Calvert, Carlino Earn Athlete of Week Honors

As we close out the month of January, this week's iBerkshires.com/Bedard Bros. Athletes of the Week have their teams poised to make deep runs into March.

 

The Lee High girls basketball team went all the way to the Division 5 State Semi-Finals last winter. The Wildcats are right back knocking on the door this year with the No. 5 position in the latest MIAA in-season power rankings.

 

Ninth-grader Gianna Carlino is a big reason why and a common denominator between the two teams.

 

Carlino was the team's leading scorer last year as an eighth-grader.

 

This year, she once again leads Lee with just more than 17 points per game.

 

Last week, she scored 16 points in a 53-41 win over rival Lenox and came back two nights later with 12 points in 60-26 road win over Mohawk Trail that officially clinched a D5 tournament berth for the Wildcats.

 

Lee (10-3) will look to keep moving up in the state rankings on Thursday and Friday in a back-to-back, starting at home against Pioneer Valley Christian and then making the short trip to Pittsfield to face Taconic.

 

The first team to have a second AOTW honree this winter is the third team in the state in Division 3 boys basketball.

 

Wahconah has won four games in a row after taking its only loss of the season, and senior Cooper Calvert is a big reason why.

 

Calvert leads Wahconah with more than 17.5 points per game.

 

In its bounceback win over Monument Mountain to start its current win streak, Calvert scored 31 points with seven 3-pointers.

 

He then added 18 against Taconic, 28 at Hoosac Valley and 19 against Lenox, raising his 3-pointer average to 3.33 per game.

 

Wahconah (11-1) has a big week on tap, starting with a road trip to Division 3 Auburn and continuing with home games against Pittsfield and Drury with a chance to avenge that Jan. 5 loss in North Adams.

 

The iBerkshires.com Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Bedard Bros.