For the Joel Barlow High girls varsity basketball team, quality as opposed to quantity will determine how it fares in the 2024-25 season.
A small group this season, the Falcons have just 15 players in the program. Head coach Joe Carollo attributes this to the demands of off-season training of other sports.
“We have some multi-sport athletes and they’re able to make it work,” said Carollo, now in his 17th season with the program. “We’re lucky to have 15 kids who want to be here and want to improve.”
A pre-season scrimmage against St. Joseph of Trumbull gave the team a glimpse of how it may stack up against the competition. Carollo felt his team shot and defended well.
Helping the Falcons are a number of experienced varsity players back from last season’s team, which finished with an 8-13 overall record. For the first time in four years, the team qualified for the state Class MM tournament, losing in the first round to Sheehan of Wallingford.
“Last year we competed in almost every game,” said Carollo. “There might have been one or two games where it was a tough matchup, and we might have lost by 18 or 20 points.”
Barlow did graduate a few key players since then, including captains Mackenzie Sickinger and Keira Gillon. The former was a center and the latter played forward. The team also lost captain Elyssa Kalamaris, who did not play last season due to a knee injury.
It brings back several experienced varsity players. These include guards Allie Ogden, Agnes Davis and utility player Sarah Ashgar, all senior captains.
“Agnes is the best three-point shooter on the team and the best defensive player on our team,” said Carollo. “If we can get more scoring from Allie to go with her good defense and good rebounding and her leadership, that’s what we need.”
The Falcons will also count on junior captain and guard Mia Tartaglia. Classmate and center Ava Gillon will give Barlow a presence under the net in rebounding, shooting and defense.
“We’re lucky to have kids that have been in the program and kind of know what our identity is as far as playing as a group, offensively and defensively,” said Carollo.
Most of the team will be comprised of sophomores, a few of which could also see varsity time. These include Paige Jarvis, a forward and backup center.
“She can go in there and guard a big kid and but then shoot threes on the other end,” said Carollo. “She’s pretty versatile, which is really what we need.”
He expects sophomore Jilly Knorr to get some varsity time as well. Olivia DiBlasi could also have a role on the varsity team.
Once again, the Falcons will face some good teams in the South-West Conference, including Bethel, Masuk and Immaculate. If they can pull off a few upset wins, they have a shot at finishing in the top eight spots and making the playoffs.
“I’ll measure progress by we’re in every game with a chance to win,” said Carollo. “I want to be competitive with everybody. That’s our goal.”
