Plainfield girls get win #20
By Denise Coffey - Staff Writer
Plainfield - posted Mon., Mar. 7, 2011
The Plainfield girls’ basketball team kept up their winning ways on March 4, as they beat the Weston Trojans 57-38 in the second round of the class M state tournament.
“It was a great win for us,” coach Greene said, after the game. “It was all about our defense. Our defense was great. We made adjustments. We played together defensively, and it was a great team effort tonight.”
The Panthers never trailed in the game. By the first quarter they led 15 to 6, and they never let the lead slip away.
Greene’s team is chock full of talent. He has two ECC first team all-stars in Kim Bouten and Hailey Griffin. Mogan Griffin received an ECC honorable mention and Heather Evans received an ECC sportsmanship award.
“They all deserve to be all-stars,” Greene said, after the playoff game with Notre Dame-Fairfield earlier in the week. “They all deserve honorable mentions.” But he was especially pleased with the recognition Evans’ received. The sportsmanship award is for the perfect player, the most coachable player, the quintessential athlete that is just filled with respect, he said. “Heather always keeps her head up. She never puts her head down. She never says anything negative about anybody.”
The Panthers will lose only two seniors this year, Denise Vergato and Mindy Parker. Next year promises even more offense from the likes of Bouten, Evans, and sisters Hailey and Morgan Griffin. Bouten scored 15 points in each tournament game last week. Hailey Griffin scored 13 and 15 points respectively.
Three Weston seniors were out of the game due to injuries, but Greene never expected the Trojans to give up. “They’ve got a great program over there in western Connecticut. He’s a great coach. They’re not going to give up. They’re playing for pride,” he said.
Greene was looking forward to having the weekend off. “We’ll have to see who our opponent is and make adjustments from there,” he said. “But we just have to keep working on defense and tweak a couple of things, work on some shooting stuff, talk about making some minor adjustments. At this point, we’re just going to get in the gym and continue to have positive energy.”
The Panthers were due to meet Tolland in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10.
Coach’s Corner
Jason Greene
Season: 1
“I’m very happy with where we are right now. I’m very happy with the energy and with the way they played. They did a great job tonight,” he said after the win against Weston.
Sports Spotlight:
Kim Bouten, number 3, point guard
Bouten, a junior, was recently recognized with an ECC small divison all-star award. “Kim Bouten is a spitfire. She’s a speed demon. She’s done a great job all year for us,” said coach Greene.
Heather Evans, number 24, small forward and guard
Evans, a junior, was recently recognized with the ECC sportsmanship award. “That meant a lot to me, coach Greene said. “She’s the quintessential athlete. She gives 100 percent in every practice and every game.”
Photos
