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02/03/2015 11:00 PMGymnastics
Hand scored a 137.0-131.7 victory over Glastonbury at home to move to 7-0 in the team's final meet before going after its seventh straight SCC title on Thursday, Feb. 5 at Law. Abby McGuirk (on vault with a 9.05; on bars, 9.4; for floor, 9.0; plus all-around, 36.1); along with Erin Naclerio (9.0 on the beam) earned event triumphs.
Additional performances came by way of Erin Maxwell (32.75 all-around, 8.55 on vault, and 8.3 on floor); Becca Anderson (31.05 all-around, 8.3 on floor, and 8.2 on vault); Olivia Finke (8.2 on beam and floor); Lily Spencer (8.7 on bars); Genevieve Geller (8.4 on vault); plus Noelle Bergere (8.3 on vault).
Girls' Indoor Track
Hand competed in the SCC Eastern Sectional Championship on Feb. 1 and finished fifth with 47 points. The Tigers' 4x200 relay of Molly Citrin, Sam Schaefer, Gabrielle Harmon, and Caroline O' Neil won the race (1:47.67); and the 1,600 sprint medley relay group of Schaefer, Harmon, Citrin, and Megan Phillips also prevailed (4:33.54).
O' Neil (42.29) was second in the 300; plus Phillips found that same slot in the 1,000 (3:18.53); Kori-Anne Citrin raced to sixth for the 3,200 (13:38.46); the 4x400 relay of Molly Citrin, Schaefer, Madeline Yaggi, and O' Neil paced its way to second (4:16.63); plus Madeline Gould, Julia Thompson, Emily Baker, and Yaggi were fifth for the 4x800 relay (10:56.16).
Boys' Indoor Track
The Tigers scored 38 points for fifth place at the SCC Eastern Sectional Championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center. Ian Bergere took first in the pole vault at 14-6 to lead the way.
Adam Taylor (4th, 2:49.25) and Owen McGeary (6th, 2:57.45) placed in the 1,000; Kevin Clarke was third in the 3,200 (4:50.91); Kyle Boling (5th, 8.34) and Bergere (6th, 8.51) competed for the 55 hurdles; the 4x800 quartet of Clarke, Bryce Thomson, Jack Lazor, and Taylor was third (8:35.12); Thomson, John Hartman, Chris Parker, and Taylor were fifth with the 4x400 (3:44.53); and Devon McShane was third (11-0) in the pole vault.
Girls' Basketball
The Tigers earned win No. 12 after knocking off Sacred Heart Academy 51-27 for a road win. Gillian Kraemer led the Tigers with 10 points and a pair of steals. Paula Materin scored nine on three first-half three-pointers. Gege Catalano and Cassidy Wygonik combined for 16 points and 10 rebounds. Gabby Martin scored six points and dished out four assists. SHA hit just 11 shots.
Hand came out firing right from the tip as Materin hit two of her three treys in the first quarter and Catalano added five points for a 19-2 lead after one. The attack slowed a bit, but the defense stayed tight as Hand stretched the lead to 30-8 heading into the half. SHA scored the first five points of the third, however, Hand countered with Olivia Jackson's harassing full-court defense and Wygonik scoring six of her eight points to take a 40-19 into the final frame. Hand's zone defense continued to stifle the Pacers in the last eight minutes as the Tigers earned the victory.
Hand then upped its mark to 13-1 thanks to a 53-33 home victory over East Haven. Materin led all scorers with 11 points while Catalano added 10 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Martin chipped in eight points, nine rebounds three assists and two steals; plus Cori Ouellette tallied eight points, including a pair of threes.
Catalano and Lauren Brandau each scored four points in the first quarter to give the Tigers a 12-11 lead after one. Despite going just 4-of-10 from the foul line in the second, the Tigers stretched their lead to 25-18 behind five points from Materin. At halftime, the host Tigers rediscovered their shooting stroke, outscoring East Haven 20-3 in the third behind six points from Catalano and a pair of threes from Ouellette as the Tigers ran to the victory.
Boys' Basketball
Hand fell 74-60 at home against Cross before a 46-44 loss to Xavier to sit at 6-7.
Cross opened the game by scoring 24 points in the opening quarter. Jeff Allen (19 points, 6 rebounds) and Pat Kerins (18 points, 5 boards) combined for 16 of the Tigers' 18 points to keep Hand within reach. Cross cooled off a little in the second as the Tigers made a run, cutting the Governors' lead to three at the half (38-35). Cross regained control in the third with the Tigers having trouble early finding points, but they managed to keep the game close entering the fourth (53-46) before Cross pulled away. Jack Driscoll had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
The next night, Xavier led after the first, 10-9. After missing several opportunities from the free throw line in the second, Hand was down 23-19 at the half. Xavier continued to control the tempo into the third as it increased lead to five to start the final frame. Hand closed to within a basket at three different times in the decisive period, but Xavier responded each time, keeping it a two-possession game throughout the quarter. Hand finally broke through with less than two minutes left as Nasir Williams (8 points) tied the game at 42 with a three-pointer. Xavier responded with an offensive rebound tip-in, taking a 44-42 lead with one minute remaining in the game, yet Allen's (10 points, 7 boards) lay-up on a set inbounds play tied it with 38 seconds to play. Xavier held the ball, taking and missing the final shot at the end of regulation. After what appeared to be a Driscoll (7 points, 9 rebounds) rebound with less than two seconds left, the ball came loose and Curtis Henry was whistled for a controversial foul with no time on the clock. With Xavier in the double-bonus, the Falcons were awarded two free throws. Following a meeting, the officials chose to add 0.3 seconds to the clock and reward Xavier with free throws and the Falcons made both. Kerins scored 12 points and four rebounds while Dante Egidio dished out six assists to lead the Tigers.