It has been a year of transition for the Verona High School girls basketball team. A new, tougher league to play in, and a new coach, with new plays to commit to memory, both mental and muscle. It hasn’t been easy: The team now stands at 4-14.
Transitions need leaders, and the girls team has found one in co-captain Michelle Frungillo. The senior point guard has played basketball since childhood and in this season–her fourth with the VHS team–she has had to draw on all her years of skills, and more. Frungillo, who also played soccer in the fall, has been key to helping the team learn new plays and to keep up morale in the face of often difficult opposition. For her leadership, Frungillo is this week’s Verona Sports Boosters Senior Athlete of the Week.
The work by Frungillo & company under new coach Maria Cirello is beginning to pay off. The girls’ play is more cohesive of late and the losses now are by fewer points. The score of the most recent loss, to Orange High School was 46-40 against Verona. And the team is coming up a winner in some re-matches: After falling to Cedar Grove in December in a 40-29 game, the Maroon & White girls turned in a 30-28 victory over the Panthers in January. Frungillo has played in 15 games this season, and has 44 points to her credit, including several nicely done three-pointers.
During the 2011-2012 school year, the Verona Sports Boosters will be recognizing a different senior athlete at Verona High School every week. The Boosters support male and female athletes in all VHS sports through a variety of fundraisers and recognition events.
