For the third year in a row, the Morgan and Cromwell girls’ basketball teams collided for the Shoreline Conference title and, for the second straight season, the squads needed overtime to determine a winner. The big difference this year was the Huskies were the ones who walked away with the championship.

Top-seeded and undefeated Morgan took on the four-time defending title holder Panthers at Cross High School on Feb. 27 and the Huskies captured their first conference title since 2005 by a 53-52 final in overtime. Morgan led by five with 11 seconds left in the fourth, but Cromwell tied the contest to force the extra session in which senior Jen Dawson knocked down the go-ahead free throw with 2.7 seconds left to seal the gold for the Huskies.

“When I went to the line, I tried to not think about it. I just took a deep breath, blocked out all the sound from the stands, and shot the ball. Once it went in, I felt a huge sigh of relief,” said Dawson. “I wouldn’t have wanted to win the title with any other team because we’ve worked so hard to get here. Cromwell is a tough team that never lets up, but winning the Shoreline title against them in my senior year just feels amazing.”

Dawson led all scorers on the floor with 22 points while completing a double-double with 10 rebounds. Senior Kelsey Donaldson also found her way to double figures on 10 points and 11 boards. Senior Tori Hopkins (8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) and junior Sami Ashton (7 points, 7 assists, and 1 block) rounded out the championship effort with Ashton also reaching her 1,000th career point after Hopkins had done so earlier in the week.

“It means so much to take the title from a team like Cromwell. They are a tough team that always comes out to play. After losing to them last year on a buzzer-beater in overtime, I think we were ready to go this time and not let it slip away,” said Ashton, who was recently named the Shoreline Conference Player of the Year. “To score my 1,000th point in this game means a lot because we were able to come away with the win and, although it wasn’t the focus of the night due to us winning, it meant even more to win the game.”

In the opening quarter, Morgan (22-0) and 2nd-seeded Cromwell (19-4) went back and forth in trading buckets, although the Huskies emerged with a 16-15 edge heading to the second.

During that second quarter, the Panthers continued to work the glass and take advantage of second-chance baskets on offensive boards. Still, Morgan remained strong and went to the locker room with a four-point lead at halftime.

For the third quarter, the Panthers took the period by a 15-11 margin to send both sides to the final frame of regulation at a 39-39 deadlock. The Huskies had been down by five late in the third prior to a Hopkins three-pointer and Dawson finding the hoop underneath as time expired.

The Huskies then fought to a 48-43 command with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, yet Cromwell junior forward Alyssa Wright went to the hole, drew a foul, and made the ensuing free throw to cut the Morgan lead to a deuce with seven ticks left. The Huskies then turned the ball over to allow senior guard Nicole Rojas to make it a 48-48 game with 1.5 seconds to go, thus forcing overtime.

In that decisive OT period, Dawson and Ashton each picked up baskets to put their squad up 52-48 as Morgan sat 1:47 from the title. But again, Rojas dropped a jumper to knot things up at 52 with 19 seconds remaining. Dawson was then fouled 17 seconds later and made the front end of her two foul shots to earn the Huskies Shoreline supremacy.

“We’ve been banging heads with them for a while, but Cromwell is a well-coached team with great athletes,” said Head Coach Joe Grippo. “We just had a little defensive breakdown with their put-back, fouling them, and then making a bad decision with the pass [at the end of regulation]. Rojas got to the basket, and then they had all the momentum. We didn’t change much in overtime. I just told them that we now have to beat them by one in four minutes instead of eight. I told them to just take it one possession at a time.”

Previously in the semifinal round on Feb. 24 at Coginchaug, the Huskies defeated No. 4 East Hampton 39-28. Hopkins scored 17 while also notching her 1,000th career point during the fourth quarter, in addition to her two assists and a pair of steals. Ashton tallied 15 points, five boards, two assists, and two steals; plus Dawson reeled in seven rebounds.

Along with Ashton beng named the conference’s Player of the Year, the Huskies had several athletes make the All-Shoreline Team in Ashton and Dawson gaining First Team honors while Hopkins was a Second Team selection and Donaldson earned Honorable Mention.

Morgan is also the top seed in the Class M State Tournament and, although Coach Grippo knows that beating Cromwell was atremendous victory, his Huskies are now out to avenge the second of their two runner-up spots from last season.

“We’ve been a confident bunch all year long, but it doesn’t hurt to win a game like this,” said Grippo. “Not to diminish this victory, but we’ve had our eyes set all year on getting back to Mohegan Sun [site of the state final] and we are hoping this win helps propel us there.”

Completing the Huskies’ roster are juniors Kelsey Hopkins and Riley Thompson; sophomores Sydney Chomicz, Hannah Scarpace, and Shannon Maher; plus freshmen Madison Seeger, Courtney Viglione, Daniella Gallardo, Georgia Nye, Maria Beltran, Brianna Navarra, and Gabby Koseroski.