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04/05/2020 12:00 AMAfter winning eight games and qualifying for states last year, the North Haven girls’ basketball team hit the court with new Head Coach Tom Blake in the 2019-’20 winter season. The Indians continued their momentum and then some with Blake on the bench by making states for the second-straight year, while posting six more victories than in the previous campaign.
North Haven finished with an overall record of 14-10 this winter, including a victory versus Law in the SCC Tournament and a win over Lyman Hall in Class L State Tournament. The Indians won more games this year than any season dating back to 2007.
“I thought the team played very well, and I thought we had an excellent season,” Coach Blake said. “A big part of it is the kids themselves. They accepted me when I came in and accepted what we were doing. They wanted to do what I wanted them to do, and they did an excellent job. We just kept getting better, which is indicative of the kinds of kids we have. They worked hard all the time.”
North Haven was led by seniors Laura Petrafesa, Colleen Lucey, Zoi Burns, and Giuliana Ciarleglio throughout the season. Petrafesa and Lucey served as the team’s captains with Blake saying that the duo provided, “great, not good, great leadership.”
“I told the seniors day one that I’m counting on them to turn this basketball program around, and it’s going to be your legacy,” said Blake. “The seniors hadn’t won a lot of games the prior three years, and they could have packed it in and went through the motions, but they didn’t. They worked hard, and their legacy is exactly that—they helped turn this team around. We got 14 wins. I don’t think they got 14 wins in a long time.”
Burns was North Haven’s point guard for most of the year, but suffered a season-ending injury when the Indians hosted their Senior Night game on Feb. 14. North Haven’s athletes rallied around Burns and went on to notch a 49-36 victory against Law that night.
“The whole team responded,” Blake said. “It would have been so easy for the team to say, ‘We lost Zoi. We aren’t going to win any games.’ But that didn’t happen.”
Burns was presented with the team’s Coaches’ Award for Leadership this season. Following her injury, the Indians were forced to regroup and get ready to face Law again in the first round of the SCC Tournament just six days later. North Haven led wire to wire on its way to defeating Law by a 52-30 final. Sophomore Eveani Okwuosa led all scores with 16 points in the victory, while junior Sarah Puzone and Petrafesa netted 12 and 11 points, respectively. The win marked North Haven’s first victory in the SCC Tournament since 2015.
After losing to top-seeded Hand in the SCC quarterfinals, the Indians came back to grab a 38-32 win versus Lyman Hall in the first round of the Class L bracket. While he was happy that his team earned two playoff victories, Coach Blake said that North Haven’s best effort of the season actually came in its 58-47 defeat against St. Paul in the second round of states. Despite the loss, Blake was pleased to see the Indians give 2nd-seeded St. Paul a run for its money, while playing the exact style of basketball that he wants from his squad.
“[St. Paul] was 18-2, dominated their league, and, in my opinion, has two scholarship players on their team. That team was stocked,” said Blake. “We were getting blown out in the first quarter. The kids came back and cut it to five at the half. One minute into the fourth quarter, we were up two. Our defense was playing great, our offense was finally clicking, we were making perimeter shots. We were doing exactly what we needed to do. We got better all the way until the last game. That speaks volumes for these kids.”
The Indians are slated to bring back five seniors to next year’s team: Julia Bogen, Carly Fresher, Emily Konopka, Puzone, and Olivia Stefanik. Coach Blake calls Puzone an excellent defensive player and a strong scorer. Fresher started for North Haven this year, and Blake expects her to make a bigger impact as a senior. The coach is also looking for Bogen to get more minutes on the floor next season. Blake credits Stefanik, who won the Most Improved Player Award, for working hard and never taking a play off. Konopka will most likely be patrolling the perimeter next year due to her solid shot.
“I expect every one of them to step up. That’s what you do,” Coach Blake said. “You’re a junior, and now you’re going to become a senior. You have obligations. It’s going to be your last year. You want it to be the best year. I expect them to step on the floor and be ready to go, and I think that will happen.”
Blake is eager to see what Okwuosa can do when she leads North Haven’s junior corps next season. This year, Okwuosa had an outstanding sophomore campaign in which she earned All-SCC Second Team honors and was also named the Indians’ Most Valuable Player.
“Eveani was terrific. She plays hard,” said Blake. “When your most talented player is one of your hardest workers, it’s a great situation to be in.”
Blake will also be looking for contributions from soon-to-be-sophomores Julia Ball and Talia Annunziato. Both athletes saw their freshman seasons cut short due to injury, but Blake said they showed varsity-level potential when healthy.
The 2019-’20 edition of the North Haven girls’ basketball team grinded out some gritty victories, while demonstrating the potential for the Indians to consistently be a winning program. Coach Blake said that he’s already eager to get right back at it for his second season at North Haven.
“When I finish my day, I can’t wait to get to practice and be surrounded by those kids and work with them,” Blake said. “They listen, they execute what you want to do, they play hard. As a coach, what else could you ask for? Hopefully, we are going to keep that system in place.”