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12/28/2017 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
The Yellowjackets’ girls’ basketball team remained undefeated and improved to 5-0 on the season after posting three recent victories.
On Dec. 18, East Haven went up against East Lyme on the road and came home with a 59-42 victory behind an outstanding effort from Kylie Schlottman, who recorded tallied 22 points and 19 rebounds. McKenzie Helms totaled 17 points and six assists, while Alexis Pendziwater swished a trio of three-pointers to finish with nine points. Isabella Ragaini contributed six assists to go with four points in the win.
Four days later, East Haven edged Amity 61-60 in a thrilling overtime contest on the road. The teams were knotted a 49 at the end of regulation after Amity hit a buzzer-beater to force OT. Although Schlottman and Ragaini were in foul trouble throughout the game, they still contributed 20 and 16 points, respectively, while Helms scored a game-high 23 points in the winning effort. The Yellowjackets nailed all eight of their free throws in the extra frame to solidify the victory.
In its first home game of the season, East Haven defeated Hillhouse 55-34 on Dec. 27. Schlottman scored 21 points and Helms added 16 to keep the Yellowjackets perfect through the first quarter of their season.
Boys’ Basketball
The Easties enjoyed their holiday break by posting a pair of victories to improve to 2-1 early in the year.
East Haven got going when the team topped Sheehan 66-58 on Dec. 19. Ed Popolizio recorded a game-high 28 points in the victory, while Nate Furino poured in 16 points.
A few days later, East Haven defeated Lyman Hall 59-54 behind a triple-double by Ryan Spano, who posted 11 points, 10 assists, and 14 rebounds. Ed Popolizio scored a game-high 18 points to go with six boards and five blocks, plus Nate Furino chipped in with 15 points.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Branford-East Haven-North Branford (Bfd-EH-NB) girls’ ice hockey team split four recent matchups to stand at 3-2 for the season.
On Dec. 18, the Wings claimed a 1-0 road win over Hall-Conard at Veteran’s Memorial Rink in West Hartford. East Haven freshman Julianna Constantinople scored the only goal for the game for the Wings, who saw fellow East Haven students Julia SanGiovanni and Isabella Segui combine for the shutout in net. SanGiovanni and North Branford student Emmy Norton are the team’s captains this year.
Two days later, Bfd-EH-NB faced off against fellow SCC South Division opponent West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy at Bennett Rink in West Haven and took a 4-3 defeat in overtime. Emmy Norton scored two goals for the Wings, while Constantinople had the other goal. Head Coach Jack Norton said that SanGiovanni turned in another incredible performance in net.
Then on Dec. 23, the Wings were on the road again when they played Amity-North Haven-Cheshire for a divisional duel at The Rinks at Shelton. Bfd-EH-NB took a 4-2 defeat against the Blades with Norton scoring both goals for the Hornets.
Four days after that, the Wings hosted division opponent Lauralton Hall at DiLungo Rink in East Haven and came away with a 9-4 victory. Constantinople had four goals, while Norton contributed a goal with two assists in the win. Branford senior Maria DeFabio scored her first high school goal, as did SanGiovanni, who normally plays goalie.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
After playing its first three games of the season on the road, the East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton boys’ ice hockey team has a record of 0-2-1 thus far this winter.
On Dec. 18, the Yellowjackets took 4-1 loss at New Milford. The team then earned its first point as a co-op by skating to a 1-1 with Watertown-Pomperaug on Dec. 23.
Wrestling
On Dec. 20, Yellowjackets pulled off a nail-biting 39-38 victory over Amity that came down to tiebreaker criteria. Freshman Gunner Horton’s win by pin sealed the win for the Easties. Other big victories on the night came Justin Fonacier, Matt Divito, Victor Garcia, Amadeo Bugatti, Tanner Divito, and Connor Gontarz.
Four days earlier, East Haven took second place at the Plainville Invitational, finishing just three points out of first place behind 11 top-four finishers. Head Coach Lou Rivellini said he was impressed with the leadership shown by captains Justin Fonacier, Antonio Lieto, and Josh Rao at the meet. The team’s first-place winners were Fonacier, Lieto, and Garcia; second-place finishers included Rao, Gontarz, and Fabricio Bugatti; Tanner Divito, Danny Jarrin, and Armando Castaneda took third; and Danny Clough and Horton placed fourth in their respective weight classes for East Haven.