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02/02/2018 11:00 PMBoys’ Basketball
The North Branford boys’ basketball team won both of its games last week and improved its record to 10-5 this season.
To open the week, the T-Birds defeated Old Saybrook 66-38 on Jan. 30. Brett Lequire scored 25 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to lead the charge, while Jake Haeckel scored 15 points for North Branford. Matt Cosgrove added eight points, Sydney Franklin scored seven, Connor Pollick scored six, and Paul Zumbo added five points in the victory.
On Feb. 1, North Branford visited Coginchaug and edged out the Blue Devils by a 34-30 final. The T-Birds survived a fourth-quarter scare as Coginchaug outscored them 12-6 in the final frame. Lequire scored 16 points in the win, Haeckel scored nine points, and Sean Esposito added seven points.
Girls’ Basketball
The T-Birds earned a win against Old Saybrook and then took three defeats in their most recent matchups. North Branford now has a record of 9-6 on the season.
North Branford’s week started on Jan. 29 with a come-from-behind victory at Old Saybrook. Through three quarters, the Rams held a 29-25 lead, but North Branford stormed back to win 41-39. Morgan Violette led the way with a game-high 14 points, while Jessie Kilburn supplied 13 points, and Danielle Ramada added 12 points in the victory.
On Jan. 31, North Branford took a 56-48 loss at Amistad. It was a back-and-forth game in which both teams scored more than 10 points in every quarter, but Amistad ultimately came away with the victory. Violette scored 15 points, Kilburn had 13 points, Ramada netted 12 points, and Marie Zampano added six points for the T-Birds.
North Branford wrapped up its week by dropping a 51-46 decision to Coginchaug at home on Feb. 2. Kilburn was North Branford’s leading scorer with 13 points. Danielle Ramada (9 points), Zampano (9), Violette (8), Angelina Ramada (5), and Lily Blomster (2) rounded out the scoring sheet for the T-Birds.
Then on Feb. 3, North Branford lost to Westbrook by the final score of 44-43. Violette scored 20 points to lead the T-Birds, while Danielle Ramada scored eight points.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The Thunderbirds' boys' ice hockey squad won its eighth straight game by netting a 3-2 victory against North Haven at Northford Ice Pavilion on Jan. 31. Later in the week, the T-Birds took a 6-2 loss to Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug on Feb. 3 to move to 10-3 on the season.
North Branford scored one goal all three periods in its win against North Haven. Nick Barrett, Sean McKee, and Matt Pedersen all found the back of net for the T-Birds in the win. Brendan Dupuis and Nick Vecchio each finished with an assist, while goalie John Lovelace made 37 saves in net to preserve the one-goal victory for his team.
Girls’ Indoor Track
The Thunderbirds sported a nice effort at the Shoreline Conference Championship on Feb. 3, finishing in seventh place with 35 points at Floyd Little Athletic Center.
All three relay squads scored points for the T-Birds, accounting for 16 of those 35 points. The best finish came from the 4x400 relay team of Erika Roof, Nadia Becker, Mackenzie Glenn, and Jenna Bryden, which finished in second place with a time of 4:24.40. The 1,600 sprint medley relay of Tatyana Allgood, Grace Little, Ashlee Amendola, and Riley Kendall placed sixth at 4:57.82, and the 4x200 team of Roof, Little, Glenn, and Jenna Bryden finished in fourth place with a time of 1:53.50.
Individually, Glenn had the best finish for North Branford as she took third in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet-9.25 inches to score six points. Onna Gott placed fourth in the 1,600 at 5:48.37 for North Branford. Little and Allgood both scored points in the 55-meter dash as Little placed fifth at 7.98 and Allgood finished eighth in 8.09. The duo had finished seventh and eighth in the preliminary heat with times of 8.05 and 8.09, respectively. Lydia Mattson took seventh in the 55-meter hurdles with a 10.18 after placing sixth in the prelims at 10.22. Riley Kendal finished eighth in the 600 with a time of 1:52.44.
Other participates for North Branford included Gillian Penna in the long jump (13th, 13-8.5) and 55 (15th, 8.27), Caitlin May in the 600 (17th, 2:01.32), Amanda Nuzzo in the 600 (19th, 2:01.99), Mattson in the 300 (25th, 51.83), Emily Cole in the 55 (27th, 8.52), Allie Kendrick in the 55 (29th, 8.57), Gabriella Sarmento in the 55 (35th, 8.72), Amendola in the 55 (36th, 8.73), and Sarah Criscuolo in the 55 (39th, 8:81).
Boys’ Indoor Track
North Branford sent five athletes to the Shoreline Conference Championship and came away with a 10th-place finish with nine points scored.
The T-Birds’ points came from three different events behind a trio of sixth-place finishes. Michael Rabuffo took sixth in the 300 at 39.79 seconds, and Joe DeLucia finished sixth in the 600 at 1:35.31. The 4x400 relay team of Rabuffo, Ryan Williams, DeLucia, and Aaron Beisaw also finished in sixth with a time of 4:09.32.
Other performances for North Branford at the meet included Williams in the 600 (9th, 1:35.51) and 300 (20th, 42.85), Rabuffo in the 55 (11th, 7.21), Roberto Didiano in the 1,600 (18th, 5:30.63), DeLucia in the 300 (23rd, 43.43), and Beisaw in the 55 (26th, 7.72).