New London’s Rosi Nicholson is The Day’s All-Area Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year
Senior guard Rosi Nicholson was the engine which made New London run
There is, unfailingly, an excitement with which Rosi Nicholson executes a play. A hustle. An importance. A sense of urgency.
Her mom, Heather Heath, was asked recently if anything Nicholson ever does on the basketball court, the electricity she brings to the New London High School girls' basketball team, surprises her. Heath laughed and said no.
“She always had high energy,” Heath said. “She literally is like Spider Man. I was always afraid she was going to break something.”
“Rosi has always been one of those kids that could just create havoc out there,” New London coach Holly Misto said. “A lot of teams didn't like that havoc. … She was just the engine. You had to have her in the game. Once Rosi got going, everybody got going.”
Nicholson, a senior guard, was named The Day's 2018 All-Area Girls' Basketball Player of the Year.
Her worth can be measured in numbers. The Whalers were 25-1, unbeaten throughout the regular season and Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament until a loss to Enfield in the Class LL state tournament quarterfinals derailed New London's attempt to complete a perfect season.
New London won 33 straight games. Ranked first in the GameTimeCT/New Haven Register top 10 for a good part of this season, the Whalers finished fifth.
An All-ECC selection and the Most Outstanding Player of the league tournament, Nicholson averaged 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 steals and 4.3 assists, recording a season-high 11 steals on Feb. 7 against Weaver as New London celebrated a victory on Senior Day.
And then there are Nicholson's intangible contributions.
“She always had high energy. She literally is like Spider Man. I was always afraid she was going to break something.” HEATHER HEATH, MOTHER OF NEW LONDON’S ROSI NICHOLSON
She changed every game with her defensive intensity. She changed every practice. “Rosi works so hard,” Misto said. “Every second she's in the gym, she just goes so hard. That pushes everybody else.
“Rosi just got more and more mature every year. She matured emotionally, physically. She just kind of learned the style of basketball I wanted her to play. She's just so athletic. But she used to steal the ball three times in a minute and turn the ball over three times in a minute. I think she realized (this year) that 'I don't have to go 90 miles an hour on offense' just because she's going 90 miles an hour on defense. She can still go 90 miles an hour on defense.”
As a sophomore and junior, Nicholson was part of two New London teams which reached the pinnacle, playing for the state championship at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Whalers, most notably, won the 2017 Class LL title over Trumbull, finishing the season ranked No. 1 in the state poll.
New London sent two members of that team, India Pagan (Stony Brook) and Jada Lucas (Hartford) to the Division I ranks, leaving Nicholson and fellow senior co-captain Cora Sawyer as the Whalers' elder statesmen.
“I knew when it was my turn, I knew I would be able to be in that position,” Nicholson said of inheriting a leadership role. “Me and Jada were on a Power Pac team (growing up) and we had the same girls then when Jada and India left. I got to practice those role model skills there.”
Misto has repeated the words often over the last few seasons. These girls care for each other. They play for each other.
Heath will second that. She remembers that when New London's recreation basketball league was split into different teams, the girls so badly wanted to spend time with one another that they would arrive early for games to watch the other teams play.
“I agree with that 100 percent,” the good-natured Nicholson said of the idea of team unity. “There's something about us. We all bond with each other. When there's five on the floor, we don't panic (in a tight game). We huddle. We pray. We do something we feel would be best. That's really all I could say to that. We come together. We discussed. We prayed. Every single person has that same mentality.”
Perhaps Nicholson will be remembered best in New London lore for a shot she made to win last season's Class LL quarterfinal game against defending state champion Stamford.
Standing in the silhouette of several taller players, the 5-foot-6 Nicholson came down with an offensive rebound, then timed her leap just right for a putback that dropped through the net as the final buzzer sounded, creating pandemonium at John T. Conway Gymnasium as the Whalers came away with a dramatic 58-56 victory.
But then Nicholson had plenty more moments to come: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, 6 assists in a win this season over vaunted Capital Prep; 13 points, 7 assists, 3 steals in the championship of the Notre Dame Appalachian Classic to earn Most Valuable Player honors; eight assists in back-to-back games in January.
“I love the sport, you know?” Nicholson said.
Nicholson's sister Taylor, a member of the New London Class of 2008, was a Whaler before her. Taylor Nicholson also played AAU basketball for legendary St. Thomas More men's coach Jere Quinn, so that Quinn's memories are of a young Rosi sprinting onto the floor in the midst of practice.
Nicholson, who wants to major in psychology with the intention of eventually becoming a marriage and family therapist, will attend Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. She plans to try out for the Division I women's basketball team there as a walk-on.
Misto calls Nicholson the consummate teammate.
“She's always willing to help somebody,” Misto said. “Her and Cora did a wonderful job. They could run practice without me easily. They're high achievers. Things were a little disappointing to them (to lose) because now they can't get that last thing.
“(Rosi) is very respectful, a pleasure to coach, a pleasure to be around, one of those kids you just love to have on your team.” v.fulkerson@theday.com