The second weekend of the state tournament was a short one as our team faced the 4-time state champion Shamrocks with the winner advancing to the state championship. Our cause was not helped as we played without the services of the dynamic duo of Clare Fitzpatrick (Canterbury HS) and Paxton Thornton (Housatonic Valley HS), but it is also important to give credit where credit is due and congratulate both the Breeze and Shamrocks for making the state final. We did, however, finish in 3rd place at the division 1 level and all the players should feel good about medaling.
       The game saw us get off to a very slow start, falling behind 15-4, but our team showed some resiliency to finish the half outscoring our opponents 11-10 in the last 7 minutes to trail 25-15 at the half. After quickly falling behind 39-19, 16 Red showed it's grit cutting the lead to 51-42 with 3:30 minutes to play........sadly this was as close as our squad would get eventually falling 59-47. Elisha Homich (Ludlowe HS) and Chantell Alford (Wilbur Cross HS) led us with 10 apiece, while Cassie Novicky (New Milford HS) added 7 and both Sam Riccio (Avon HS) and Kristyn Wright (East Catholic HS) chipped in with 6. Defensively, we received great contributions from Taylor Nkonoki (Middletown HS), Tanisha Carter (East Catholic HS) and Kat Woods (Northwest Regional HS), as all 3 forced the Shamrocks into several turnovers. After this defeat, we now stand at 10-3 on the season and anxiously await playing in New London, CT at the Mother's Day Classic next weekend before having a nice weekend off.

       Hello Sports Fans- Here is the recap of 14 Reds two weekends at the State tournament in lovely New Haven. Virginia saw much of 91 and does not need to use GPS anymore for New Haven. We finished 2-2, good for a fourth place finish out of 11 teams.
       We opened up against the Fairfield Sun on Saturday morning. We got off to a sluggish start and trailed 25-21 at the half. The Sun scored the first basket of the half and we trailed by six. Wake up call!!. Sarah Royals (Torrington HS) scored 8 straight points to spark us in our second half rally. We won 63-57, but the pesky Sun would not go away. Nikki Bentley (Hamden HS) scored 13 as did Sarah Royals. Taryn Roy (East Catholic HS) added 12 and was a perfect 8-8 from the line. The team finished 16-21 from the line to help their cause. The win gave us the opportunity to face the NH Blazers (former Da Fam) on Sunday.
       The Blazers came out of the gate on fire. They bolted out to a 20-2 lead and did not look back. We trailed 32-14 at the half. We played a much better second half but were defeated 52-32. Taryn Roy led us with 11 points on 5-9 shooting. We only took 35 shots for the game. More shots ladies! We now had to lounge around Yale for a few hours to play a 5 o'clock game vs the Rage. Some players went to lunch and others supported our older teams. On a bright side, the team has started to play the famous match well. Jess Frawley (Agawam HS) played well on defense in the match.
       The layoff for a few hours did not help us versus the Rage. We were sluggish and it took us a while to percolate. We led 28-9 at the half. Sarah Benedetti (Canton HS) scored a game high 11 points. We prevailed by the score of 52-28. We played great defense but offensively were not sharp. Sarah Royals had 9 as did Taryn Roy. Nikki Bentley scored 8. Mariah Berry (St Paul HS) scored 4 on perfect 2-2 shooting form the line. With the victory, the team earned the right to face the CT Spirit for a chance to go to Clarksville, Tenn.
       The Spirit game was a very exciting game. We played a great 29 minutes and led by 7 most of the game. Ashley Kinney (Somers HS) did a fantastic job on defense against #2. A basket by Loren Pachesa (East Catholic HS) at the buzzer gave us a 24-18 lead at half-time. The second half was a great half of basketball. Both teams played with energy and enthusiasm. A late rally by the Spirit and they came away with a 46-44 victory. The heartbreaking defeat gave us a fourth place finish. Nikki Bentley played superbly. She scored a game high 22.
       14 Red Rumblings - We now are 8-4 on the year. We will participate next weekend in the annual CT Storm Mother's Day tournament. The team took pictures on Sunday afternoon. Look out, Sports Illustrated. 14 Red in the house. Best of luck to Emily Kessler (Canton HS) and Sarah Benedetti in their musical performances on Tuesday night. Just thought of this, looks like Virginia will going to Virginia in July. Also, the team will get better. We get a chance next weekend to get revenge vs the CT Spirit. See you all next week, Virginia is going to start working on her tan.

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