Girls Basketball: Granby Reloads, East Granby Rebuilds

The and girls basketball teams are a study in contrasts.

This year, with nine returning varsity players, including four starters, the Bears figure to be in the mix for the North Central Connecticut Conference title after going 9-13 last season.

The Crusaders, for their part, will rebuild after losing four starters and several key bench players from one of the most successful seasons in team history.

Below are previews of both teams.

Granby Memorial High Bears (Head coach: Dean Godin, third year. Last year: 9-13, lost in state Class M qualifying round).

Bears head coach Dean Godin has high hopes for his experienced, senior-laden squad that returns four starters from last year’s team that qualified for the state Class M tournament.

Indeed, just two of the team’s 13 losses were by 10 points or more and, with leading scorers Kristen Endorf (9 ppg) and Haley Makuch (7 ppg) joined by Ellie MacDougall (2.3 ppg) and Emily Stone (5 ppg), the Bears figure to see a marked improvement in their record.

Still, Granby Memorial will have to find a replacement for third-leading scorer Shannelle Starling (6.9 ppg), who clogged the middle at center. Nevertheless, Godin remained confident that, despite the loss, his team will figure out how to close out some of those tight games.

“Hopefully those close games are now a thing of the past and we’ll be able to break through and we’ll win a lot more of those,” Godin said in an interview Tuesday. “Even one of those double-digit games [43-33 loss to Avon on Dec. 14, 2010] came down to one possession. They ended up hitting eight straight free throws. It was only one game that we got beat by a significant amount.”

Though Godin hopes that Granby Memorial will challenge for the NCCC title with the likes of Avon, Ellington, Suffield and Windsor Locks, the third-year coach said that his team is taking each contest “one game at a time.”

“When you play that many close games, even the following year it can be the same thing,” Godin said. “I think we’ve grown up a lot offensively. I don’t think our troubles will be as pronounced. … Our first goal is we want to win our first game, then we want to qualify for states. That’s our goals.”

The Bears will tip off their season tonight against Wilcox Tech at home at 7 p.m.

East Granby High Crusaders (Head coach: Tim Doherty - 19th year. Last year: 19-6, NCCC tournament runner up, and state Class S quarterfinalis).

The Crusaders had one of their most successful seasons in program history, which included a trip to the NCCC tournament final game and an appearance in the state Class S quarterfinals.

This season promises to be a rebuilding one for East Granby, what with four starters - including All-NCCC and All-State guard Dani Davis as well as sharpshooter Nina Zugaja -  having graduated from last year’s team.

“We were a senior-laden team last year,” Doherty said. “We lost a lot. We’re down in numbers and we’re down in experience.”

Indeed, out of 15 East Granby players who came out for the team this year, seven of them are freshmen.

The nucleus of this year’s squad is formed by junior center Kara Dumas, the only returning starter; guard Eileen Dempsey, who will be counted on to guard the opponent’s best player; senior Haylee Kulig, who saw limited action last year but figures to be the team’s starting point guard; and junior forward Mairead Loschi, who also suited up on the varsity last year.

Doherty will also count on contributions from top freshmen Kayla Johnson, Morgan Beatty, Hannah Dumas and Meredith Vanags.

“It’s going to be a rebuilding year,” Doherty said. “Hopefully we’ll string together enough wins to make the state tournament. Our goal is always to make the state tournament. We’ve made it 16 out of 18 years I’ve been here. That’s always the goal here. … The minimum is eight victories. Who knows. To me that has to be a goal. We’re in a tough league and we’re the smallest school in the league by far. We just have to try t keep plugging away. We’re young and we’re inexperienced, but we’re getting better every day.

“We won a lot of close ones last year, but that’s what happens when you have a lot of seniors. Now it’s the other way around. Unfortunately, some of these kids are, I hate to say it, thrown to the wolves. But it’s going to be good. They’re going to get their varsity experience maybe a year earlier than they normally would. There’s going to be some growing pains. They have to remember they’re only freshmen.”

The Crusaders begin their quest for a state tournament bid against Somers at home on Friday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m.