Court conquest! Notre Dame High School girls' basketball team sparkles in first-ever season

By Rick Menning

WEST HAVEN, CT -- From the moment they stepped on the hardwood floor for their historic 2025-26 season opener at Lauralton Hall back in the middle of December, the Green Knights girls' basketball players sent out vibes that were both positive and inspiring.

Wearing the green and gold uniforms with a sense of conviction and purpose, the Notre Dame High School ballers were locked in and confident as they repped their school's colors in their debut game on that Milford campus.

With the dawn of this new era of girls' hoops, there was great anticipation and excitement as the visitors were anxious to showcase their talents inside the Crusaders' gymnasium.

MAKING HER MOVE: Notre Dame High School sophomore Aaliyah Maddox looks for an opening as she goes on a scoring drive. (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame High School/Alycia Sandella.)

Not only did the freshmen/junior varsity squad perform well in its debut, but it also came away with the first of what would be many decisive wins over the next few months.

"The program’s victory against Lauralton Hall served as a definitive turning point, setting a confident tone for the rest of the season," Head Coach Kevin Wielk said. "Our girls showed up ready to work. I was proud of how well everyone came together to support each other, all while adapting to a new school."

Combining a great work ethic in their practices with the resolve to keep the great basketball tradition going strong at Notre Dame, this group of seven girls used that opening contest as a springboard to success.

They wrapped up their inaugural season having prevailed in nine of their 12 games. Even more importantly, the girls built a chemistry and a camaraderie that resulted in new friendships and being in synch for an entire four quarters in every game.

"The players celebrated each other's successes," Wielk said. "Seeing players cheer when someone made a fast-break layup was just as exciting as seeing another player make their first basket ever."

Seven strong and supported

While opponents with longstanding girls' basketball programs came to Notre Dame with many more players than their hosts, Wielk and his coaching staff of Will Reaves and Khalil Dunham-Carson had to make do with a minimal roster considering the school's first-ever coed class.

The other challenge was finding enough schools with freshman/junior varsity squads to play in the initial campaign.

What was initially only four games on the 2025-26 schedule continued to increase as more opponents were found and more opportunities arose for the ND girls to enhance their skill set and gain more experience.

Through it all, the Green Knights 'Super Seven' faced every adversity -- including an injury that left them with six players (a bench of one) for a short stretch of games -- yet walked off the court with respect and admiration for their above-and-beyond performances.

"Before every game, we would huddle up and say 'Hard work…together!'” Wielk continued. "And the team really lived up to it; they gave it their all and supported each other both on and off the court."

Quick learners from day one

Like the rest of her teammates, Kendall Martinez was initially unsure of how the Xs and Os -- and all the drawing up of plays -- would actually look like in game situations as well as how the learning curve would evolve.

It didn't take long for all the pieces of the puzzle to come together.

NO PASSING LANE: Notre Dame High School's Kendall Martinez gets into position to defend the play during action against Amity. (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame High School/Alycia Sandella.)

"I feel very happy to have been a part of this team," said Kendall, who completed her studies at Joseph Melillo Middle School. "We really grew with each other, became friends, and had so much fun this season."

Shift into full throttle mode

Aaliyah Maddox, who previously attended Francis T. Maloney High School, spearheaded Notre Dame's fast-paced attack which featured great transition from defense to offense and vice versa.

Maddox lit up the scoreboard all season with her driving layups and great perimeter shooting. She was one of three players -- including Noelle Gallagher and Victoria Amarante -- who averaged in double figures.

"I feel like we worked best when we were pushing the ball," Aaliyah said. "We were good in our sets, and even better when our focus was on moving fast so that the defense couldn't keep up with us."

After some tough losses early on, the Green Knights stayed the course and did not waver from their game plan. The end result was several lopsided victories that had the girls believing in their abilities.

Victoria, who like Aaliyah is one of the sophomores on the squad, said a narrow setback at Daniel Hand ignited a spark and it served as a rally cry to build from that experience.

"We continued to work really hard in practice and we definitely grew as a team," said Victoria, who transferred to Notre Dame from Branford High School. "We always stayed positive, kept the right mindset and succeeded in our season."

NO SPEED LIMIT: Notre Dame High School's Victoria Amarante drives through the paint as has a lane to make her layup as the Green Knights take on the visiting Spartans. (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame High School/Alycia Sandella.)

Noelle, who like Victoria came to ND via Branford High School, thought back on all the preparation the girls were involved in long before the opening tip this past December.

And as the competition now shifts to the varsity level next season, Gallagher knows it's more important than ever to shift the mindset from the opening season highlights to what is possible when the curtain goes up and a brighter spotlight shines this coming December.

"We're going to prepare all summer for varsity because we have something to prove now that we are going to that next level," Noelle said. "Our coaches will start us on conditioning. I'm sure the practices will be intense and we need that because we want to be at our best."

Because of the limited roster numbers over the recently completed season, every girl on the team was relied upon to take on more minutes and more responsibilities depending on that particular game or situation.

SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE: Notre Dame High School's Noelle Gallagher brings the ball across center court as her teammates set up in the offensive zone. (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame High School/Alycia Sandella.)

Noelle Gallagher said it didn't matter who was on the court, it was all about the team and not missing a beat when it came to running their systems and executing the plays the right way.

"We would cheer each other on all the time," Noelle said. "We would push each other so we could get better and improve as the season went on."

Kendall Martinez and her girls' basketball teammates can now look forward to a very bright future. She is looking forward to the 2026-27 season when Notre Dame girls' basketball elevates to varsity.

"I feel very happy and excited; it was really fun," Kendall said. "We had so much energy and we really grew with each other this season, but now it's time to get ready for next season and we're all really excited about that!"

As for next season's varsity expectations, Aaliyah and her teammates are confident that the Green Knights can rise to the occasion.

"I'm excited to see how we play against harder varsity competition and show that we're not just a good JV team, but we can also compete at that higher level," Aaliyah said.