CROMWELL - Four players reached double figures in each of the Cromwell girls basketball victories last week--69-37 over visiting North Branford Jan. 13 and 64-48 at Coginchaug on the 16th--putting the Panthers in good stead as they head into the season’s home stretch.

       Cromwell has ridden its current five-game win streak to marks of 10-2 overall and 8-1 in Shoreline Conference play, with the Panthers averaging 68.2 points-per-game and yielding just 34.6 ppg during the stretch.

       And while head coach Kelly Maher is pleased with Cromwell’s growing list of successes and the improvements she’s seen in her youthful squad, she’s still looking for the Panthers to come out strong from start to finish.

       â€�"We talked about playing team basketball tonight, about sharing the ball and looking for things within the offense,” Maher said after her squad defeated the Thunderbirds on the Jake Salafia hardwood. â€�"I thought this was one of the better games where we did that. We were moving the ball pretty well.

       â€�"We had a lot of people play well defensively. We got some steals. We did a lot of the little things that may not show up in the points. I thought it was a great team game. We’re getting a lot of different people involved, which will pay off towards the end of the year.”

       Junior forward Alyssa Wright scored Cromwell’s first two buckets on feeds from captain Nicole Rojas against North Branford and totaled six of her 10 points in the opening eight minutes of play. The hectic first quarter also saw Rojas drive to the hoop for a trio of lay ups, the last scored off of a steal by Wright. Junior Emma Belcourt dropped in a pair of long-range buckets while Mya Villard added five of her game-high 13 points to give the Panthers a comfortable 23-8 advantage.

       The CHS sophomores got into the flow of the game and the scoring mix in the second period. A Geanna Williams lay-in capped a 12-0 run. Guard Nikki Bitnaitis canned a shot from long range before backcourt mates Cheyenne Salafia drilled a trey and Theresa Quinn followed with a bucket to push CHS ahead, 41-10. Cromwell headed into the break with a 43-18 lead.

       The Panthers didn’t miss a beat as they opened the second half. Wright scored on a pass from Rojas before the 5’6” Belcourt, who finished up with a dozen points, as did Rojas, added two-straight layups.

       CHS also displayed a better command of the boards, with Villard, Wright, Williams and forward Araya Lessard making their presences felt.

       â€�"We’ve been working on rebounding--going after the offensive boards when we miss a shot and boxing out on defense. We’re getting better,” Maher noted.

       â€�"Tonight we played well as a team,” Rojas said of the win over North Branford. â€�"We played together. We’ve been working on that. We haven’t been coming out well against some schools, but tonight we had a very good start. It’s very important for us to play as a team as we come to the end of the season and the big tournaments.

       â€�"To be honest, I never like coming out of the game,” Rojas admitted, â€�"but as captain, I sit on the bench and cheer for my team because the freshmen have the opportunity to get a feel for the court.”

       Villard was quick to agree with Rojas.

       â€�"This was a really good team effort because everyone was involved. Sometimes we start off well and then we play sloppy, but not tonight.

       â€�"Coach told us that we needed to play a full 32 minutes, that everyone needed to move and everyone needed to work together,” Villard added.

       â€�"We had contributions from a lot of different people tonight,” Maher said. â€�"Nicole set up the offense and set the tone of the game. She’s probably our best defender. She also does whatever we need her to do. If it’s steals, it it’s rebounds, whatever we need, she steps up and does it.

       â€�"Mya makes people come to guard her, which opens up things for the guards on the outside. She gets a lot of rebounds and is our inside scorer and our presence down low.

       â€�"We’ve been on Alyssa for her for scoring because she’ll take the charges, she’ll do the steals and she’ll get rebounds. She’s all across the stat board. We’ve asked her to start shooting and tonight you saw what Alyssa can do,” continued Maher.

       â€�"Emma creates a lot by driving. People collapse on her. She can also make people guard her because she can hit the three. She adds a different dimension to the team.

       â€�"Araya played good defense up top,” Maher said of the 5’8” junior. â€�"She prevented a lot of things from happening--the things North Branford really wanted to do. Nicki is steady for us in all areas. She passes the ball well, runs the show and complements Nicole.

       â€�"Cheyenne did a nice job coming in and hitting the three. She’s just coming off of a little injury so it was nice to get her involved. It was good to get everyone in the game, which will make us better as a team as they gain varsity experience.”

       Rojas topped the Panthers with 13 points in the win at Coginchaug Jan. 16. Belcourt and Villard followed with a dozen points, while Lessard rounded out the quartet in double figures with 10.

       â€�"I think we’ve made improvements in all areas from the beginning of the season to now,” added Maher. â€�"Our defense is better. Our rebounding is better. I think our ball movement on offense is a lot better. We’re learning how to play together as a team and we’re learning where to look for each other.

       â€�"We were young at the beginning of the season--very young. We’ve been gaining experience. They’re seeing their hard work pay off and how what we work on in practice translates to the game, so they’re seeing things come together.

       â€�"Playing a complete 32 minutes is left for us to work on. We’re close but we’re not quite there yet. We’re happy that we’re seeing the improvement and that we’re getting better, but we’re still not satisfied yet,” Maher said.