Just over the halfway point of the regular season, the East Haven girls’ basketball team has already locked up one of its goals for its campaign in earning a postseason bid while emerging as a formidable foe within the Southern Connecticut Conference.

Head Coach Mike Archambault and the Yellowjackets moved into 2023 and started off the new year with a loss to SCC Hammonasset Division rival West Haven on Jan. 3, to hold a record of 5-2. Yet the setback has proven itself to be a turning point for East Haven and its fortunes, as the Yellowjackets rattled off four victories in a row over Amity, Lyman Hall, Wethersfield, and Law, to additionally qualify for the Class MM State Tournament and stand with a 9-2 record.

This past week, East Haven kept the winning momentum moving, with a 45-42 victory over Branford on Jan. 17 on the road before posting a 52-36 loss against host Cheshire on Jan. 20 to leave the Yellowjackets with a still strong mark of 10-3.

“The biggest thing for our success so far this year is having them buy-in from the beginning of the year with continuing the approach that stats do not matter; it’s about the team,” said Archambault. “We have had a balanced scoring attack with different options. Teamwork has been big for us; these girls have played together for a long time. The juniors and seniors have been welcoming to the underclassmen, and you see it in school and outside of practice.”

Archambault added that the Yellowjackets have created a recent sharper sting with their shooting arc while distributing the ball all around to feed that aforementioned balanced attack offensively.

“We have shot the ball a lot better the last few games,” Coach Archambault said. “We have also kicked the ball out a lot more and passed it around.”

Not to be outdone, the defense has risen to the occasion in key spots throughout contests, shutting down adversaries in crunch time while responding to adversity quite well, including pulling off a massive second-half comeback against Wethersfield.

“Our defense has been key for us,” Archambault said. “Against Cheshire [on Dec. 16], we held them scoreless in the fourth quarter. Against Amity and Lauralton Hall, we held both of them to a combined 21 points in the second half. We went down to Wethersfield by 11 at half, but then everything was triggered by our defense in the second half. We have been challenging players to pick it up on defense, and they have stepped up and bought in.”

Looking deeper at those proud moments of the season’s opening half, East Haven really showed its mental fortitude by not relenting when heading to intermission down double digits versus Wethersfield. Meanwhile, the Yellowjackets played the closest they have been to a perfect outing in the decision over the Spartans of Amity.

“The Wethersfield game really stands out to me and for us to turn it around like that,” Coach Archambault said. “It was a game where we could have fallen apart, but then they stayed together on defense, which helped get the offense going. The Amity game was probably our most complete game so far this year. They have qualified for states, and they will likely win 12 or 13 games, so we had to show what we had. Even in a loss versus Sacred Heart Academy, we were down only one after the first. We hit a tough spell in the second quarter, but we played well against a team of that caliber.”

When speaking to his defense, Archambault pointed out that the girls have keyed in on assisting the person next to them when a play may hit a miscue.

“One thing that has been working well, and something we have emphasized a lot, is help defense,” said Archambault. “They understand where to go in different defensive schemes and that you do not always have to get the steal. We have done well with half-court defense, whether a trap, zone, or man-to-man. [Senior] Arielle Dupree has been our defensive stopper. She takes pride in guarding a team’s best player.”

Junior forward Juliana Iovino has paced the East Haven offense with a double-double average of 15 points and 10 boards per game. Yet the Yellowjackets house an eclectic offense where they can push the ball to the hoop in multiple alleys in the lane.

“On offense, when we are against a man-to-man or zone, ball movement is key. We are getting out of the habit of taking quick shots,” Archambault said. “We have also pounded the ball inside. [Senior guard and captain] Gabby Gaetano and [junior forward] Kelsey Murray have shot the ball well, which has helped take the pressure off of the other guards.”

The Yellowjackets will certainly not rest on their laurels as January winds down with a playoff ticket in hand. In order to help accomplish their preseason goals, they will look to keep winning to improve their seeding and matchups for tournament action.

“We do not want to become complacent,” Archambault said. “We will be playing teams we have already beaten again, so we cannot take those teams lightly. We are happy with states, but our goal is to make deep runs in states and the SCC Tournament. Positioning in brackets is so important as well. Class MM has a lot of quality teams, so we need to be able to compete with them and show we are right up there with them.”

Prior to this past week, East Haven this season has scored victories over North Branford (56-42), Shelton (47-23), Cheshire (46-41), Amistad (38-30), Lauralton Hall (43-34), Amity (49-36), Lyman Hall (47-42), Wethersfield (44-38), and Law (45-20). The Yellowjackets’ prior losses were at the hands of Sacred Heart Academy (71-47) and West Haven (66-32).

East Haven is also in third place for the five-team SCC Hammonasset Division, sitting with a divisional record of 2-2. The Yellowjackets are ahead of Lyman Hall and Law while behind West Haven and Sacred Heart Academy.