Printer Friendly Version - Hand Girls’ Hoops Qualifies for the Playoffs; Naclerio Wins the All-Around as Gymnastics Edges Glastonbury

Emma Sullivan and the Hand girls’ basketball picked up three victories last week, while clinching a postseason berth in the process. The Tigers now have a record of 8-2 for the campaign. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Source

The Hand girls’ basketball team posted three more victories last week to qualify for the State Tournament with an overall record of 8-2. The Tigers are also 3-0 in the SCC Oronoque Division this season.

Hand first earned a non-conference win by a 67-33 final over Waterford on Jan. 8. Halle Freund scored a game-high 19 points on 9-of-11 of shooting and grabbed six rebounds; Sara Wohlgemuth racked up 14 points, eight assists, and six boards; Emma Sullivan added 12 points, six assists, and four steals; and Gabby Egidio chipped in with 13 points for the Tigers.

Hand shot 52 percent from the floor and forced Waterford into 20 turnovers. The Tigers went up 12-0, before a pair of free throws got Waterford on the board with 3:27 to go in the first quarter. During Hand’s opening run, all five starters got in the scorebook as the Tigers moved the ball remarkably well. Hand’s defense was also up to the task by holding Waterford to just one field goal in the first quarter, and the visiting Tigers took a 21-6 lead after one. Waterford showed signs of life early in the second as the teams traded baskets for most of the quarter. However, Hand went on one more scoring run and finished the half with nine straight points—including a Wohlgemuth jumper, steal, and buzzer-beating three—to take a 39-16 lead into the locker room. Hand then started the third quarter with a 10-0 spurt to stretch the lead to 49-16. Waterford scored nine points in a row, but a Sullivan three was part of a 6-0 run that sent the Tigers into the final frame up 30 as Hand picked up win No. 6.

Hand then defeated North Haven 63-41 for its second SCC Oronoque Division win. Wohlgemuth totaled 19 points, six rebounds, and five assists; Egidio also had 19 points to go along with five rebounds; and Sullivan chipped in 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including three from long range, while adding four off the glass and three assists.

Hand jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead before North Haven settled in. The Indians found their shooting strok by knocking down a pair of threes to get within two points at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter mirrored the first as the Tigers started the period with eight straight points to go up 24-14 with 4:30 remaining. Down eight with under a minute to go in the half, North Haven scored the last four points of the half, including a runner at the buzzer, to get within four heading into the locker room. The Indians scored the first two of the third quarter, but it was all Hand after that, as the Tigers went on an 11-1 run during which the Indians committed five turnovers. With the clock winding down in the third, Sullivan knocked down a trey to push the lead to 12 heading into the final frame. In the fourth, Egidio took over by scoring 11 points on an array of jumpers and drives to the rim to solidify the victory.

Hand then punched its postseason ticket with a 46-36 win over Law on Jan. 12. Wohlgemuth hit five three-pointers, racking up 23 points, four rebounds, and three steal; Egidio totaled 15 points, three assists, three rebounds, and three steals; and Freund added six points, 14 rebounds, seven blocks, and three steals in the victory.

Both teams struggled to find their offense in the first quarter as Hand took an early 9-4 lead. Law started the second with a 5-0 run, but Hand responded with a 5-0 run to push the lead to 15-9. However, the Tigers went cold, and the Eagles finished the half on a 10-0 run to take a 19-15 lead into the locker room. Hand looked to turn things around in the second half as Wohlgemuth opened the third quarter with a three, but the Eagles had an answer, and stretched their lead to 30-22 late in the third quarter. However, the Tigers finally found their rhythm after a couple adjustments and outscored the hosts 16-2 to turn a 30-22 deficit into a 38-32 lead, eventually securing the win and postseason berth.

Hand is now 2-5 overall and 0-1 in the SCC Housatonic Division after losing matchups against Hamden and Cheshire this past week.

The Tigers took a 70-56 loss to Hamden on Jan. 8. Tyler Boris led Hand with 16 points, while Graeme McGivern added nine points and seven rebounds, and Flynn Driscoll scored eight points and posted seven boards. Hamden worked up a 15-point halftime lead and started the second half on a 6-0 run to take a 21-point advantage. Hand chipped away and cut the lead down to 10, where it stayed for most of the fourth quarter. Hand battled and never quit, while facing full-court pressure the entire game.

Hand then took a 54-50 defeat to Cheshire on Jan. 10. Driscoll scored 13 points to go along with seven boards and two blocks. McGivern added 11 points, plus Ethan Haberman tallied eight points. In a back-and-forth game, Hand overcame a 13-point deficit to cut the lead to two with under a minute remaining, although the Tigers were unable to close it out and lost a tough decision.

The Tigers opened their dual-meet season with a home contest against Glastonbury and prevailed 128.15-127.1 on Jan. 9.

Erin Naclerio finished first (8.85) for the vault, and she also took first on the bars (8.8), floor (8.6), and beam (9.4) to win the all-around with a score of 35.65. Grace Rogers finished second (8.6) on the beam, Carly Barba was second (8.2) on the vault, and Schylar Saliba came in tied for second on the floor (8.4) for Hand. Saliba also scored an 8.0 on vault for all-around total of 29.8. Lexi Theel had an 8.0 on beam with an all-around of 28.7, while Kelley Levis posted a score of 7.9 on floor.

Hand-Coginchaug-Old Lyme (H-C-O) had two games last wee with a home matchup against Suffield-Enfield-Housatonic-Ellington-MLC on Jan. 12 and then a road faceoff versus Lauralton Hall the next day. The Tigers are now 5-3 after losing the first game and defeating Lauralton Hall.

The Tigers took a 4-3 loss on Jan. 12. Hand trailed 2-0 after the first period, but Skylar Rascati found a loose puck on the power play to get one back in the second. H-C-O tied the game just 10 seconds into the third period when Sarah Conroy put one away after a scramble in the crease. The visitors’ Sophie Lupone answered with her second of the game to put the Wildcats back on top. Less than two minutes later, Grace Lavin redirected a shot-pass from Sam Rodham to knot the score again at 3-3. After a few minutes of hard work along the boards, the Tigers earned a power play, but an errant pass on the blue line sent the Wildcats’ Zoe Pincelli on a breakaway, and she scored a shorthanded goal to put them up 4-3. Despite the loss, the Tigers killed off two power plays and are now 15-for-15 on the penalty kill this season.

Hand bounced back the next day to record a 5-0 shutout versus Lauralton Hall. Kaitlyn Sandor’s end-to-end rush started the scoring 2:20 into the game. Lucy Brown and Nicole Lemieux picked up their first goals of the season, while Anna Sather and Rascati each picked up goals. Kylie Gargiulo continued her strong play in net, picking up her third shutout in as many starts.

The Tigers recently recorded a big win over Bethel-Brookfield-Danbury (B-B-D) and then took a pair of defeats to move to 3-5 on the year. In last week’s action, Hand dropped a 5-3 decision to East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton on Jan. 10 and then lost to North Branford by a 7-2 score on Jan. 13.

Previously, in a 7-3 win over B-B-D on Jan. 6, freshman goalie Eric Dillner picked up his first win of the season for the Tigers. Brett Leckey and Mike McKeon each had a goal and two assists, Jason Rossi and Brendan Ryan contributed a goal and an assist apiece, and Paul Gagliardi netted two power-play goals for Hand. Coming off significant down time due to weather cancellations, Hand had been away from the rink for three straight days, but played a simple and steady first period, outshooting B-B-D 14-7. The second period began with Hand up 2-0, but B-B-D started playing more physical and scored two goals in less than a minute to tie the game at 2-2. The Tigers were able to regain control with a goal by Rossi to make it 3-2. The second period ended with Hand leading 4-2 on Leckey’s first tally of the season, and then the Tigers added three more in the final frame to preserve the win.

Hand improved to 10-2 after a recording a 55-25 win over Ellis Tech on Jan. 10, and then taking part in the Hand Duals.

Zach Morro prevailed by pin at the 3:47 mark in the 115-pound weight class for Hand. Also notching wins for the Tigers were Zach Morro (115, pin at 3:47), Dylan Brochard (128, pin at 1:50), Jared Puricelli (140, pin at 4:15), Charles Jensen (147, pin at 4:07), Brendan Curran (152, by 21-7 decision), Adam Hendrick (172, pin at 5:49), Alec Dube (182, pin at 1:10), Van Docker (197, via forfeit), and Matt Derken (222, pin at 1:53).

At the Hand Duals on Jan. 13, the Tigers defeated Wethersfield 39-33 but fell 36-33 to Fairfield Ludlowe in pool play. In the Championship Pool, the Tigers lost to eventual champion Mt. Anthony, Vermont, 61-12.

The Tigers competed in their second SCC Developmental meet of the season on Jan. 9 at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.

Hand’s 4x400 relay of Jaime Calderon, Nick Porte, Ethan McMahon, and Liam Akers finished in third place with a time of 3:41.44. Also for the Tigers, Quincy Heinrich tied for fourth in the high jump (5-10) and Caleb Nugent tied for sixth place (5-8), Porte placed sixth in the 600, Greyson McGeary finished seventh (8.74) in the 55 hurdles with Russell Powell in eighth (8.77), Bryce Myers was seventh for the pole vault (9-6), and McMahon came in 10th place for the long jump at 18-10.25.

Hand took part in last week’s SCC Developmental meet at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.

Gabrielle Harmon finished second in the 300 (43.35), while the Tigers’ 4x400 relay of Kayla Howard, Harmon, Rachel Parthasarthy, and Chloe Veth came in fifth place with a time of 4:23.60 at the competition.

Hand had one meet last week with a road matchup against Fairfield Prep. The Tigers took a 100-80 loss to the Jesuits on Jan. 11 at Fairfield University.