The Ultimate Girls Basketball Preview

Waterford coach Rob Von Achen's statement seemed conflicting when he said, "We don't have a lot of talent, but we have athletes."

He's right. This year's Waterford High girls' basketball team does not feature a number of girls who specialize, playing AAU in the offseason. Rather, a solid nucleus of all-around athletes who have won softball state championships give the 14-year coach a sense of optimism.

"In a sense we're rebuilding but these girls are winners and very competitive," he said. "The ECC Large will be strong as usual. I hope (Two-time defending Class LL champ) NFA comes back to the pack, but East Lyme may be moving away from the pack when it's all said and done. They have a lot of talent."

Alexa Long, a 1,000-point scorer, graduated from last year's 18-win team. Seniors Jessica Ryder, Katelyn Sykora and Samantha Ryan join juniors Adily Martucci, Alyssa Hancock and Christine Hadfield as top players. VonAchen lists Martucci as the likely leading scorer. Freshmen Kelly Dugan and Brianna Sanders may also crack the rotation.

Von Achen welcomes the addition of assistant coach Megan Sheehan, whose enthusiasm has "injected the program with a shot of B-12," Von Achen said.

The Lancers open at home against St. Bernard 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Rest of the ECC

Montville

When Derek Wainwright took over the Montville High girls' basketball program in 2003-'04, the Indians were mired in a malaise of low interest and a succession of losing records.

Despite posting a 3-17 record in his first year, Wainwright was destined to change the culture. When talent, key players such as Caitlyn Quinn and Nikkia Smith entered school, meshed withWainwright's intensity, Montville girls basketball was soon put on the map. After a .500 season in his second year, the Indians have averaged 17 wins a season in the last four, advancing as far as  the Class M semifinals three years back.

The flagship talent is gone. Smith leads Division I University of Hartford in rebounding and Quinn is St. Michael's College's second leading scorer. But Montville continues to be  a prominent team in the ECC Medium, showing the rise is more than a trend, it's a lifestyle.

Wainwright expects Montville (16-9 last year) to remain a contender and challenge Bacon Academy, Class M champ two years ago, in the ECC Medium. Senior Stephanie Jones returns as one of the ECC's best shooting guards and will be joined by a deep group of returnees and newcomers. 

Key returnees include seniors Dani Autencio, Mandy Jones, Chelsea McDermott, Steph Gauthier and sophomores Megan Autencio and Rachael Orbe. Freshman center Cassidy Bundy looks to make an immediate impact.

St. Bernard

Girls' basketball is one Saint sport that hasn't suffered since the school has downsized to a smaller school in the last decade.

Twenty-eight year coach Mike Nystrom fields a consistent winner, and last year's 13-1 team was no exception. Though the Saints field a predominantly new squad, they opened with a 34-33 win over Ledyard Wednesday.

Seniors Erin Amarello, Danielle Edwards, Jill Kelly and Clare Hawk, juniors Lindsey Franklin, Jordan Buscetto, Kayla Paris and Nora Sternloff, sophomore Grace Kirkpatrick and freshman Brittney Walenta comprise the rotation.

Paris' 15 points led the Saints against Ledyard. Walenta, sister of last year's leading scorer Ashley Walenta, made a free throw with 14 seconds left for the deciding points.

Stonington

Veteran coach Paulla Solar, a 2006 inductee into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, lost 1,000-point career scorer Caroline Gosselin to graduation. The Bears have graduated a lot of talent recently, including Heather Buck and Jacquie Fernandes, and have not been a state power in the last two seasons.

Solar, however, likes the balance of this year's team, which features Ashley Wheeler and Meghan Rose Chapman, who scored eight and six points a game, respectively, last season for a 12-11 team.

"Every year is never a dull moment for me as a coach," Solar said. "Though we lack the big scorer we had with Heather Buck inside or Caroline last year, I expect more evenly distributed scoring all the way to the 1oth player."

The question is, will the balance produce enough total points? The Bears lost their opener Wednesday to Plainfield, 63-46. Lia Vann led the scoring with 12 points, and Felicia Cabral and Chapman added eight rebounds each.

Ledyard

First-year coach  Adam Baber served a five-year apprenticeship as assistant to Solar before assuming his first head coaching job this year. He replaced Allison Reyes, who led the Colonels to a state tournament berth last year. She resigned to devote full time to raising her infant daughter.

The Colonels return five regulars from a 9-12 team, including Allison Loy, Brittney Humphries, Sam Ewing, Naomi Hutchins and Leigh Bennett. Baber is determined to keep Ledyard on the state tourney bubble.

Wheeler

The Lions fell to 1-19 last year after reaching the Class S semifinals in 2007-2008 behind the play of Division I recruit Keyokah Mars-Garrick, who is now at Hartford with Smith.

Second-year coach Darrin McCalla welcomes back senior Kialya Bill, Emily Carocari, Annie Luckhardt, Ciara Haines and Abby Souza. The Lions are off to a good start, winning their opener 32-26 over Killingly Wednesday behind Souza's 12 points.