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Bounceback: New Canaan Girls Basketball Tops Wilton 57-23

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Four days ago the New Canaan High School girls basketball team struggled offensively, scoring 24 points in a loss to Trumbull. 

Saturday afternoon against Wilton the Rams almost matched that total in the first quarter alone en route to a 57-23 blowout win over the Warriors. “The girls showed up to play today,” New Canaan head coach Kim Palmer said. “Everybody had an impact and it’s great to see that, when you can get a real true team win. We shot well and one of the things I’m most proud of is that we took care of the ball. Turnovers have been our Achilles Heel this year and today we were able to control the ball and make smart decisions.”

A dozen New Canaan players landed in the scoring column, led by Junior Meghan Driscoll who had 12 points, all on three-pointers.

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Rams Rout Trumbull, Improve to 3-0

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After two inconsistent performances in wins over Ludlowe and Greenwich, the third time was definitely the charm for the New Canaan High School boys basketball team. The Rams put together a relentless performance over 32 minutes in a 55-36 road win Tuesday night over Trumbull. “We played really, really well in spurts and were certainly more consistent than we were in the first two games,” New Canaan head coach Danny Melzer said. “I think there’s room for improvement and the best part is our kids feel the same way. They’re not satisfied.”

New Canaan never trailed in the contest and led by as much as 26 in the win.

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‘It’s Trending Upwards’: New Canaan Boys Basketball a Perennial Playoff Contender

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Shortly after a 25-point win over Greenwich last week in a scrimmage, someone asked New Canaan basketball head coach Danny Melzer what he thought of the Rams’ performance. “I told them how I thought we did OK and how things could have gone a little better,” Melzer said. “They said, ‘Jeez, didn’t you win by 25? You’re being picky about a 25-point win?’ And it hit me that in my first year when we went 4-and-16 I had to find different things to celebrate in losses. And now we have done a 180 and we are being picky in wins.”

It’s not just this change in attitude that encapsulates just how far the Rams have come since Melzer took over the program four years ago.

Cameron Murphy

‘I Forgot How Much I Missed Coaching’: Palmer Returns to Lead NCHS Girls Basketball in 2021

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Just when Kim Palmer thought she was out, they pulled her back in. Absent from the New Canaan High School girls basketball sidelines since stepping down in 2017, Palmer is back at the helm of the Rams. 

Palmer—a Phys Ed teacher at NCHS and two-time FCIAC Coach of the Year—takes over for John Winchester, who departed last month after leading New Canaan to two consecutive CIAC playoff appearances in three seasons as head coach. “I was actually in the gym teaching PE,” Palmer said. “We had a half-day, so classes were shortened and kids were just shooting baskets and I was shooting with them. Jay Egan came in and said ‘I think you should be coaching again’ as I was shooting a basket.

Brian Granskog

With Town’s Approval, New Canaan Softball Plants Apple Trees by ‘Orchard Field’ at Waveny

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Local softball families seeking to replace an iconic tree recently felled at their showcase field have planted several apple trees there, after beating their fundraising goal for the project twice over. New Canaan Softball rapidly raised $10,250 for the estimated $5,000 project that includes not just three Norway maples behind the backstop at Waveny’s Orchard Field, but also two honey crisp apple, two traditional, one yellow delicious and one Granny Smith apple tree, according to town resident Jeff Fortmann, a parent who serves on the organization’s board. Asked for his reaction to the strong response from local families involved in the sport, Fortmann said, “I’m just astonished.”

“It was an absolute thrill to get this support from the softball community,” he said. The Parks & Recreation Commission in October approved New Canaan Softball’s proposal to fund and help loan for the tree plantings. The area had been the site of an orchard, maintained by the Lapham family, owners of Waveny prior to the town’s acquisition of the property in 1967.