Linell also scored 11, and McDermott came off the bench to score 11 points, with nine of them coming in Guilford’s 26-point second quarter. Guilford’s zone defense was active, energetic, and stifled the visiting Gaels. King and Hyman combined for 11 steals, while Linell had an outstanding game with four blocks, four steals, and eight rebounds.

The past week was the first leg of a crucial stretch for Guilford as it tries to lock down the best seeds possible in the playoffs. Coach Welsh knows the Indians can’t look too far ahead without taking care of the tasks in front of them, while competing in the deep SCC.

“We have to win the games we are supposed to win. We face Lyman Hall [on the road on Monday, Jan. 22], and we need that one. Foran [on the road on Friday, Jan. 26] has played teams tough this year. Those five games in these two weeks will dictate where we sit in the final weeks,” said Welsh. “If we take care of business, we will put ourselves in a position to lock up a tourney bid. We just have to take it one game at a time.”

From the Sidelines

Bob Welsh is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Guilford girls’ basketball team.

The assistant coaches for the Indians this year are JV coach Alphonse Balzano and new freshman coach Nicole Acerra-Belcher.

Guilford plays in the SCC Hammonasset Division with Mercy, Amity, Sacred Heart Academy, and Branford.