Two hallmarks of a championship-caliber club in sports are often a dedication to defense plus a special selflessness to put the success of a total team paramount over individual goals. The Valley Regional girls’ basketball team has taken both of those traits, emerging as one of the hottest teams in the Shoreline Conference this winter.

The Warriors entered this campaign coming off a very successful 2021-2022 run, that saw them earn the distinction of being a Shoreline Conference Tournament finalist, and Class M State Tournament semifinalist, en route to posting 22 total triumphs.

Yet this season got off to a bit of a slow start, with Valley dropping two consecutive games to East Hampton and Northwest Catholic, following wins over North Branford and Haddam-Killingworth, to tip off the slate. From there, the Warriors rattled off eight straight victories to surge to a 10-2 mark entering the final full week of action for the month of January.

Last week, they added to the streak, as the Warriors first dominated Hale-Ray in a 68-11 win on Jan. 24. Abby Bradbury led the scoring for Valley with 27 points. Then at Fitch on Jan. 26, Valley prevailed, 68-49. Bradbury had a 31-point performance in this contest. Finally, at Old Saybrook on Jan. 27, the Warriors captured a 58-32 decision, with Bradbury putting up another 27 points, to improve their overall record to a remarkable 13-2 and stretch their streak to 11 straight wins.

Bryan Field, who is serving as interim head coach for Valley through at least the end of January for Jaimie Bickelhaupt, noted that there was a two-way adjustment period for both himself and the girls. Still, after that feeling-out process, it was all systems go and a full-court press on the Warriors’ opponents.

“The big key for the team has been adaptability,” said Field. “I am a new coach for them, and so it has been an adjustment for them and myself. It has been about understanding each other and understanding my expectations to help them get over the hump and win this year. It has been learning who to push and who to pull, and each person’s strengths and weaknesses.”

One item that could be perceived as a hurdle by lesser programs is the small size of the Valley roster, which runs only 10 student-athletes deep, though Field and the Warriors have chosen not to use that as a crutch, and have made the most of the pieces in front of them in practice.

“The girls are practicing hard each day,” said Field. “I am happy with that. Our schedule is what it is; with the size of our roster, we cannot run full-court stuff in practice. Yet the girls have been picking it all up really quickly. They are adjusting, improving, and growing their basketball IQ, and I am so proud of that.”

In the process of streaking through the Shoreline Conference, the Warriors have garnered a moniker of Giant Killers–knocking off two schools from the ranks of the unbeatens with a 42-31 decision at Granby Memorial on Jan. 3 to start 2023, prior to dispatching league rival Coginchaug 60-35 a week later on Jan. 10 at home.

“Granby was undefeated when we played them. We played them at their gym, which had a loud atmosphere with music playing,” said Field. “But the girls buckled down and were impressive. Coginchaug was also undefeated when we played them, and we started the game on a 10-0 run. The girls were aggressive and in their faces on defense. They were nervous, but I told them they would be OK. Those two games helped their belief in playing positively and playing with each other.”

The prominence doesn’t just stop on the hardwood, as the Warriors keep gaining more camaraderie and cohesion away from the court as well.

“I preach selflessness to the team,” Field said. “The teamwork seems to be getting better each day. They have been really trusting each other, and we’ve been working on having different girls stepping up each game. I keep preaching to them about sharing the ball and finding the open man because other teams should have to focus on all five players out there against us.”

In driving home the point to play defense, Field has had to hold court with players, though it all came for the betterment of the team rather than to its detriment. On the offensive side of the floor, the Warriors have various game plans to exploit certain matchups and take advantage.

“I am a big believer in defense. I told the girls that defense wins championships, and that I did not make up that quote,” Field said. “The girls are starting to believe in that, and it is showing. I have had to hold them accountable on defense and pull some of them out when they weren’t playing defense. But everyone is playing hard and aggressive. On offense, we have a lot of sets that can work for anyone. If we have mismatches, we can switch up different girls in certain spots.”

Within the stat sheet for Valley, senior forward and captain Lily Grow averages 14.08 points and six rebounds a game, plus sophomore forward Regan Grow is sporting a double-double of 10.2 points and 10 boards a night. Junior forward Olivia Cunningham maintains 8.8 points, five rebounds off the glass, and 2.5 assists a contest. Captain and senior guard Abby Bradbury, who reached a huge career milestone of 1,000 career points in the Hale-Ray win on Jan. 24 after a 27-point performance, is averaging 13.3 points, three steals, and three assists per game.

“Abby getting to 1,000 career points is huge,” said Field. “But she has been leading the team in assists our last few games, which shows her selflessness and that teams will not be able to just defend her. I have seen a huge change in her with her sharing the ball. We also have a senior-led team; they have come in and have been holding each other accountable. We have a great group of girls here.”