The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Cromwell team finds its footing
CROMWELL — In girls basketball circles, Cromwell is one of the state’s most accomplished programs.
Any conversation about successful schools in the sport over the last 15 years would/should include the Panthers, who won three state championships in a seven-year period beginning in 2013 and churned out eight Shoreline Conference titles between 2010 and 2019.
But every program hits a down cycle. While the Panthers have been accustomed to being at or near the top of the heap for the last decade, they are starting over.
The majority of coach Sal Morello’s roster of 15 for the 2023-24 season are freshmen getting acclimated to the varsity game. Of the eight, Peyton Kelleher and Sadie Rau are starters and three others get playing time. Sophomores Piper Kovacs and Hayden Vandersloot also are regulars. The Panthers have one healthy senior in 5-foot-9 forward Leah Pepe.
There have been growing pains at every turn. At the moment, this is a team of the future.
“I like this team,” said Morello, now in his second year as head coach after more than a decade as a Panthers assistant. “I have a lot of confidence in these kids and overall I think their attitudes are excellent. The second half of the season, I want to see growth, I want to see basketball IQ. We’ve taken small steps, but we’re getting there.”
Cromwell (3-10) lost its first eight games of the season but has since caught a wave, winning three of four before Saturday night’s 53-20 loss at Granby.
“They’ve understood and I’ve been open about ‘we are going to take our lumps,’” Morello said. “We have to stay positive and keep learning, and hopefully we’ll look back in a year or two on this experience and we’ll be better for it — more humbler and hungry, and better for it.”
Cromwell is not unaccustomed to relying on first- and second-year players in starting
roles. What’s different now is there are so many.
Senior Cameryn Hickey was the team’s top returning player coming into the season. After putting off surgery to repair wear and tear on her left hip, she will lead the Panthers from the bench.
“I think they’re going to be pretty good,” said Hickey, who played eight games before having the procedure soon after the new year. She led Cromwell to the Class S soccer championship in November and will play collegiately at Emmanuel in Boston.
“I think they’re still developing at this point,” Hickey said. “It’s one game at a time, but they are getting better each game. It’s what we should focus on right now. I want to make sure they keep their heads up. I think that’s important.”
In a 44-25 home win over Old Lyme last week, the Panthers showed flashes of what’s to come between mistakes you would expect from a young squad — dribbling into a double team, a pass landing a few rows up into the stands, and a shot over the backboard.
Only this time, Cromwell came out strong in the third quarter, extending a 10-point halftime lead to 16 after three. Kelleher, who has size and goes strong to the basket, led Cromwell with 18 points and Pepe finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“The third quarter has been our Achilles heel all year,” Morello said, “so how we’re coming out in the third quarter has been a point of emphasis. We’ve played well all year in the
first half. I liked our pace against Old Lyme and I wanted us to come out with more energy after halftime and pick up our defensive intensity.”
When Morello took the reins from longtime head coach Kelly Maher last season, he knew he would be in for a 2023-24 makeover. Last March, he guided the Panthers to the Class S semifinal round, where they lost to Shoreline rival Valley Regional.
“Last year was our shot with an experienced team,” he said. “Now it’s a total rebuilding process that is going to take time. I’ve always said this in multiple sports, there is a big difference between a 17-year-old and a 15-yearold or 14-year-old. We’ll get it. I’m not new to it. I built the football program here, I helped Middletown rebuild a little bit with football.
“I’m confident in these girls. They are a great bunch to work with, they show up every day and
work hard. It hasn’t shown up in the win column, but we’ve been a lot better of late. Practices have been a lot better and cleaner, so they’re getting that part.”
Morello also has familiarized himself with Cromwell’s middle school team through camps and clinics, knowing how crucial the feeder system has been to the high school program. The totality of Cromwell’s JV team is eight freshmen.
“I’m still figuring out rotations, I’ve got to give these kids experience,” he said. “I keep telling myself, ‘look at the big picture. You can’t worry about the noise, worry about the big picture. Big picture, big picture, big picture.’ It’s been a learning year for myself, too.”
Middletown girls savor win over Simsbury
As far as quality wins go, Middletown’s 37-30 victory over previously undefeated Simsbury is
the leader in the clubhouse.
“Without question,” coach Rob Smernoff said.
The Blue Dragons’ defense throttled the Trojans in the fourth quarter, holding them to three points and ending their 11-game winning streak. Middletown has won seven of eight after a 1-2 start.
“Max Preps has Simsbury as the No. 1 team in the state. In my mind, they are the best defensive team in the state,” Smernoff said. “You have to play terrific defense on your end, because you’re not going to get 50 or 60 points against Simsbury. They run at least 15 different offensive sets. The key is to get them out of their comfort zone a little bit.”
Simsbury runs a methodical, Princeton-like offense, while Middletown prefers to push the ball. The Dragons scored just 11 points in the first half and trailed by five at the break before finding momentum.
They cut the deficit to one after three quarters, then outscored the Trojans 11-3 the rest of the way.
“We didn’t turn them over much because they truly are so disciplined,” said Smernoff. “They are a tough team to really prepare for, but we did a good job battling on the boards.
Simsbury has two standout players in returning CHSCA All-Star guard Amanda Gallagher and forward Olivia Jarvis. Gallagher scored 27 points, Jarvis had three, and that was it.
“We contained (Jarvis) pretty well,” Smernoff said. “One of my concerns was that we would fall into the Simsbury (trap). You play their game and you lose 42-26, that type of game. The key for us offensively was we were able to be more aggressive and pick our tempo up in the second half.”
The coach credited senior Shalyn Smith, who led Middletown with 15 points, with setting up Gabby Butler and Alyssa Hendrix for layups late in the fourth quarter when Simsbury loaded its defense to stop her from scoring.
“Shalyn was just terrific,” Smernoff said.
This week, Middletown has home games against New Britain (Monday) and Amistad (Wednesday) and a road game against Bristol Central on Thursday.
Top performances and more
• Cromwell struggled in its latest win, 63-52 over Hale-Ray, but did enough to extend its winning streak to eight. Victor Payne led the way with 20 points. The Panthers are 8-2. After a home game against Old Saybrook on Tuesday, they visit Coginchaug (9-3) on Friday.
• Cody Robinson led Haddam-Killingworth with 22 points in a 61-50 win over Westbrook. The 7-3 Cougars have won four straight ahead of Tuesday’s home game against Coginchaug.
• The Portland girls basketball team broke into the win column last week by beating Cheney Tech 42-17. Freshman Kelsey Desmaires scored 19 points to lead the Highlanders and Morganne Pineda had
12.
• Four Xavier wrestlers reached finals and two won their divisions in the War on the Shore tournament in Maryland. The champs: Raekwon Shabazz at 113 pounds and Charlies Weidman at 215. Anthony Basile (138) and Kyle Levesque were runners-up. The Falcons won the team title.
• Four Coginchaug Blue Devils committed to college programs for next fall: AJ Turman, McDaniel College golf; Paige Konopka, Fitchburg State softball; Cali Beebe, Southern Connecticut track and field; and Alex Woznyk, Central Florida dance.
Wilborn’s dunk captured on SportsCenter
On his 20th birthday, Middletown’s Eli Wilborn turned in the best performance of his young St. Francis (PA) basketball career and, to boot, wound up on ESPN. The freshman forward scored 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting and added seven rebounds in the Red Flashes’ 72-66 win over LIU. His onehanded dunk on a firsthalf drive in the lane was the No. 4 highlight on the network’s Top 10 plays of the night for Friday. Trust me when I say it takes a special moment to grab the attention of ESPN.