St. Paul’s Gonzalez, Udoh form dynamic 1-2 punch

St. Paul girls basketball has won 11 straight games and has a record of 16-2 as it enters the final week of the regular season. The Falcons haven’t lost since dropping two straight games to Fairfield Ludlowe and Fairfield Warde during Warde’s holiday tournament in late December.

Two big reasons for the success of St. Paul are Janessa Gonzalez and Jade Udoh. Look at a boxscore from a recent Falcon game, and these two stand out.

Gonzalez and Udoh each had monstrous games in a 63-33 win at Wolcott on Feb. 1. Gonzalez tallied 21 points to lead all scorers. All Udoh did was post a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Keep in mind that Udoh is a center for St. Paul, and those stats really loom large.

The Falcons can depend on strong efforts from Gonzalez and Udoh night in and night out. Gonzalez can shoot from outside and attack the basket while double-doubles are commonplace for Udoh.

Of course, St. Paul is more than a two-woman show. Emma Cretella scored 11 points on Senior Night, a 63-46 win over Seymour on Jan. 25. Olivia Stump (8 points) and Catherine Ciampi (6 points) each contributed to the St. Paul victory at Wolcott. Liv Heslin has also been a strong contributor for the Falcons.

St. Paul has a pair of tough road games to close the regular season. The Falcons are at Watertown on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game. On Friday, St. Paul plays at Naugatuck at 5:30 p.m.