The Branford girls’ basketball team turned in a solid season in Rob Manghnani’s first year as head coach last winter. With a scrappy group of experienced seniors leading the charge, Manghnani wants the Hornets to build off that momentum by putting together another quality campaign this year.

Branford is coming off a season that saw the squad qualify for both the Southern Connecticut Conference and Class L State tournaments. After losing to Hillhouse in SCCs, the Hornets made good on their states bid by defeating Watertown in their opening matchup of the bracket. Branford went on to take a second-round loss against Pomperaug to finish at 10-13 overall.

Coach Manghnani was pleased to see so many players gain critical varsity experience last year. Manghnani feels that having a constant veteran presence on the floor will pay dividends for the Hornets as they strive to ascend to the next level.

“A lot of these kids were playing varsity for the first time last year, but now they have a year of experience under their belts. So we’re not sneaking up on anybody this year. With a senior-led team, our expectations are high, and the players are embracing that challenge,” said Manghnani. “We have a tough schedule with a lot of 50-50 games that can go either way, but our expectations are to make SCCs, make states, and be very competitive by advancing further than we did last year.”

Manghnani said that Branford plans to continue playing an up-tempo style this season. Manghnani wants the Hornets to press the issue on defense in order to create fast-break chances on the offensive end of the court.

“We want to play an in-your-face style where we get up and down the court. There will be an emphasis on always being on aggressive mode to create pressure and scoring opportunities for us,” said Manghnani. “We’re looking to create as much havoc as possible. We want every girl to continuously run up the court and beat their opponent to that spot to try and create a mismatch that will lead to an easy layup or put us at the free throw line.”

Manghnani knows that it’s crucial for the Hornets to get production from a multitude of players following the departure of Sophia Araneo, who graduated earlier this year. Araneo scored more than 1,000 points and also corralled her fair share of rebounds during her high school career.

Manghnani said that no individual player is going to fill Araneo’s shoes. Consequently, the Hornets will need a strong collective effort from everyone on a game-in, game-out basis if they want to put victories in the win column.

“You can’t replace Sophia with one person. It’s all hands on deck,” Manghnani said. “We’re looking for girls to expand their roles to where they can do a little bit of everything. We need points and rebounds from everyone who plays, regardless of their position.”

Branford features six seniors on its roster, including three returning starters as its senior captains. The Hornets’ captains are point guard Karly King, who was a captain as a junior last year, along with guard Issy Mannle and Mikayla Brown, a forward/center.

Coach Manghnani said that his captains are doing great job of leading the team and added that each member of the trio will be relied upon to contribute in a variety of ways this winter.

“Karly is a jack-of-all-trades who can score a lot of points, get rebounds, and get steals. Karly does all the things that you need on the court and will fill up the stat sheet consistently. We’re looking for her to have a really good season,” said Manghnani. “Issy is our spark plug on and off the court. She brings a lot of energy and is one of the best defenders in our league who is really coming along offensively. Mikayla is one of our more vocal leaders and is very knowledgeable. She knows our plays and puts everybody in the right position on the court. All three captains have done everything that we’ve asked them to do.”

The Hornets’ other seniors are forward Lily Moore-Markey, guard Ava Stratton, and forward/center Celia Turburt. All three of these seniors are slated to be key players for Branford.

“Similar to Issy, Lily is one of the best on-ball defenders in the league. She’s quick, athletic, and we will also be looking for her to help fill the void on offense,” Manghnani said. “Ava played a little varsity last year, but will play a lot of minutes this year. She plays hard, works hard in practice, and everything she does is a reflection of her wanting to get better. Celia plays extremely hard and is always diving on the floor for loose balls or sacrificing herself to get rebounds. She’s a team-first player who does everything that she possibly can for the team.”

Junior guard Gabby Lucertini returns to the Hornets after starting last season. Sophomore Nicole Pagliaro and fellow forward Allie Bietz, a freshman, will also be a part of Branford’s rotation.

“Gabby plays basketball all year wants to be the best player she can be. She’s shown the most improvement so far, and we’re expecting her to make a big jump,” said Manghnani. “Nicole will be helping out down low this year and is a building block for our future. We’ll be looking for her to score a few baskets and help out with our rebounding. Allie has one of the best shots on the team, and we need her to come off the bench and provide some scoring for us. She’s also an important part of our future.”

Branford will begin its season by playing a road game versus Bullard Havens a 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 18. As his team begins a new year, Coach Manghnani feels optimistic that his squad will be hitting the floor with excellent chemistry throughout the roster.

“These girls are sisters on and off the court. Their chemistry is through the roof,” Manghnani said. “Everyone roots for each other, and everyone comes to every team event. These are a bunch of really good kids that have the team in their minds first in everything that they do.”

From the Sidelines

Rob Manghnani is in his second season as head coach of the Branford girls' basketball team. The Hornets' assistant coaches are Chris Manner, who returns as the JV head coach and a varsity assistant; and Penny Blauvelt, who also returns as a varsity assistant.

The Hornets will play home games against Shelton, Sacred Heart Academy, Hamden, North Branford, Hillhouse, East Haven, Cheshire, Foran, and Career this year.

Branford also has road games versus Bullard Havens, Law, Foran, East Haven, Shelton, Career, Hamden, Hillhouse, Sacred Heart Academy, Amistad, and Cheshire during the 2019-'20 winter season.