Bears looking forward to next season

The Norwalk girls basketball team did not have quite the season it set out to have.

The Bears did end it on the highest of notes though, defeating city rival Brien McMahon last Wednesday, 52-45.

"It was big for the girls, it was big for our confidence heading into next year," Bears coach Ricky Fuller said. "It was good to end the season on a winning note."

While the win was big for the Bears in terms of their pysche, it had no affect on their postseason aspirations. Norwalk finished the year 7-14, one win shy of qualifying for the state tournament, and also on the outside looking in for the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference playoffs.

"I think we underachieved a little bit. We had some close losses that with a little more seasoning we might have been able to turn into wins," Fuller said. "But we fell one win short, and I hope the girls remember this year when we come back.

"Of course you look back, but there isn't really one game that I point to, but really any game we lost by less than 10 we had a chance to turn into a win."

Norwalk's wins came against McMahon, Bridgeport Central, Greenwich, Fairfield Ludlowe, Harding, Darien and Bassick. Norwalk also had tough losses against Stamford and Staples.

Unlike this season when Fuller was facing the task of replacing four seniors, the Bears will return mostly in tact next year, with senior captains Rachel Simpson and Jessica Schmidt, along with McMahon senior transfer Vanessa Harris, being the only departing players.

"Rachel was a great four-year member of our program and she provided quality leadership with her play on the court," Fuller said. "Jessica was our more vocal leader, our enthusiastic leader who would get everyone ready. And Vanessa, who we didn't even expect to have, was a strong presence on the team."

With those departures in mind, the Bears have a solid foundation heading into next season. Leading scorer Rottisha Lewis will have another offseason of work under her belt and enters next year as one of Fuller's senior leaders.

The rest of the roster will be comprised of mostly juniors and sophomores, and maybe even freshmen Fuller has not seen play yet.

Katie Schmidt, Brianna Ruffin, Alexis Noonan and Emma Oyomba will all see their roles expanded even more next season.

"I think we have a good mix of size and speed coming back next year," Fuller said. "I told the girls though, they need to put in the work. I don't need girls who are exclusive to basketball, but I do need players who are going to pick up a basketball between now and next season.

"I'm really looking at that sophomore group to step it up, but really anyone who's coming back needs to put in the work."

Fuller also said he was impressed by the efforts of Zanya Fulton, who stepped in as a sophomore to play point guard for the Bears.

"I think I put the most pressure on her during the season," Fuller said. "When I think about what I had her do, after she didn't even play any varsity minutes last year, only JV, she stepped into her starting role at point guard very well. That was not an easy thing to do, but she did a tremendous job and she's a big part of what we do."

Fuller reiterated though, that just because Norwalk looks like it's in good shape on paper there are no guarantees when it comes to next season.

"The pieces are there, I tell them all the time, but they have to put the work in so we can put those pieces together, and I have to find the right places to put them too," he said. "They have to learn to gel with each other over the offseason, even if it's not organized and they just go to a playground and play."

He also said he hopes this season's disappointment--after a 10-win year in 2008-09--serves as another driving force for success.

"Hopefully this is a motivator," Fuller said. "I want them to go to the FCIAC championships and see where we stack up against the best there is, and then see what it is we have to do to get there. There's no reason to think we can't do a nice job next year."

And Fuller knows that while this year may not have produced the win total he and the team were looking for, it was still memorable.

"All the credit goes to the girls," he said. "They're the ones who put in the hard work and make the sacrifices. I know I can be a little tough on them, but in the end, I think they know I'm only doing it for their benefit."