The Bromfield girls varsity basketball team is off to a solid start with a 2-2 record and big hopes for the season ahead. Although winter sports have just begun and the pandemic has brought many changes, junior co-captain Chloe Scornavacca said her team is already showing much improvement.
Below: Tallie Dutkewych drives to the hoop. (Photos by Tim Clark)
The team has played four games so far, resulting in both a win and a loss against Tahanto, a win against Murdock, and a loss against Ayer Shirley at Monday night’s game.
“Our best game was against Tahanto the second time,” Scornavacca told the Press. Bromfield lost by just 2 points to Tahanto the first time around, but won 40-27 in the following game. “There was really good effort by the team to stay poised and fight back,” said coach Bob Miller.
The girls also did well against Murdock, coming away with a 56-30 win. Scornavacca said the games against Murdock and Tahanto were “good moments for the whole team to get into the game” since the team’s many younger players got a chance to shoot the ball––and score––more comfortably.
This year, the team has several new players, and while a less experienced team poses a challenge, Scornavacca said she and her co-captain Natalia Dutkewych have been working to help the younger students become more comfortable playing on varsity. “I’m really pleased that we have a lot of new players … and they’ve been so good about listening and improving,” Miller said.
Miller praised Scornavacca and Dutkewych both for their leadership as captains and their talent as players. Bromfield is in a basketball pod (Midland-Wachusett League Pod 9) with six other schools—Ayer Shirley, Monty Tech, Murdock, South Lancaster Academy, Tahanto, and West Boylston—and the two captains are highly ranked, placing second and eighth, respectively, within the pod. In basketball, player rankings are based on the number of points a player has scored per season.
Basketball looks a bit different this year given changes made to limit students’ exposure to the coronavirus. This includes grouping schools into pods based on geographical proximity rather than size, and several modifications to the game rules to adjust to playing during the pandemic.
Scornavacca explained that instead of starting with a jump ball, the referee now arbitrates a coin toss to limit contact, and the winning team passes the ball in from the sideline.
Similarly, a jump ball is called as a penalty when two players are holding the ball simultaneously. The referee calls this more quickly than usual to minimize contact between the contending players. Scornavacca said free throws and throw-ins are also different because the number of players that can stand by the free throw line has been limited, and when the ball goes out of bounds behind the basket, it must be thrown in from the side.
From a coach’s perspective, Miller said one of the most challenging changes is keeping the team spread out on the bleachers. “I’m used to walking up and down the line of players and having a big huddle,” he said. Miller now has to write out each play on a sheet of paper and hold it up for the team to read.
Moreover, although the schools are starting to livestream the games, the lack of spectators on the bleachers also changes the atmosphere, both Miller and Scornavacca explained. While the quiet is less distracting than a noisy crowd, Miller noted, not having spectators isn’t good for the team. “We’re a team that really feeds off the crowd,” said Scornavacca. “No spectators changes the mood.”
The team is making the most of the unusual circumstances, however, calling this a “developmental year.” Reflecting on how far the team has come during her three years on varsity, Scornavacca expressed hope for the remainder of the season, and gratitude for the encouragement her teammates show for each other and the respect they show other schools. “It’s such a good environment,” she said, “there are no moments where our team has been discouraged."
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Livy Kehoe gets off a shot before her Ayer defender can get set.
