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02/02/2020 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
The North Branford girls’ basketball team qualified for the Class M State Tournament by notching a victory over Old Saybrook last week. On Jan. 28, The T-Birds hosted the Rams and prevailed by the score of 48-35 in a Shoreline Conference matchup. North Branford also took a loss to Shoreline opponent Morgan last week and has a record of 8-6 on the year.
North Branford started off the week by taking a 50-38 defeat to Morgan in a home game on Jan. 27. The Huskies went on a 12-2 run during the third quarter to start to pull away from North Branford and went on to get the win. Sophomore center Braeden LeBeau scored 15 points to go with 10 rebounds for the T-Birds. Senior Julia Ricardo scored 10 points, including a 6-for-6 showing from the free-throw line.
The following night, North Branford punched its state tourney ticket by claiming a 48-35 home win against Old Saybrook for its eighth victory of the year. North Branford raced out to a 32-16 advantage at halftime and increased its lead to 45-23 through three.
LeBeau put forth a dominating performance by scoring 20 points and grabbing 18 rebounds for the Thunderbirds. Ricardo had 16 points and seven rebounds in the victory.
Boys’ Basketball
North Branford split a pair of recent road games and now stands with a record of 6-6 this winter. The T-Birds took a loss to Morgan before defeating Wolcott Tech later in the week.
On Jan. 28, North Branford dropped an 80-61 decision against Morgan in a Shoreline Conference game. Morgan jumped out to a 25-15 advantage after the first quarter and progressively added to its lead throughout the game.
Senior Mike Sitro scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the T-Birds. Sophomore Blake Pearson had 12 points, while junior Trevor Holzer scored six points and handed out eight assists.
Three nights later, the T-Birds were at Wolcott Tech for a non-conference contest and defeated the Wildcats by a 64-39 score. North Branford went up 14-11 after the first quarter and then outscored Wolcott Tech during the second (13-7), third (22-15), and fourth (15-6) quarters on its way to the comfortable win.
Sitro turned in another excellent performance by pouring in 30 points, corralling 18 boards, and grabbing five steals for North Branford. Holzer had seven points with nine assists, and senior Bret Fee added 10 points. Head Coach Cliff Yerkes also noted that freshman John Onofrio displayed some grit by taking two charges for the T-Birds in the win.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The Thunderbirds hosted Woodstock Academy for a non-conference game at Northford Ice Pavilion on Jan. 30. North Branford took a 7-1 defeat versus the Centaurs to move to 0-9-1 this season.
Boys’ Swimming and Diving
The Greater New Haven Warriors boys’ swimming and diving team had the week off in terms of competitions last week. The Warriors, who have a record of 3-2, will take on West Haven-Platt Tech for a meet at West Haven High School on Friday, Feb. 7. Then on Monday, Jan. 10, the Warriors will face Foran-Law at Foran High School. Both meets begin at 4 p.m.