Westover’s Paige Cunningham Named NEPSAC Basketball All-Star

Paige Cunningham of Cheshire, a senior at Westover School, has been selected as a NEPSAC All-Star for the 2013-2014 basketball season.

Marty Pelosi, Head Coach at Westover for eight years, said this was an honor that Cunningham was bound to receive. “Paige was a large part of any success Westover Basketball attained in the three years she played here,” Pelosi said. “She played with an incredible drive and aggressive nature. She improved dramatically over the years and blossomed into the total package. Her effort was an example for the rest of her team to follow. Paige averaged 8.2 points, three blocks, and nine rebounds per game this year.”

Co-coach Stephanie Cohan, who coached Cunningham for the last two years, joined in the praise. “I love coaching Paige,” Cohan said. “She is the heart of our team. Her refusal to never give up and her ability to work until the last seconds tick down, no matter what the score shows, is true leadership by example.”

On January 13th, Cunningham received Westover’s Wildcat of the Week honor, in recognition of her triple double against rival Chase Collegiate, which included 12 rebounds, 18 points, and 11 blocked shots.

“I started playing basketball in third grade in a co-ed recreational league,” Cunningham recalled. She still plays nine years later because she loves the “fast pace” of the sport. She enjoys standing up to the pressure of close games, and being challenged to play different positions.

In one of the last games of the season, Cunningham played point guard to replace an injured Wildcat. The resulting victory, she said, was her favorite Westover Basketball memory, and she was proud of her team for their flexibility and ability to perform under pressure. In that game, the Wildcats defeated Christian Heritage 30-21, Cunningham’s last regular-season game of her high school career.

Cunningham and fellow senior Marisa Littmann of Rocky Hill were also named CISAC All-Stars.

Cunningham plans to go to Elon University in the fall and to continue to play basketball.

Westover is a selective boarding and day school in Middlebury, Connecticut, with 205 students in grades 9-12 from 17 states and 20 countries. The School offers its students more than 20 Advanced Placement courses as well as signature programs in science, engineering, art history, and music.