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03/20/2023 03:29 PMIt truly takes a full and collective team effort to put together a successful campaign. The North Haven girls’ basketball team honed in on that mindset this winter, utilizing the strengths of each individual to help lead the Nighthawks to a dominant regular season and deep postseason run.
Head Coach Jessica Neuweiler and the Nighthawks finished the regular season with a record of 17-6 and entered the Class L State Tournament as the #9 seed. After grabbing a first-round victory over #24 Maloney (57-28) and a second-round win over #8 Bristol Central (58-46), North Haven bowed out in the quarterfinals to #1 seeded Pomperaug by a score of 61-32.
Despite not being able to bring a state crown to North Haven, Neuweiler was still proud of her team’s performance as a whole in the state tournament.
“We had a very successful run in the state tournament; we won the first two games. We played Maloney in the first round, and in the second round, we went on to play Bristol Central,” said Neuweiler. “We won that game as well and went to the quarterfinals where we then traveled to Pomperaug, who was the number one seed in Class L. It was a very successful run; I could not be prouder of the run we made.”
Prior to the Nighthawks’ run in the state tournament, they competed in the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) tournament. The Nighthawks played in the first round against Amity and won. They then went on to play Sacred Heart Academy where they lost with a final score of 76-56.
Senior captain and shooting guard Julia Ball was named to the All-SCC First Team, and freshman point guard Sammi Santacroce was named to the All-SCC Second Team.
Neuweiler has always preached teamwork to the girls as they rode the waves of the competitive SCC conference on the hardwood this winter, and she saw that mentality truly shine through in the postseason portion of the season.
“I think we continued to have, this season for us, a tale of true team effort. We had Ava (Papa) throughout the entire season and into the postseason. We always gave her the most difficult defensive matchup, and she just played both ends of the floor for us extremely well,” said Neuweiler. “Julia continued from an offensive standpoint to still set the pace as our leading scorer. She continued with that in the postseason, having some great offensive contributing games, especially in the first two games against Maloney and Bristol Central.”
Neuweiler also pointed out that Santacroce, who averaged about 11 points per game, not only progressed well throughout her freshman season but was also a major contribution to the squad’s success.
“Sammi just did a really tremendous job coming in as a freshman; it is a really tough job coming in as a freshman and playing point guard at the varsity level. Day in and day out we saw tremendous progress and the ability for her to control the pace of the game,” said Neuweiler. “She was able to distribute the ball and was always team first in terms of how much she passed the basketball, looking for the open player. She always made the right decision in terms of looking to give the ball up to someone if they were open; [a] very unselfish player, and we appreciated that.”
Several juniors, including Ava Halovatch (center), Johnson (forward), and Damaria Williams-Davis (forward), contributed throughout the entire season.
“They gave us tremendous depth within our bench. Halovatch had a fantastic game against Maloney in the first game of the state tournament with 14 points for us,” said Neuweiler. “Without that depth, we would not have been as successful as we were this year. To their credit, I think it is a true team effort. I think all of them deserve the credit; whether it was defense or offense, rebounding, there are some things that do not show up in a box score.”
With Ball being the only captain this season, there was a big weight she had to carry from a leadership standpoint to ensure her team was staying focused on their goals, something that Neuweiler praised her for. She truly believed in what the team was trying to do, and had confidence in herself, her teammates, and her coaches.
“Julia led by example, she has a focus and dedication about her that is really tremendous to see. She has a drive to succeed, and she wants our team to be successful. She continued to lead by example through her work ethic and her preparation,” said Neuweiler. “When we would go through film and the scouting report, she would always be sitting in the front row with a notebook and a pen taking notes, making sure that she was going over the things that would help us be successful. That set the tone for everyone else, and I think that she was a tremendous leader for us this year, it goes well beyond the fact that she was our leading scorer.”
Despite the natural challenges that can come with facing the pressure of playing in a state tournament game, Neuweiler admired her team for always putting their best foot forward and giving it their best effort, no matter how hard the competition was.
“We worked really hard in the postseason; we came in as the number nine seed in Class L. We had a tough schedule coming in; we knew that we were prepared to work hard,” said Neuweiler.
Having to block out the crowd in an elimination game on the road can sometimes adhere to a team’s performance, and the Nighthawks surely faced an electric group of fans in the state quarterfinal.
“We traveled to Pomperaug, and they had an unbelievable home crowd that night. The atmosphere was a very true postseason atmosphere,” said Neuweiler. “I think that for us in that very last game, it took us a little bit to get to a place where we could try to compete that night. I think other than that, we came up against the number one team in the state and we worked hard.”
The Nighthawks will be graduating two seniors this year, but Neuweiler is confident in the group of players that will be returning to help North Haven grow on its run next season.
“We have a large junior class that will move on to become seniors. Now that I have that first year behind us working together, everyone knows what to expect, including the accountability and the dedication that we are going to expect from each of our players,” Neuweiler said. “This year was setting that foundation and putting North Haven girls’ basketball on the map, not only in the SCC, but also in the state tournament. I think the bar will be set even a little bit higher, and I am excited for the players coming back to work with and see what we can build off of heading into next year.”
The Nighthawks full roster includes Ball, Julia Cannon (senior, guard), Zaria Bradley (junior, guard), Alyssa Collins (junior, guard), Johnson, Halovatch, Papa, Williams-Davis, Olivia Ball (sophomore, guard), Christa Colonis (sophomore, forward), Brooke LaPierre (sophomore, point guard), Kendall Washington (sophomore, center), Santacroce, Ella Couture (freshman, forward), and Alivia Garnett (freshman, guard).