NORWICH - The NFA girls' basketball team is in uncharted waters this season.
Ordinarily, a win over a 1-8 team would not create much ripple for NFA, which has averaged over 20 wins a year in the last decade. The Wildcats' 57-28 win Tuesday over Fitch, though, roughly compared to a ship finally discovering land.
NFA entered the game with a 1-6 record, struggling early against a brutal non-league schedule that looks similar to the first GameTime CT top 10 state poll that was released Tuesday. Losses have come against the likes of No. 1 Mercy, No. 4 RHAM and recent state champs Stamford and E.O. Smith.
In most years, that schedule, beefed up this year by the lack of ECC crossover games with smaller schools, wouldn't affect the Wildcats. This year NFA starts two freshmen and two sophomores.
"When you are this young, any time you play well enough to score a lot of points and win, it's a positive," NFA coach Bill Scarlata said. "In reality we could be 5-2 since we've lost a pair in overtime and I probably could have made a few adjustments to turn things around. But we are a work in progress and are fighting through a brutal scheule that doesn't get a lot easier."
Scoring droughts have hampered NFA to date as the Wildcats (2-6, 1-1 ECC-Large) surpassed the 50-point mark for the first time. NFA started slowly, leading by just 16-9 in the second quarter. Senior point guard Kaylee Ericson got two quick fouls and sat the whole second quarter.
But instead of slogging along in her absence, NFA rode a strong full-court press and the outside shooting of freshman guard Sarah Ericson (13 points) and sophomore Bella Graziano (11 points). Each guard hit a pair of threes. NFA turned the slow pace into a 10-0 run, courtesy of two Ericson rainbow threes, to take a 25-9 lead before settling for a 35-13 halftime edge.
"Sarah has been pretty consistent for us, but Bella really stepped up," Scarlata said. "We've been missing a second scorer and she was that tonight."
NFA received an inside offensive presence from a rotation forwards such as Makayla Poirier-Vaughters, Zoe Furman-Cox and Carsen Keith. Kaylee Ericson returned in the third quarter to join her sister in the backcourt. They provided the prettiest play of the night as Kaylee fired a long, two-handed chest pass on a fastbreak to Sarah, who converted a left-handed layup. NFA led 47-18 after three quarters.
Ellie Hohlfelder led Fitch, which snapped an 0-7 start by beating Windham Monday, with 11 points.
NFA hosts an improved Woodstock 7 p.m. Thursday.
