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01/20/2019 11:00 PMThe Valley Regional girls’ basketball team saw one of its best players in program history achieve a big-time milestone last week, when senior captain Lexie Finnerty scored the 1,000th point of her high school career during the Warriors’ 44-36 home win versus Old Saybrook on Jan. 18. Valley also posted a victory versus Portland and has now won its last three games to even its record at 6-6.
Finnerty netted her 1,000th point on a breakaway layup in the fourth quarter to give her 22 points on the night at that time. After Finnerty hit a grand, the game was stopped for a brief celebration. The Warriors were the home team, and their faithful fans erupted with elation when the announcement came over the public address in Valley’s gym.
Finnerty knew it would be a challenge to get the 22 points that she needed to reach 1,000 in the Old Saybrook game. When she saw the ball drop through the hoop, she felt a great wave of both joy and relief. It was important to Finnerty that she scored point No. 1,000 on the Warriors’ home floor.
“When I got the point, I was just so happy. I’ve been working toward this goal for a while. I really wanted it to happen at home. Going into the game, I knew I needed 22 points, and it was going to be hard,” said Finnerty, who finished the game with 28 points. “I was a bit nervous before the game. Once I got it, I was so relieved, and I was so happy. My teammates and the crowd were happy for me. My aunt [Nancy Potter] made a poster for me, and we took some pictures. I couldn’t have done it without my friends, family, and teammates.”
While Finnerty’s accomplishment took center stage, the victory for Valley was also big, because it marked the Warriors’ third straight win and got them back to .500 on the season. Valley controlled the game for most of the way, holding a 20-15 lead at halftime. Valley increased its lead by outscoring the Rams 12-4 during the third quarter to come away with the eight-point victory.
Head Coach Geoff Konstan enjoyed seeing his team notch a win by executing the game-plan. Valley wanted to slow down Old Saybrook’s top player Mandy Beck, and the Warriors made sure that she wasn’t going to beat them.
“Mandy is such a good player, and she’s their biggest threat. So, we played man defense, but everyone cheated to Mandy. We held her to just nine points,” Coach Konstan said. “It’s been some great defensive games in a row, and the offense is starting to click.”
Finnerty, who’s averaging 19.3 points per game this year, also had nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and four steals to complement her 28-point performance against Old Saybrook. Sophomore Alena Crosby had seven points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Senior captain Annie Cooper hauled in 11 boards and also had two blocks with two assists.
Three days earlier, Valley scored a 45-31 home victory against Portland. The game was close throughout the first half with the Warriors holding a 17-16 advantage at intermission. Valley started to run away with the game by outpacing Portland 19-9 in the third period en route to the 14-point triumph.
The Highlanders did an admirable job in terms of limiting Finnerty’s output, but the rest of the Warriors made Portland pay by converting on their opportunities. Crosby led Valley in scoring with 15 points to go with four rebounds and three steals in the win. Finnerty scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and also had a block. Cooper finished with four blocks, three boards, and three assists, plus sophomore Addi Marchese scored five points and dished out nine assists.
While the Warriors have put together some solid stretches in games, Coach Konstan felt that Valley’s showing against Portland marked the team’s best overall performance thus far this year.
“I think that win over Portland was our most complete game of the season. It’s more than just executing and shooting well. We had a specific game-plan, and we followed it,” said Konstan. “I thought our girls were brilliant. We held them to their second-lowest point total of the season, and it was about what we did defensively. Plus, the whole team really stepped up, because they were really covering Lexie with multiple defenders all game.”
Coach Konstan was encouraged with how his team turned up the heat to lock down a few victories this week. Konstan also feels happy for Finnerty for cementing her legacy in Valley Regional history, especially since she reached the 1,000-point plateau while playing with a team-first mentality.
“Lexie is such a great kid and, going back to her freshman year, I’ve had to tell her to shoot more than she does. She’s so unselfish and can even pass too much. There might be kids who get 1,000 because they keep taking shots, but this is the opposite,” Konstan said. “I’m proud for the program, too. One-thousand points may seem like an individual accomplishment, but it’s not. It takes great passing and screens, and she’s been the most heavily defended player on our team since she was a freshman. The whole team has to do their part, too. The crowd and her teammates went crazy. It was a great moment.”