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12/28/2016 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
The Tigers’ girls’ basketball squad stands with a record of 3-2 thus far this season. Most recently, Hand claimed a 55-51 win versus Norwalk in the semifinals of the East Haven Tip-Off Tournament on Dec. 19, after which the Tigers lost a 55-52 contest against East Haven in the final two nights later. The night after that, Hand prevailed at Guilford by the final score of 56-34. Then on Dec. 27, the Tigers dropped a 45-42 decision in New London.
Against Norwalk, Gabby Martin led all scorers with 17 points, while adding seven steals, four rebounds, and three assists. Sara Wohlgemuth came off the bench to post 13 points, four boards, and two assists for Hand. Kaitlyn Martin chipped in nine points and eight rebounds, while Halle Freund grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists.
Hand got out to a sluggish start and was down 14-10 after the first. Gabby Martin scored six points for the Tigers in the second, while Jackie Harris scored seven to send both teams to the locker rooms tied at 26. The third quarter was all Hand as the Tigers outscored Norwalk 25-7 behind seven points from Wohlgemuth and six each from Gabby Martin, Gabby Egidio, and Kaitlyn Martin. The offensive outburst sent Hand into the final frame up 51-33. However, the Bears would not go quietly, hitting eight of 12 shots in the fourth and forcing Hand into seven turnovers as the Tigers escaped with a four-point win.
“We just didn’t have the intensity we needed tonight. I think a letdown is natural after such a big win [versus Mercy] to start our season. However, we can’t sleepwalk through a game, play a strong six minutes, and think it’s going to be enough,” said Head Coach Tim Tredwell. “I was very impressed with our play during that third quarter and it turned out that was just enough to get the W, but the key is being able to maintain that level of effort and execution for 32 minutes. If we can figure that out, we’ll be fine.
Facing East Haven, Egidio had a game-high 16 points and she also added five rebounds with four steals. Emma Sullivan chipped in seven points, five assists, four rebounds, and two steals for the Tigers. Gabby Martin totaled eight points, three rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists.
Hand and East Haven battled back and forth for the first eight minutes before East Haven junior Olivia Coyle beat the buzzer to make the score 10-9 Hand after one. Hand started to assert itself in the second, opening the quarter with a 14-3 run before a pair of late threes by the Yellowjackets got the hosts within seven at the half. The Tigers struggled to take care of the ball in the third quarter and East Haven found its shooting touch by hitting three of four from deep to get within one heading into the final frame. The Easties continued their hot shooting, opening the fourth with a 10-2 run to take a 47-38 lead just two minutes into the final quarter. With just 1:40 to go and Hand down seven, the Tigers ramped up the defensive pressure, leading to a 7-0 spurt that was capped by Colleen Caruth’s steal and layup to tie the game with 30 seconds to play. East Haven came down the court and found junior Kylie Schlottman for a layup and a two-point lead with 20 seconds left. Hand had one last shot, but Caruth’s three came up short, and East Haven won 55-52.
At Guilford, Sullivan led all scorers with 15 points, while also grabbing four rebounds and five steals. Wohlgemuth got into double figures with 10 points to go with four rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Gabby Martin racked up eight points, seven rebounds, five steals, and four assists, plus Caruth chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.
Guilford opened the game by grabbing a 6-2 lead as Hand struggled to find its shooting touch. Gabby Martin’s steal and layup with two minutes to go in the quarter gave the Tigers an 8-6 lead that they would not relinquish. The lead continued to grow as Hand moved the ball effectively against Guilford’s aggressive zone. Two minutes into the second quarter, the visitors were up 18-9. Through the final six minutes of the first half, Hand’s lead ballooned to 34-13 thanks to a 16-4 run. The Indians came out aggressive in the second half, starting with a quick 5-0 run and outscoring the visitors 16-12 in the third. However, Guilford shot just 1-of-14 in the fourth quarter as Hand cruised to a 56-34 win.
“Anything can happen in rivalry games, especially when playing on back-to-back nights, so I was a little concerned how we would respond coming off a tough loss just 20 hours earlier,” said Tredwell. “Thankfully, our kids proved to be up to the challenge. Guilford is very aggressive and very physical and I thought we did a nice job maintaining our composure. Defensively, we were able to keep their shooters from getting into a rhythm. They’re capable of putting up a lot of points in a hurry and I think we were able to disrupt them a bit. Offensively, we displayed good patience and smart passing.”
Wrestling
Hand notched a 59-10 victory over Law on Dec. 21. Scoring victories for the Tigers were Kyle Davern in the 106-pound weight class wit a pin at 1:08, as well as Mark Hartmann (120, by 2-1 decision), William Sobran (132, 15-0 decision), Jared Puricelli (132, by forfeit), Charles Jensen (138, by 5-4 decision), Zakery Santoemma (152, pin at 1:07), Adam Hendrick (160, pin at 1:57), Quinn Cassidy (170, pin at 1:55), Brian McCabe (195, forfeit), Christian Westphal (220, pin at 1:37), and Michael Burchell (285, pin at 0:29).
The Tigers then took two of three at the RHAM Duals on Dec. 23. Hand defeated Lyman Hall 48-24 and host RHAM 57-21, but lost 39-25 to Windham.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The Tigers earned the first win of the year by skating to a 4-3 victory over Amity on Dec. 21. A week later, Hand took a 3-2 overtime defeat to Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug on Dec. 28.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Tigers took a 4-1 loss to Mercy-Northwest Catholic on Dec. 19. Hand then dropped to 3-2 with a 2-1 defeat to West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy the next day.