March, 1997 Central Community Debates Issue of Ebonics
|
Laurian Grey Emerges as Top Flight Player
By Paul Raymond
The Girls Basketball team finished with a 10-10 regular season record, qualifying for the FCIAC and State Tournaments. The team struggled to overcome the lost of Paula Moore, 1996 Connecticut Player of the Year, and fell in the first round of the FCIAC tournament to Norwalk.
"I am very happy with the team's performance this season. They played a lot of good games against good teams," said Coach Richard Fisher.
"I think the team made some excellent strides this year. We have had ups and downs, but that is to be expected for a young team. It takes time to learn how to win," said Assistant Coach Eric Graf.
Junior Laurian Gray played a major role in the team's success, averaging 15 points a game. Over the summer Gray developed a jumper which she lacked last year. "Gray's improvement didn't surprise me at all. I saw that she wanted to become a good player and she played all summer to become the player that she is now," said Fisher.
"She has a lot of talent and right now is a very good player. If she takes the time this summer to work on her defense and get more consistency in her shooting, she will become a great player," added Graf.
The team lost several players to graduation and suffered from a lack of experience. "It is tough to win as a young team. Last year we had several people who had been through everything together. This year our girls learned a little bit about each other every day of practice and every game. Next year I look for big things out of our team," said Graf.
"Experience is something that can't be taught, it comes with hard work," said Fisher.
Karla Solis was the starting point guard. Tiquana Williams helped the team with her passing and defensive skills this year. The team was hurt because of the loss of Williams. "Tiquana was an excellent passer and one of our more experienced players. Hopefully, she will be ready to play next year," said Graf.
Daisha Rivera provided an outside shooting threat. Marsha Thomas and Tiana Hargrove picked up the rebounding that was lost by the graduation of Moore. "Marsha and Tiana have done a good job of rebounding, but it is impossible to replace a girl like Paula. The whole team must help out on the boards," said Graf.
The girls should be stronger next year because the team will be more experienced and the varsity team will be bolstered by members of a strong J.V. team, which was led by standout point guard Amelia Rhodes.
"I think the whole JV team surprised me with their improvement from last year. They are a great bunch of girls to be around and some will play a major role on our varsity team next year," said Graf. "The J.V. team had their most successful season in a very long time, Graf did a great job coaching them," said Fisher.
