NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck girls basketball team seems like it is going through a one-step-forward-two-steps-back kind of season. The learning process takes time, and some lessons take a little longer to master than others.
Just when the Greyhounds began to gain a little traction, they lost junior Alyssa Peterson to a season-ending injury. Naugy will need to some of the younger players step up and try to fill the void left by her injury.
“I have been saying it all season it all comes down to consistency,” Naugatuck head coach Ron Plasky said. “We are seeing young players stepping up, and with the injury to Peterson that is what we need. But you can’t score eight points one game and zero points the next. We need to start developing a balance if we are to be a competitive team.”
The Greyhounds split games last week against Ansonia and Watertown an stood at 4-7 heading into this week.
Naugatuck was in a battle with Ansonia on Jan. 11 and held a 36-34 lead going into the final quarter. The Greyhounds turned it on in the fourth and outscored the Chargers 15-2 to pull away with a 51-36 win.
Molly Kennedy led the way with 21 points and converted 11 of 13 free throws. Alexis Woods stepped up and scored 11 points, and Mia Rotatori threw down nine points from the outside.
Naugatuck got some valuable minutes off the bench versus the Chargers. Freshmen Hailey Russell and Brielle Behuniak scored three points each, and Alissa McNeil added two points. Sophomore Shannon Burns contributed with two points.
Michelle Cordova and Alyana Sosa helped to keep Watertown in check in the first half of last Friday’s game, but the Greyhounds couldn’t find a flow offensively. They trailed 26-13 at the half and fell, 54-31, to the Indians.
Kennedy led the way with eight points and Woods had six points. Bridget Rosikiewicz and Evelyn Diaz added five and four points, respectively.
“I thought we responded well in the win against Ansonia, especially in the fourth quarter. But we just didn’t match up well against Watertown. They have a lot of height and experience with seven seniors, and we just couldn’t get it going,” Plasky said.
With players like Sosa, Rotatori, Rosikiewicz and Hailey Deitelbaum, who has worked her way into the starting lineup, and freshmen contributing, Plasky said the team has the talent. But, he said, in order for the Greyhounds to be successful they will need to be consistent on offense.
“The only consistency we are getting is we are continually getting beat,” Plasky said. “Against Ansonia I had three freshman come in and they all scored, Russell, McNeil and Behuniak. So it’s not like we don’t have the talent. But we can’t continue to get six or seven points one game and zero the next.
“Until that changes, unfortunately the results will not. Maybe it’s a confidence thing, but from what I see we have a lot of very talented players who just need to find some consistency.”
The Greyhounds earned their fifth win of the season on Wednesday with a 43-35 victory over Wolcott. Kennedy led Naugatuck with 13 points. Sosa had eight points and Woods added six.
The Greyhounds will host Seymour on Friday and be on the road next week against Torrington on Jan. 24 and Derby on Jan. 27.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated from the version that appears in the Jan. 20 print edition to include game results through Jan. 19.
