Pomperaug senior girls (left to right) Senior Captain Kathryn Rafferty, Senior Captain Caly Farina, Senior Captain Lauren Rubinstein and seniors (not captains) Leah Rubinstein and Rachel Bonnanzio. (Ken Morse photo)
By KEN MORSE
The Pomperaug girls basketball team has racked up a lot of success over the past five years, but they’re still missing that piece of hardware for the trophy case. Head coach Joe Fortier has guided the Lady Panthers to a 97-28 record since he’s been at the helm but has no trophy to show for the Pomperaug girls’ effort.
“We have a lot of wins but no trophy,” commented coach Fortier as he entered his sixth season. “We were SWC (South West Conference) runner-up in 2012 and finished the regular season at 19-1 in 2013, but we’re still looking for that championship.
“I’m really excited about this year. We have five seniors back and a lot of experience. This could be our year, but the South West Conference is very strong, and there are a whole lot of other teams who are contenders,” he said.
This year’s group of seniors has gone 50-10 during the regular season in their high school career, and they are intent on putting some hardware in the trophy case. Pomperaug is led by senior captains Caly Farina, Kathryn Rafferty and Lauren Rubinstein along with seniors Leah Rubinstein and Rachel Bonnanzio.
“New Fairfield went undefeated last year and returns their entire team,” said Fortier. “They will certainly be the team to beat. Newtown lost only one senior, and teams like Kolbe, Notre Dame and Barlow return with a lot of quality players.
“So there are no easy games on the schedule, and we will need to come prepared every night. But I like the challenge and that will make us a better team come tournament time.”
Pomperaug went 16-4 last season, came up short in the SWC semifinals and reached the second round of the Class LL state tournament. The Lady Panthers graduated their only senior, Katelyn Perrotti, who was a force to be reckoned with.
But the experience and the depth Pomperaug has coming back makes them one of the frontrunners in the SWC. Bonnanzio is a 6-foot-1-inch three-year starter in the post and will lead the Panthers under the boards.
That is where the depth comes in as sophomore Karli Opalka is simply a rebounding machine, averaging 18 boards a game for the Panthers, who are off to a 3-1 start on the season.
“Karli was coming off the bench for us last year as a freshman averaging 11 rebounds a game, and already she has been a leader in that department,” said Fortier. “It’s not the size of her, it’s the heart that she plays with.”
Sophomore Claudine Legato at 5 foot 11 inches is another force in the paint and brings some added depth along with sophomores Allison McCormick, Alexis Flood and Megan Todhunter. Freshmen Olivia Farina and Maggie Lee add to the mix as Pomperaug has shown the ability to play some sturdy defense along the way.
“We have seven out of our top eight players returning, so we come in with a lot of experience,” said Fortier. “We did lose an emotional leader in Perrotti, and that will be hard to replace.
“Defense has always been our strong point. It’s just the style we like to play, and we have good athletes who go after the ball. Caly (Farina) is averaging 10 steals a game, and that opens up the transition game for us offensively.”
Lauren Rubinstein directs the ball up court and is the leader on the team in assists with eight per game to go along with a 14-point-per-game scoring average. Rafferty is one of the three-point threats out on the perimeter.
Pomperaug has it all covered, from rebounds to defense to multiple scoring threats, and it shows in the fast start they have gotten off to this season. The Lady Panthers opened up with St. Joseph of Trumbull in the SWC-FCIAC Challenge Tournament at Newtown and came away with a hard-fought 41-34 win Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Lauren Rubinstein led all scorers with 10 points as Opalka had eight points and 13 rebounds. Caly Farina came up with 11 steals and dropped seven points through the cylinder, with Rafferty adding seven points and Bonnanzio scoring eight points with eight rebounds.
Pomperaug won the tournament two days later, coming back to defeat Danbury 59-39. Lauren Rubinstein led the way with 12 points, nine steals and eight assists. Opalka was a force in the paint, scoring 12 points, pulling down 15 rebounds, coming up with seven steals and blocking three shots.
Rafferty hit three three-pointers for nine points, and Caly Farina added five points and eight steals. Legato had six points; McCormick, Todhunter, and Bonnanzio checked in with four points each; and Leah Rubinstein added a three-pointer.
“If we can stay together through adversity, that will be the key to our success,” said Fortier. “Not a lot of teams are going to get through a season undefeated. It’s how you respond to a loss and try and build off of it that will help you to be successful. We have that kind of team chemistry.”
Pomperaug put that test into theory when they dropped a tough 50-48 heartbreaker to Cromwell in the opening round of the Newtown 3’s for Charity Tournament played Monday, Dec. 21.
Cromwell went 21-4 last season and was the Class M state runner-up to St. Joseph, but the Lady Panthers fell by a basket. Lauren Rubinstein had a team high of 22 points with seven rebounds and seven assists. Bonnanzio added 12 points, with Opalka pulling down 18 boards, blocking three shots and scoring seven points.
How well the Lady Panthers would respond to the loss would go a long way to show how far this team can go this season. Pomperaug didn’t have to wait too long for redemption as two nights later, on Wednesday, Dec. 23, the Panthers pulled away from Hillhouse by a 53-40 margin.
Lauren Rubinstein had 13 points and seven assists, with Bonnanzio throwing in 12 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. But the stat that caused the most head-shaking reaction was Opalka tearing away a career high and quite possibly a school record 28 rebounds while finding time to score 15 points and come up with eight steals.
“Our offense is geared for the transition game,” said Fortier. “Scoring off steals and getting baskets off the outlet pass on quick rebounds. We like to play an up-tempo game.
“These girls just have an attitude that they refuse to lose. They feel that they expect to win every game they play. They are not intimidated by the top teams in the league. The other day we were down by eight points in the third period, and they didn’t show any panic and came back to win that game. They know what it takes to finish out a game and get the win even when things aren’t going their way,” he said.
“As far as championships go. I’m not about to define a successful season by the fact if you win a championship. Sometimes it’s luck, sometimes you need a little help from another team, but the bottom line is you need to stay healthy. A few years back we were right there and then two girls blew out their ACL in the same game.
“A successful season in my book is having the opportunity to play for a championship, and that is what these girls have this season, the opportunity,” Fortier said.
Pomperaug was to be back in action to closed out December Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 28 and 29, by playing in the Plainville Holiday Tournament. On Saturday, Jan. 2, the Panthers will be at Kolbe, and on Tuesday, Jan. 5, they will be home against Stratford.
Stay tuned throughout the season for weekly updates on the Pomperaug girls basketball season at www.bee-news.com.
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