Boys’ Basketball

The Valley Regional boys’ basketball team won two of its three games last week by defeating Old Lyme and North Branford and then losing to East Lyme. With the two victories, the Warriors improved their record to 6-5 on the season.

On Jan. 15, the Warriors squared off against Old Lyme at home and grabbed a 58-53 victory in a back-and-forth contest. Valley took a 12-7 lead after the first quarter, but Old Lyme came back to lead 23-19 at the half. The Warriors put 20 points on the board in the third quarter to hold a 39-37 lead entering the final frame. Valley then outscored the Wildcats by three in the fourth to get the five-point victory.

Colin Sparaco led the Warriors with 15 points, and he also had three rebounds with an assist and a steal. Ben Weinstein scored 12 points and had five boards for Valley. Cade Ensinger snared five steals to go along with his seven points and three assists. Ernest Jean-Pierre scored nine points and two had two assists, while Zach Stevens led the team with six assists on the night.

On Jan. 18, Valley hosted North Branford and posted a lopsided victory over the Thunderbirds by the final score of 59-36. The Warriors led 18-14 after one and then put forth a stifling defensive effort in the second by holding the T-Birds to just four points for a 32-18 halftime advantage. From there, the Warriors led comfortably the rest of the way. Mitch Holdmeyer poured in 26 points to with 12 rebounds and two assist in the win. Jean-Pierre scored 10 points, as did Weinstein, who also grabbed 10 boards and had four assists.

Two days later, the Warriors were on the road against East Lyme, where they lost 67-59. East Lyme took a 20-6 lead in the first quarter and was up 34-19 at halftime. In the third, the Vikings extended their lead to as much as 23 points. The Warriors trimmed the deficit to three points in the fourth quarter and had the ball, but missed a three-pointer, and East Lyme went on to get the win. Weinstein led the Warriors with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Holdmeyer had 13 points and five boards, while Kevin Fasulo scored nine points.

Girls’ Basketball

The Warriors lost contests against Old Lyme, North Branford, and East Windsor last week and are now 4-6 on the season.

On Jan. 16, Valley faced Old Lyme on the road and took a 55-25 defeat. The Wildcats were able to hold the Warriors’ offense at bay and took a 29-11 halftime lead that they never relinquished. Junior Heather Jones led Valley with 10 points on the night, while Alena Crosby had eight points.

Three days later, the Warriors were on the road again to battle North Branford and almost pulled off a big comeback, before ultimately losing 50-49. North Branford took a 10-8 lead after the first quarter and expanded that lead to 23-17 by halftime. The Warriors couldn’t get their offense going in the third quarter and trailed 35-21 going into the fourth. Valley rallied to outscore the Thunderbirds 28-15 in the final frame, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Alexis Finnerty led the Warriors with 22 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Crosby scored nine points and had four rebounds, plus Carly Thompson had five rebounds.

The next day, Valley hosted non-conference opponent East Windsor and lost 56-41.

Boys’ Indoor Track

Valley Regional competed at the Shoreline Conference Coaches Invitational that was held at Floyd Little Athletic on Jan. 20.

The Warriors received points from junior Nick Braga, who finished third in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.8 seconds; as well as senior Travis Baldwin, who cleared 12 feet in the pole vault to finish tied for third place. With these performances, the Warriors posted an overall team score of 11.5 points and finished in 16th place at the meet.

Girls’ Indoor Track

The Warriors took part in last week’s Shoreline Conference Coaches Invitational at Floyd Little Athletic Center. Senior Addie Byars posted sixth-place finish in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:38.49 to score three points for Valley Regional.