Pomperaug no. 4, sophomore center Karli Opalka, leads the team in both scoring, at 13 points per game, and rebounding, at 14 per game, as the Lady Panthers are 10-3 on the season. (Ken Morse photo)
By KEN MORSE
Special to the Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer
The Pomperaug girls’ basketball team is gearing up for the challenge as they head down the stretch of the season. With just over two weeks to go in the regular season, the Lady Panthers go into the teeth of their schedule, playing four teams over the next six games against opponents who will be playing in the South West Conference (SWC) tournament.
Three of those teams have the same 10-3 record as the Panthers. The three games that ended up in the loss column for the Panthers were against teams that currently are undefeated.
Pomperaug lost a 2-point decision to 14-0 Cromwell in December, fell to 12-0 St. Paul of the Naugatuck Valley League, and last week was upended by 13-0 New Fairfield, the leader in the SWC.
“The three teams we have lost to are all teams that are undefeated,” said Pomperaug head coach Joe Fortier. “I would certainly like another shot at all of them, but realistically we are looking for another shot at New Fairfield in the SWC tournament.
“We enter the toughest stretch of our schedule, and this will get us ready for the post season. We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves and just need to take it one game at a time.”
Pomperaug didn’t sneak up on anyone this season. They were one of the teams to beat, and they have lived up to that expectation. The Panthers are led by an experienced group of five seniors and a very confident group of five talented sophomores to go along with a couple of freshman who have played quality varsity minutes.
Senior captains Caly Farina, Katy Rafferty and Lauren Rubinstein have seen it all over the past four years, along with Rachel Bonnanzio and Leah Rubinstein, but these seniors are looking to go out with the one thing that has eluded them – a championship trophy.
The key ingredient may be the feisty play of the sophomores led by Karli Opalka, who has averaged 13 points and 14 rebounds per game. On most nights, Opalka can simply take over a game, as shown in the four games in which she pulled down 18 rebounds or more and scored 18 points or better. But the sophomore center certainly left her mark with a 28-rebound performance against Hillhouse in a 53-40 win.
Rafferty has scored 54 points on the season and is one of the team’s 3-point threats. Caly Farina has dropped 75 points through the basket, scoring at a 6-points-per-game clip, and is averaging 8 steals per game.
Lauren Rubinstein is the playmaker who sets the tone for the offense, averaging 8 assists and 6 steals per game while scoring 153 points, or 11.8 points per game. Leah Rubinstein has scored in six of the 11 games she’s played and has been solid, running the point for the Panthers’ offense.
Bonnanzio has scored 109 points on the season. She carries a scoring average of 8.5 points per game and a rebound average of 8 per game.
What has put Pomperaug over the top is the quality play and overall depth provided by sophomores Claudine Legato and Megan Todhunter. Legato has scored 37 points on the season, but recently, during a five-game stretch, she averaged 5 points and 10 rebounds per game. Todhunter has found herself in the mix, contributing 56 points on the season, and recently led the team with a 13-point effort in a win over New Milford. Sophomore Allison McCormick has logged quality minutes twice, scoring 8 points in wins over Plainville and New Milford.
Freshmen Alexis Flood, Olivia Farina and, recently, Kelly Powers have all contributed points for one of the deepest teams since coach Fortier has been at the helm.
“The loss to New Fairfield; we just couldn’t get our shots to drop,” said Fortier. “They really matched up well with us and played a zone. We had to really grind out the points we scored.
“We came out of the first quarter on top 17-15 and then struggled, getting outscored 12-5 in the second and we just never made that up. I liked the way the team responded, getting back in the win column our next time out against Brookfield.
“Now we enter a tough stretch in the season against some very competitive teams. We need to get into a good rhythm and finish out the regular season strong so we go into the post season with some momentum.”
Pomperaug got their focus back last Friday when they shook off the loss to New Fairfield and quickly disposed of Brookfield 61-37, improving to 10-3 on the season. Opalka led the way, scoring 18 points with Caly Farina adding 12 points and Bonnanzio chipping in with 11 points.
Pomperaug was back in action Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 8-6 Barlow and then will be home to host 7-3 Weston Friday. Jan. 29. They will have with a big match-up at home next Tuesday, Feb. 2, against Notre Dame of Fairfield.
Fortier had said about Tuesday’s game, “Barlow is not going to be an easy game. First it’s on the road and they defeated a 10-3 Notre Dame of Fairfield team and last week in the rematch lost by two. They are a quality team that plays a tough defense and they don’t let you get into the flow of your game.”
Pomperaug found out just how tough the schedule will be and how resilient Barlow is as the Panthers dropped a tough 37-35 overtime decision Tuesday. The loss dropped the Lady Panthers to 10-4 on the season in a low-scoring game where points were hard to come by.
Opalka, Farina and Bonnanzio all scored eight points to lead the Panthers. Lauren Rubinstein added six points and McCormick chipped in with five points.
Stay tuned throughout the season for weekly updates on the Pomperaug girls’ basketball season at www.bee-news.com.
UPDATED Jan. 27 at 8:30 a.m. to add PHS/Barlow results from Tuesday, Jan. 26, in the last five paragraphs.
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