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03/05/2017 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
The Rams’ girls’ basketball squad played two games in the Class S State Tournament last week, winning their first round matchup on the road against No. 12 seed Parish Hill by a 64-44 final on Feb. 27. In its second round game, Old Saybrook took a 60-31 loss at No. 5 seed Thomaston on March 2. The Rams finished their season with a record of 13-10.
Old Saybrook was making its first appearance in three years in the Class S State Tournament against Parish Hill, which came into the game at 14-6. Unfortunately, the 12th-seeded Rams had lost senior forward Maggie Smith due to injury. In the first quarter, Old Saybrook came out strong to take a 15-10 lead into the second, and that five-point margin held at the half with the Rams up 29-24. The third quarter was even with the Rams increasing their lead 41-35 entering the final frame. Senior forward Kirsten King provided a nine-point scoring outburst in the fourth quarter that helped lead her team to the 64-44 victory.
Sophomore Mandy Beck led the scoring with 19 points, knocking down four threes to bring her season total to 40. Senior captain Marissa Newell added 13 points and the All-Shoreline First Team guard also had seven steals. Junior Alyssa Parker picked up the slack on the boards with the absence of Smith by hauling down nine rebounds. King scored 17 points to accompany her typically great defensive play. She also had five rebounds with three steals.
“It isn’t easy to lose a player like Maggie and bounce back from a loss like [the defeat to Cromwell in the Shoreline quarterfinals],” said Head Coach Steve Woods. “It would have been easy to doubt themselves, but [captains Newell, junior forward Sophie Alden, and senior guard Riley Roarick] would have none of that...We have an extremely awesome group of young ladies and student-athletes in this program whom we are so proud of for their character and resilience both tonight and day in and day out. Kirsten was ridiculously good tonight and deserves the spotlight, which she usually helps others receive, but it was a team win in every sense of the word.”
Next, the Rams tipped off against Thomaston, which has reached the Class S championship game in four straight years, including back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. The Rams were unfazed and only trailed the Golden Bears 18-13 after one behind eight points from Beck. Thomaston put the clamps the Rams in the second quarter by outscoring Old Saybrook 11-3 to increase the lead to 29-16 at the half.
The third quarter started well on a steal and a field goal by Parker, but Thomaston got going, and expanded its lead to 23, despite the Rams playing aggressively in the open court and getting steals. Unfortunately, they were just unable to convert enough on those opportunities.
“Marissa has carried us all year and Thomaston did their homework on her and never let her get rolling,” said Coach Woods. “They also slowed down Mandy and, despite excellent efforts by Kirsten, Riley, and Alyssa, they just had too much for us on this evening.”
Parker led the Rams with 10 points, while pulling down nine boards. King added seven rebounds and four assists. Newell played the entire game and had five assists with four steals. Alden contributed five boards, three blocks, and three steals.
“We played an outstanding and tournament-tested team tonight being shorthanded ourselves, but our kids really did themselves proud. And while we never accept defeat, I think they know they left it all out on the court tonight,” said Woods. “We are especially proud and grateful to our seniors Marissa, Riley, Kirsten, and Maggie, and wish them well in their promising futures. We love them and will miss them!”
Along with Newell garnering All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors, Mandy Beck was named an All-Shoreline Honorable Mention for Old Saybrook this season.
Boys’ Basketball
The Old Saybrook boys’ hoops squad tipped off against Westbrook in the Shoreline Conference quarterfinals on Feb. 28 and lost 63-55 in a back-and-forth contest on the road. At 14-8, the Rams begin play in the Class S State Tournament this week.
Against Westbrook, the Rams played well defensively in the first quarter and led 9-4 going into the second. The Knights closed the gap to just a point as Old Saybrook led 22-21 at halftime. Westbrook outscored the Rams 20-7 in the third to enter the final frame with a 12-point lead. The fourth quarter saw a scoring outburst from both teams and, although the Rams outscored the Knights 26-22, Westbrook took the 63-55 victory in the end.
Sophomore guard Shane Henderson led the Rams with 16 points, going 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Senior center Jake Tully scored 15 by going 4-of-7 from deep to go with four boards, while senior captain guard Connel Henderson added 12 points. Junior guard Victor Pascoe had nine points and three rebounds.
“Westbrook had a huge third quarter and, despite the fact that we fought hard up until the last second, it wasn’t enough to come back,” said Old Saybrook Head Coach Patrick Quinn. “Westbrook is a great team and we knew going into the game that we couldn’t let them get on a roll. Unfortunately, they got on a roll, hitting five of their total nine three-pointers in the third quarter.”
The Rams are hosting Metropolitan Learning Center in the first round of the Class S State Tournament on Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. If Old Saybrook wins, it will face the winner of Trinity Catholic and Somers in the second round on Thursday, March 9 at 7 p.m. Old Saybrook is the No. 11 seed in the tournament.