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03/25/2019 12:00 AMThe Valley Regional girls’ basketball team continued improving during a 2018-’19 season that saw one of best players in program history, senior captain Lexie Finnerty, suit up for her final game in a Warriors’ uniform. Valley finished with a record of 10-13, marking a one-win improvement from last year, in a campaign that included Finnerty scoring her the 1,000th point of her career. The Warriors also qualified for the Class M State Tournament and notched a victory over Westbrook in the play-in round of the Shoreline Conference Tournament this season.
Head Coach Geoff Konstan felt the Warriors did a fine job all-around, especially considering that Valley had to deal with injuries to key players at pivotal junctures of the year. While Valley had four senior captains in Annie Cooper, Finnerty, Heather Jones, and Sadie Konstan, the rest of the roster was comprised of sophomores and freshmen. This led to the Warriors relying on some younger players, although Coach Konstan thinks that the experience they gained will help his club for years to come.
“We took some lumps this year. Not everything went how I hoped it would, but I think we learned a lot that will make us a great in the coming seasons,” Konstan said. “I think our balance helped us out a bit. As great of a player as Lexie is, this year spoke to the fact that this team is more than just one great player. Our younger kids are ready to play and, in a lot of ways, our sophomores are almost like juniors already.”
Even though the Warriors didn’t go as deep into the postseason as they hoped, the team still had some impressive moments on the court this year. Valley’s biggest win was its 43-15 victory against Westbrook in the Shoreline Conference play-in round. Both teams were nursing injuries, but the Warriors’ depth propelled them to victory.
“The Westbrook game was huge for a couple of reasons. First, it was a postseason game. It had the pressure of losing and going home. I thought the kids showed up, and to win a postseason game was huge,” Coach Konstan said. “Second, we were missing our superstar [Finnerty] and so was Westbrook [Savannah Marshall], and we won big. I think that really matters for next year. It will help us going into next year with confidence.”
Another notable win for the Warriors was their 45-31 victory over Portland during the regular season. It was the only meeting between the teams this year, and Coach Konstan was pleased that his squad earned the win with a top-to-bottom effort.
“Portland was a good team that finished ahead of us in the conference standings. We were 4-6 at that point, and we entered a stretch of seven winnable games. Portland was the toughest team of that stretch, and we played our most complete game of the season,” said Konstan. “We held them to their lowest point total of the season. We played great offensively and defensively.”
Finnerty capped off her high school career by having a great senior season. Finnerty averaged 18.2 points, 3.6 assists, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.1 steals per game on her way to finishing with 1,159 career points at Valley Regional. She earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors for the third year in a row and was named the Warriors’ Player of the Year.
“Lexie is a hard worker and a great kid,” Konstan said. “She wasn’t just a scorer. She had a ton of assists and a ton of rebounds. She never wants to come out of a game, and she’s everything you want as a role model for younger kids.”
Fellow senior captain Heather Jones also received an honor from the team at the end of the season. Jones was presented with the Warrior Award, which goes to an athlete who displays toughness and a never-quit attitude. While many players fit the bill, Coach Konstan and company knew that Jones was the right pick.
“Heather’s undersized, and we can even stick her into the post when we need to. She plays everywhere,” Konstan said. “She’s fearless, and she’s so tough. She’s 5 foot-3 inches and plays so much bigger. She battles kids, regardless of their size.”
Senior captain Annie Cooper was also a big part of Valley’s interior rotation. Cooper averaged 4.4 rebounds and one block per game this year. Fellow senior captain Sadie Konstan was sidelined with an injury for a good portion of the season, but was able to come back for the playoffs.
Freshman Ava Cunningham had a strong year for Valley. With Konstan out, Valley needed more depth at the point, and Cunningham took on those duties with aplomb. As a result, she earned the Warriors’ Rookie of the Year Award.
“We had a couple of freshmen that made an impact, but I thought Ava really stood out. She has tremendous court vision, and she’s a very coachable kid,” Coach Konstan said. “With Sadie missing for so much of the season, Ava was as close to a pass-first point guard that we had. She really helped us.”
Another freshman who proved a nice surprise for Valley was Salmi Miller. Prior to this season, she had played exclusively as a guard. However, as the year went on, Miller became a key component of the Warriors’ post rotation, even starting some games down the stretch.
“Salmi Miller wasn’t even on the varsity roster a month in the season and then became a starter in some games. She never played post at any point in her career and moved into that position,” said Coach Konstan. “She picked it up a lot quicker than we all expected. She embraced that physical play, even though it wasn’t easy for her.”
Valley leaned on its sophomore class at times throughout the season. Players like Alena Crosby (9 points per game) and Addi Marchese (7 points, 4.3 assists) played significant minutes for the Warriors. Sophomore Reagan Brenneman had a big role on the team, earning the Coaches Award for her positivity and willingness to work on her game.
As for the future, Coach Konstan believes the Warriors are set up well for the next few seasons thanks to all of the valuable minutes that his underclass athletes saw on the floor this winter.
“Even with no seniors, I think we can be a top-five team in the conference. Everything we do next year will be toward winning, but we will still be patient,” Konstan said. “The ultimate goal will be looking ahead to when the current sophomores will be seniors, when I think we’ll be competing for the Shoreline Conference championship.”
From the Sidelines
The Valley Regional girls’ basketball team’s varsity roster featured senior captains Annie Cooper, Lexie Finnerty, Heather Jones, and Sadie Konstan; sophomores Reagan Brenneman, Libby Cap, Alena Crosby, Hannah Jenkins, Addi Marchese, and Olivia Porcaro; and freshmen Ava Cunningham, Elizabeth Klomp, Salmi Miller, Madison Sheehan, Hannah Tejedor, and Campbell Toth.
Geoff Konstan finished his fourth season as the Warriors’ head coach. Konstan’s coaching staff includes JV Head Coach Lauren Budney and varsity assistant Allyson Pitney.
The Warriors went 9-11 in the regular season. Valley picked up two wins apiece versus Old Saybrook (44-36 and 54-44) and Haddam-Killingworth (54-34 and 54-41), as well as single victories over Amistad (60-35), Old Lyme (42-34), Hale-Ray (38-8), Portland (45-31), and Westbrook (52-47).
Valley lost two contests against Cromwell (52-31 and 62-38), Coginchaug (52-49 and 45-40), Morgan (55-9 and 35-21), and North Branford (48-36 and 44-43) during the regular season. The Warriors also lost one game apiece to East Windsor (38-29), East Hampton (38-25), and Somers (54-43).
In the Shoreline Conference Tournament, the 8th-seeded Warriors hosted No. 9 seed Westbrook for a play-in game and prevailed by a 43-15 final. Valley took a 56-21 defeat against top-seeded Cromwell in a first-round matchup.
In the Class M State Tournament, Valley was the No. 31 seed and dropped a 64-31 decision at 2nd-seeded Cromwell in the first round.