Week of January 15-21
Girls Squash
GVS played Rye High School on Tuesday, January 16 at St. Luke’s. Number one seed Caroline Nevin ‘18 won her match 3-0 and number five seed Olivia Schwartz ‘19 sealed a 3-1 victory but the Storm would ultimately lose the match 2-5. Although it was a tough match, the varsity girls played with strength and grace. Next match is Tuesday, January 23 away against The Masters School (NY).
Boys Squash
St. Luke’s hosted King School on Thursday, January 18 and prevailed on the depth of their lineup. Seniors Dennis Polyakov and Logan Diliberto faced the stiffest competition playing in the number one and number two spots respectively. Polyakov dropped the first set before winning 3-1 but Diliberto fell by a final of 1-3. All other matches were 3-0 for St Luke’s. The Storm hosts Brunswick on Tuesday, January 23 and The Masters School on Thursday, January 25..
Girls Varsity Basketball
The GVBB team was scheduled to travel to Ethel Walker on Wednesday, January 18 but the game was rescheduled due to weather. Over the weekend, they participated in the Class C East/West Tournament co-hosted by St. Luke’s. The tourney included 10 of the top teams in the conference.
On Saturday, January 20 at 11am the girls faced a scrappy Cheshire Academy team. The Storm offense started out sluggish and the team looked less than sharp. Soon, however, they got into a good offensive rhythm with solid ball movement and sharp shooting. Maya Klein was on fire shooting six three pointers and tallying a career-high 30 points. St. Luke's once again showcased their depth with solid play from the bench. The Storm defeated CA 65-49. Maya Klein (30), Caroline Lau ‘22 (8), McKenna Frank ‘18 (8), Sophie Kriftcher ‘20 (6).
At 6:30pm St. Luke's took on St. Andrew's in a highly anticipated clash of the Class C titans. The game lived up to the hype with lots of back and forth scoring. Key rebounds from Riley Page ‘19, interior drives by Frank and efficient shooting by Maya Klein helped spark the offense in the second half. Syd Cummings ‘19 made her presence felt under the boards as she tallied nine points to help the Storm finish strong and win the battle of the Saints. Final score 74-66. Maya Klein (22),Frank (18), Cummings (11), Lau (9), Page (6), Janelle Johnson ‘20(6).
Finally, on Sunday, January 21 the Storm faced the Class C NEPSAC Champions, Proctor Academy. Proctor eliminated St. Luke's in the semi final last year and the team was very much looking forward to avenging the loss. The game started off quickly with St. Luke's dominating both offensively and defensively. However, this would not last as the champs called a time out and came out with renewed determination. Proctor's interior game pounded the St. Luke's defense and they started getting hot in the perimeter. The Storm's usually high-powered offense went cold and Proctor started beating Luke's zone defense. This turned out to be a lethal combination and St. Luke's fell to Proctor 53-65. Maya Klein (12), Lau (8), Page (8) Frank (6).
Next Up: Girls Varsity Basketball travel to The Hopkins School on Wednesday, January 24.
Boys Varsity Basketball
The Storm traveled to Stamford on Friday, January 19 for an FAA battle against The King School and then returned home for an afternoon out-of-conference game against The Hun School of Princeton, NJ on Saturday, January 20.
Sandwiched in between a St. Luke’s Varsity Girls Tournament, the Boys took the court in an early afternoon game. The game started with the tip-off going to The Hun School and from there they were off to the races and ran out to a 17-4 lead.
The Storm, a battle-tested veteran team entered the game with its entire lineup for the first time all season. As the score quickly became an 18-point lead for the Hun School, the Storm’s first year Head Coach, Tony Newsom steadied his team with strategic timeouts and encouraging comments from the sidelines.
In the final five minutes of the first half, the defensive energy started to shift and some of the Storm’s three-point shots started to fall as they closed the deficit to nine as the half ended.
As the team re-entered the court, the players were focused, yet relaxed as they took some warm-up shots.
At the start of the second half, the stands were now full and an energy surge was flowing through Carey Gymnasium. The first four possessions by both teams resulted in baskets and as the clock read 14:27 left to play, The Huns still had a nine point lead.
All of a sudden, it seemed like there may have been extra Storm players on the court during the defensive stands as the energy surge felt in the stands now extended to the court. Feet were flying faster than the passes, arms and hands were everywhere. Every time a Hun player attempted to dribble, a Storm player was in his way. Deflections and steals started to come in buckets, blocked shots and rebounds were now a common occurrence.
The Storm’s offense fed off the energy of its suffocating defense. Led by senior Jonas Harper, who scored 30 against King on Friday and finished with 29 on Saturday against the Huns, the baskets started to fall. Working within their unselfish system of play baskets started to also fall for Andrew Varoli ‘18, Jackson Ryan ‘18, Jackson Selvala ‘18, Cole Bryant ‘20, and Scott Vollmer ‘19.
Erasing an 18-point first half deficit, and a nine-point deficit to start the second half, the Storm took its first lead with under six minutes to play with one dazzling play. Varoli stripped the ball away from a Hun player and dribbled the length of the court. The Hun quickly recovered and got back on defense as Varoli entered the paint. Varoli executed a 360 degree dribble move, came to a stop and shoveled a pass to the waiting hands of Harper who was standing in the corner beyond the three-point line forgotten by the Hun. As the ball left Harper’s hands, the next three sounds happened in rapid order - the net swished up as the ball flew through it, the fans roared so loud the roof felt like it was lifted from its steel beams, and the Hun coach screamed for a time out..
The Storm’s lead was not yet secure until just 1:13 to play. With only a three-point lead, Harper brought the ball up the court after another Storm stop and Vollmer rebound. Harper found Varoli who caught and shot the ball in one motion from just outside the three-point line taking a foul in the process. Varoli had to come out of the game so Bryant answered the confidence shown by coach Newsom and calmly made the extra point. The Storm now extended its lead to seven points.
In the end, the Storm walked off the court with a 67-64 victory. Team defense carried the day with an amazing fan base cheering on every stop.
Next Up: Boys Varsity Basketball has another huge FAA contest at home against Hamden Hall on Tuesday, January 23.
St. Luke’s School is a secular private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving 25 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
