The East Haven girls’ basketball team rolled through its first two opponents at home in the Class L State Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals. On March 2, the 6th-ranked Easties topped No. 27 Harding 67-47, after which they defeated No. 22 Woodstock by a 49-35 score in the second round on March 4.

The victories propelled East Haven to a 21-4 overall record and a spot in the Class L quarters, where they’ll play at No. 3 Bacon Academy on Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. It marks the furthest the Yellowjackets have advanced in the State Tournament in Head Coach Anthony Russell’s eight-year tenure at the helm. If East Haven wins, it will play the winner of 2nd-seeded New London and No. 7 Hand in the semifinals on Monday, March 14. The championship game take place at Mohegan Sun Arena on either Saturday, March 19 or Sunday, March 20.

“It’s very important to me,” said senior captain Dana Ross on advancing to the quarterfinals. “I’ve been on the team for a while, so I want to continue pushing everyone to keep going and keep working, so we can get as many wins as we can and keep playing.”

East Haven started fast in the first round win versus Harding by pounding the ball down low to Kylie Schlottman. She scored the game’s first eight points in the opening three minutes to put the Yellowjackets in the driver’s seat.

“We just tried to post up big. We’ve been working on our post moves in practice, so I wanted to incorporate those into the game today,” Schlottman said. “I think we shared the ball well during the first half. We look to run, get open, and come out quick.”

Through his pregame scouting of Harding, Coach Russell knew that the size of Schlottman and Ross would be key for East Haven’s success and that proved true as both players finished with double-doubles. Schlottman ended the game with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Ross scored 15 points and grabbed 10 boards.

“I knew from the scouting report and their roster that we had a significant advantage in the post, so we tried to do that in the beginning,” Russell said. “We still missed 22 shots from inside the paint in the first half and were 8-of-16 from the free throw line, so between the 22 shots missed and eight foul shots we missed, we gave up 52 points in the first half. Technically, if we converted on half of those, it would’ve been a completely different game. Instead of it being a 15-point game at the half, it might’ve been a 30-point game.”

Still, East Haven continued to build its lead over Harding en route to the 20-point triumph. Senior captain Cailey Korwek dished out seven assists and senior captain Miranda Gladwin pitched in 12 points to keep Harding (9-12) out of striking distance.

“I knew they had some athletic kids that could shoot and that if they got out in transition, they could do some damage,” Russell said. “They’re 9-11, so they’re one of those teams where if you let them hang around, you never know what can happen if they get a little bit of confidence and energy. But in the end, we proved a little bit too much for them.”

Against Woodstock, East Haven got out to a fast start once again. Schlottman, who finished with a game-high 19 points, poured in nine in the first quarter, while helping the Easties build a 15-4 lead. Schlottman, Ross, and sophomore Olivia Coyle all got to the glass and put home easy buckets.

“We have a bigger advantage. We tend to get more of the boards and go up strong. We try to pound more inside rather than shooting from the outside,” said Ross of her team’s height differential. “We were really sealing down low. We screen a lot and pass it down.”

The Yellowjackets’ height plays a crucial role for them on the boards, as well, by making it tough for opponents to find shooting and passing lanes and thus limiting the opposition’s offense to one and done.

“It helps defensively because you have people that are long inside the paint, so when they’re penetrating, they’re long and can alter shots,” Russell said. “On the offensive end, if we can establish a position where we want to, we’re athletic enough in the post, if we get to the interior people where they want it, we can be effective.”

East Haven held a 24-11 lead at the half over Woodstock, but then surrendered 20 points in the third quarter, allowing the visitors to draw within three at one point in the frame. As the game entered the fourth quarter still up for grabs, Gladwin nailed a three-pointer to stop Woodstock’s run.

“Once the three went in, the whole gym erupted. To be honest, I think we needed it as a team,” Gladwin said. “We knew we had to continue to work hard and make shots because Woodstock continued to play.”

East Haven played lockdown defense the rest of the way, allowing just four fourth quarter points. Following Gladwin’s trey, the Yellowjackets scored the game’s final seven points to earn the win and make their way to the Class L quarters.