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12/30/2015 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
Playing at Notre Dame-Fairfield in the Christmas Tournament, the Tigers took a 61-58 defeat to Thomaston on Dec. 28 to move to 3-2 on the year before a 60-57 loss to the host Lancers two nights later in the consolation round. The week prior, Hand edged Amity 71-69 on Dec. 21 and posted a 66-44 win over Hamden the next night.
Paula Materin had a team-high 16 points, including four three-pointers, plus Gabby Martin racked up 13 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and four steals against Thomaston. Hand built a 32-26 lead in the first half behind the shooting of Materin. Hand saw that lead grow as high as 10 in the third quarter before Thomaston began to chip away. With less than five minutes to go in the fourth, the Golden Bears ran off 11-straight points to turn a six-point deficit into a five point lead, which they didn’t relinquish. Down three with 14 seconds remaining, Hand had two good looks to tie the game, but could not connect as Thomaston escaped with the win.
Gillian Kraemer shot 5-of-6 from the floor against Notre Dame-Fairfield, including four three-pointers for a team-high 15 points. Martin totaled 12 points, six assists, and five steals. Materin added 12 points, which included a pair of threes on her way to being named to the All-Tournament Team. Hand jumped out to an early 7-2 lead behind five points from Kraemer before the Lancers started taking advantage of their size inside. Pounding the ball inside allowed the Lancers to take a 29-21 halftime lead. That lead ballooned to as much as 15 in the third quarter before Hand’s full-court pressure started to take its toll. The Tigers fought their way back, drawing even early in the fourth quarter and even taking a brief lead. However, the Lancers physical play proved to be the difference. Still, the home team kept the door open with its struggles from the foul line in the final frame (5-of-15) and, with under 10 seconds, Hand held the ball down three with a chance to tie. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they couldn’t get a clean look and came up just short for the second game in a row.
“The Lancers are a big, physical team and that certainly made a difference. We looked tentative in the first half, which is typical of a young team. In the second half, we played with more urgency and started to impose our will on the game,” said Head Coach Tim Tredwell. “The last 13 minutes, I thought we played tough, hard-nosed basketball end to end. We pressed, we hustled, and we scrapped. Unfortunately, we came up just a little short. Losses like this are never easy to take, but I have to believe these kids are starting to figure it out. As long as they keep their heads up and keep working hard, we’ll be just fine.”
Facing Amity the week before, Colleen Caruth led four Tigers in double figures with 14 points and eight rebounds. Materin dropped 12 points, including a trifecta of three-pointers. Martin added 10 points, five steals, four assists, and three rebounds. Gabby Egidio chipped in 10 points. Hand took an early one-point lead in the first quarter behind eight points from Caruth and created some separation before halftime as Martin scored seven of her 10 in the second quarter to help the Tigers take a 36-24 lead into the break. Hand continued to stretch the lead in the third with seven different players getting in the scoring column as the Tigers went into the final frame up 56-38. Amity then found its shooting stroke late by raining in threes from all over the court to the tune of 31 fourth quarter points, but Hand still held on for the victory.
Battling Hamden, Martin had a monster stat line, shooting 9-of-13 from the floor for 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, nine assists, five steals, and just one turnover. Materin put up 16 points, while Emma Sullivan chipped in six points, six rebounds, and a pair of assists. Martin scored seven of her 21 in the first quarter, including the team’s only three-pointer as Hand took a 17-11 lead after one. Sullivan notched all six of her points in the fourth and the Tigers stretched their lead to double figures at the half. Hamden mounted a charge early in the second half by scoring the first six points of the third quarter, yet Hand righted the ship with Martin, Materin, and Egidio each scoring four points to maintain the double-digit lead heading into the final period. Hamden ran out of gas in the fourth as Hand finally got a chance to empty the bench while coasting to a 66-44 win.
Wrestling
On Dec. 22, Hand defeated Law 69-6. Wins here were earned by Kyle Davern (106; 6-2 decision), Connor Sakmar (113; via forfeit), Mark Hartmann (120; pin at 1:55), Charles Jenson (132; 4-2 decision in overtime), Liam Sullivan (138; via injury), William Hendrick (145; pin at 1:53), Zakery Santoemma (152; pin at 4:28), Mitchel Kuperstein (160; 5-4 decision), Rex Pardales (170; pin at 0:18), Luke Bernardo (182; pin at 0:54), Van Docker (195; pin 1:27), Michael Burchell (220; pin 1:12), and Christian Westphal (285; pin 3:46).
Later in the week at the RHAM Duals on Dec. 27, the Tigers went 2-2 on the day. Hand bested Lyman-Windham Tech 48-25 and host RHAM 55-15, but lost to Montville 43-24 and East Hartford 37-34.