some late night Southington thoughts

It just occurred to me that the Southington girls' 55-42 win over East Lyme on Wednesday, which I attended, was the 100th in coach Jim DiNello's eight years with the team. The milestone was on my radar at the start of the season, but I lost track of it over the holidays. It was an impressive win, but I guess the milestone escaped coach DiNello's attention as well. There was no celebration after the game, as there sometimes is for such events. But here's to coach DiNello and the Knights, who might be playing the best I've seen them in the past four seasons.
A big part of that success is the maturation of senior center Allie Munson, who recently verbally committed to Cornell for next year. I have watched Munson on the volleyball and basketball courts for three years developing from a young player with potential but lacking in physical toughness, into the opposite. Now she is backing up that potential and the biggest difference appears to be confidence in the post on both ends of the court. Munson looks like a star now, and teams will learn to fear what she can do.
But off the court she is very amiable and intelligent (Cornell doesn't accept academic slouches), and everybody I talk to in Southington praises her for her generosity such as tutoring she does on the side. It's been a pleasure to see her growth, and you can check The Herald this week for a more complete story on her step to the next level.