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02/18/2017 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
A few days after closing the regular season with a loss against Old Lyme, the Westbrook girls’ basketball team tipped off against the Wildcats in the Shoreline Conference Tournament quarterfinals and prevailed 68-57. At 15-6, the Knights will face East Hampton in the conference semifinals at Coginchaug High School on Wednesday, Feb. 22. A win there puts Westbrook in the championship against the winner of Cromwell and Valley Regional at Coginchaug at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24.
Prior to facing Old Lyme, Westbrook took a 60-56 home loss to East Hampton, which was the first-place team in the Shoreline Conference this season. The Knights led most of the game behind a career-high 39 points from Savannah Marshall, but foul trouble and lack of depth caught up to the Knights in the last quarter. Three Knights fouled out and Westbrook lost the lead late in the final frame. Westbrook was without senior captain Adara Bochanis, who is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury.
“I am very proud of my girls tonight. They played their hearts out, executed well, and made shots, but unfortunately, we ran out of gas and players,” Head Coach Kelly Landino said. “Kids stepped up and played strong. We may have lost, but we got better tonight.”
The Knights then traveled to Old Lyme on Feb. 15 and lost 49-46 to finish the regular season at 14-6. Marshall led the way with 21 points and Erin Metcalfe scored a season-high 10 points. Gabby Ehlert added six points and her sister Zoe Ehlert had five points.
The Knights finished the week by facing Old Lyme on the road again and this time claimed a 68-57 victory in the first round of the Shoreline Conference Tournament on Feb. 18. The Knights were led by Marshall’s 33 points and Kelly Donlan’s season-high 14 points. Zoe Ehlert scored 10, while Gabby Ehlert had nine points.
“Tonight was a great all-around game for our team. We made adjustments, added a new offense, and made defensive switches all in two days,” said Coach Landino. “I am so proud of my team for executing our game-plan, staying focused on what we changed, and shooting very well tonight. We were patient and made the right plays at the right times. Last year, we lost in the first round of Shorelines, so we are happy to be moving to the second round of our Shoreline Tournament.”
Boys’ Basketball
Westbrook saw its 15-game win streak get broken with a loss to East Hampton last week, but then got back on the winning track by routing Old Lyme at home. The Knights are now 17-2 with one game left in the regular season, after which they will compete in the Shoreline Conference and Class S State tournaments.
The Knights began last week by taking a 61-54 defeat in East Hampton on Feb. 14. East Hampton held a 29-27 lead at halftime and then won the third quarter 18-12 on its way to the victory. Cory Muckle (19 points), Liam Bell (16), and Dave Amendola (16) were the Knights’ leading scorers in the victory.
Against Old Lyme, Bell went off for 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Muckle scored 23 points. Dave Amendola scored 11 points and grabbed 10 boards, plus Austin Herzy scored nine to go with 15 rebounds in the winning effort.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Junior Danyelle Engels launched a throw of 34 feet-2 inches to finish in sixth place for Westbrook at the Class S State Championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 14. Engels, who had previously won the shot put with a toss of 33-1 at the Shoreline Conference Championship, scored one point for the Knights with her performance at states to put them in 28th place.
Also at the Class S meet, Alexandria Young finished 16th in the high jump at 4-8, while Tirzah Blomquist placed 24th in the long jump with a leap of 14-3.25 and was 36th in the 300-meter dash at 47.48 seconds. Tyjah Childs finished 19th in the preliminaries of the 55-meter hurdles in 9.95 seconds and was 43rd for the prelims of the 55-meter dash with a time of 8.12.
Boys’ Indoor Track
The Knights were represented by handful of athletes at last week’s Class S State Championship.
Jay Donlan posted the Knights’ top showing by finishing 10th in the shot put with a throw of 40 feet-5 inches. Roger Silva took 25th place in the long jump at 17-0.25. In the 4x200 relay, Westbrook’s group of Silva, Zach Jacobs, Jason Rauniker, and Sean Scully finished 18th with a time of 1:42.85.
Wrestling
Westbrook’s Griffin Drum competed in 182-pound weight class at the Class S Wrestling State Championship last week. The senior lost in the first round by pin to Christian Caruso of Granby Memorial at the four-minute mark.