The Hand girls’ basketball team went on a magical run to the championship game of the Class L State Tournament as the No. 19 seed last year. When the Tigers took the floor for the 2019-’20 campaign, Head Coach Tim Tredwell conveyed a simple message to his club: Why not us?

Hand came into the season returning the bulk of last year’s roster, including its top threat in senior guard Sara Wohlgemuth. The Tigers were poised to achieve great things this winter, and they haven’t disappointed. Hand finished the regular season with a record of 17-3 that included a mark of 8-0 in the SCC Quinnipiac Division to take the title, after which the Tigers beat North Haven in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament.

Last week, Hand took a 49-35 defeat to East Haven in the SCC semifinals at Jonathan Law High School on Feb. 24. The Tigers have an overall record of 18-4 as they open play in the Class L State Tournament this week.

Hand fell into a 17-6 deficit after the first quarter when it faced East Haven in the SCC semis. The Tigers outscored the Yellowjackets in both the second (11-9) and third (9-3) quarters to cut the deficit to 29-26 through three, but East Haven won the fourth quarter by a 20-9 margin to solidify the victory. Wohlgemuth scored 19 points for Hand in the game.

“That was a disappointing loss for us. We struggled defensively, the crowd was loud, and we didn’t communicate well,” Head Coach Tim Tredwell said. “We ended up shooting only 23 percent from the field, and that’s not going to help us win a game. If you could find a silver lining, it’s a hope that it gets us ready to play for the State Tournament.”

Tredwell describes the Tigers as battle-tested team. He said that Hand has benefited from seeing a little bit of everything on the court this season.

“We’ve played well and won, we’ve played well and lost, we’ve played poorly and lost, and we’ve played poorly and won,” said Tredwell. “I think that gives us an advantage that a lot of teams don’t have. We know how to win, even when we’re not at our best.”

Wohlgemuth averaged 17.8 points to go with 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.0 steals per game during the regular season. The 5-foot-4 point guard earned All-SCC First Team honors and was also named the SCC Player of the Year.

“Sara is a machine. She’s one of the most competitive human beings I’ve had the pleasure of coaching, and she will literally do whatever it takes to win,” Coach Tredwell said. “She’s one of the shortest players on our team, yet leads us in rebounding, so it shows how tenacious she is on both ends of the floor.”

Coach Tredwell feels pleased that senior forward Summer Adams recently returned from an injury. Adams is averaging 3.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in her eight appearances this year.

“Summer is just now getting close to 100 percent, and it’s amazing how much of a great presence she is for our team,” said Tredwell. “She’s made us a lot better.”

Junior center Maddie Thomas, junior guards Hadley Houghton and Julia Kuhn, sophomore forward Brooke Salutari, and sophomore guard Sophia Coppola have also been key contributors for the Tigers. Salutari, who made the All-SCC Second Team, is averaging 11.5 points and 1.5 steals per game on the season.

“I think we’ve got a really deep roster, and a lot of players are seeing good minutes,” Tredwell said. “Each girl knows their role on this team, and I think that’s been important in our success this year.”

Coach Tredwell said that a defining moment for the Tigers came when they faced Wilbur Cross for a pivotal divisional contest on Feb. 14. Hand trailed by eight points with 2:30 remaining in the game, but rallied for a 57-51 victory that secured the Oronoque title for the Tigers.

“That was hands down the moment for us this season where I knew we could achieve anything,” Tredwell said. “Hadley hit a jump shot, then Brooke nailed two threes, and suddenly we were tied. Then we hit six free throws in a row to seal the game and win our division. That was an awesome moment for us.”’

Hand is the No. 4 seed heading into the Class L State Tournament and will open the draw by hosting No. 29 seed South Windsor for a first-round game on Tuesday, March 3 at 6 p.m. With a victory, the Tigers would host the winner of No. 13 Suffield and No. 20 Wilton in the second round at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 6.

While he wants his squad to make another run to Mohegan Sun, Coach Tredwell said that Hand isn’t going to overlook any opponent in the tournament.

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves, especially coming off a loss. I want to beat South Windsor more than anything. We need to win our first-round game,” said Tredwell. “The parity in high school basketball has been crazy this year. If you’re not laser-focused on the task at hand, you’re going to be in trouble. We have to take it one game at a time.”