It was not the outcome the girls’ basketball team had expected. As the clock wound down, their classmates showered them with an affectionate chant: “We still love you!” The warmth lasted until the chants were drowned out by an ecstatic Laurelton Hall crowd who had claimed the prize they lost at the buzzer one year earlier. Laurelton’s quest for redemption was over, but for South, such a quest was just beginning.
Coach Don Leclerc’s core of players have moved on, but team chemistry has not faltered. Those returning have inherited the heart, passion, and desire to win. Last year it was a matter of the team finding ways to compete without Amy McConnell and Kaitlyn LaBonte. “I was extremely proud of them. I know the girls were very disappointed, but they did what only one other team has done in the history of the school,” Leclerc said.
According to senior Lauren Biancardi the team is ready to take on a new and for some of them, final challenge together. “We’ve all known each other for a really long time,” she said. “[Last year] proved to us that we have the potential, because I don’t think we thought that we’d ever be able to get there. Last year proved that we could. This year we’re hoping to win that final game.”
Senior Sara Jackson says that the remaining players from last year’s state championship run are on the same page. “We have really good team chemistry,” Jackson said. “We all have the same motive and we want to work together. Next time we’re [at Mohegan Sun], we’ll definitely be ready.”
Leclerc has identified what must be done to return to the summit in States. “I think they have the potential to get back to Mohegan,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of work to do. They have to be dedicated, work harder than anybody else, and they have to put aside personal accomplishments for team accomplishments. I think we have the right group of girls to do that.”
On the court, the defining factor will be rebounding due to the loss of some height, according to Leclerc. “Because of our size, we’re [at a disadvantage] going into every game and we know that,” he said. “This year we have to rebound as a team, last year we could get away with two or three kids boxing out and a couple not. This year all five have to be boxing out or we’re in trouble on a nightly basis because there’s going to be few teams we outsize in this league.”
Off to a 9-0 start in the season, the team has looked to the returning girls. Junior Molly Murphy has the ability to score 10+ points each game, and has the height to be a rebounder in the paint. Alex Goslin has helped the Bobcats early: scoring in the paint, distributing and stealing the ball. Leclerc says that Goslin is of great value on both sides of the floor. “[Alex] will be in a leadership type role, she’s running the one/two for us along with Amy, so they’re both interchangeable,” he said. “Last year as a sophomore she helped a lot. She’s going to be called in nightly to defend, quite often, the [other] team’s best player, she’s going to be asked to run the fast break and push the ball up the court. She’s asked to be our floor general as well as our leading defender.”
Senior Amy McConnell who sat out all of last season with a torn ACL will be returning to the team. McConnell has shown that she can dominate offensively. She can cut to the hoop and finish with either hand, drain a three, or pass the ball off making her a trump card on the offensive end. She believes that speed is the team’s main advantages. “One of our strengths is that we’re all really fast, we’re not that big [but] we can run and tire [the opposition] out,” said McConnell.
Leclerc says the team can be imposing each night. “We pride ourselves in our defense,” he said. “We’re going to have to get back on defense quickly [when finished at the offensive end] and stop their interior. We need to make up for their size by harassing their guards, keep them from getting into the post.”
The chemistry that the team possesses has blended with the desire to win. They have obtained the fire and drive from their departed teammates from the class of 2014. They have speed and skill along with plans to utilize it. You’ve got yourself another potential dynamic team South. If the girls can control the boards we may once again be bound for Uncasville.
