The Ansonia/Derby travel basketball teams came off a two-week break for the holidays Sunday and played four solid games at Derby High School.
Each team continues to improve and have really shown drastic improvement over the past three months.
The 5th grade team secured their first win of the season over Old Saybrook. They used balanced scoring and great defense to secure the 27 – 11 victory.
Morgan Teodosio led the way with 9 points. She was followed by Mikayla Hernandez’s 8 points and Gabby Gavin’s 6 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Marissa Pellegrino rounded out the scoring with 4 points for the victors.
“It was really special to see the girls’ faces after the victory,” said Patrick Lynch, coach of the 5th grade team. “They have come so far, I just hope they stick with it for years to come because there’s a lot of potential in this group.”
The other three teams lost their games but had some solid performances in defeat. Morgan Teodosio (8 points), Lucy Lane (2 points) and Kiley Drezek (2 points) lead the scoring for the 4th grade team and each collected 6 rebounds in their loss to North Haven.
In the 6th grade game, Sydney Drezek continued to be the leading scorer by pouring in 8 points. Gabby Stadt (2 points) and Daphney Pate (1 point) rounded out the scoring for the team in their loss to North Haven.
The 7th/8th grade team lost a tough game to Haddam-Killingworth. The game was tight throughout the 1st 3 quarters but eventually H‑K pulled away for the victory.
Anna Chevarella had the highest single game point output for the first-year program by racking up 17 points in the loss. Judi Palmieri (3 points), Lacey DiMartino (1 point) and Imani Gonzalez (1 point) rounded out the scoring.
The four teams will host games this Sunday at Derby High School. The 4th grade team tips off at 10am vs. Guilford, followed by the 5th grade team at 11:15am vs. North Branford. At 12:30pm, the 6th grade team will take on Haddam-Killingworth and lastly at 1:45pm the 7th/8th grade team will play North Branford.
Come by and support the girls as they continue to build a foundation for girls’ basketball in Ansonia and Derby for years to come.
