This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
02/18/2018 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
After finishing its regular season with a record of 18-2, the East Haven girls’ basketball team pulled off a narrow victory versus Career in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals to advance into the semifinal round.
East Haven opened SCC Tournament action as the No. 2 seed and hosted No. 7 Career on Feb. 17. The Yellowjackets needed overtime, but escaped with a 56-54 victory to move on to the semifinal round. It was an even game the whole way as East Haven and the Panthers traded baskets throughout all four quarters of regulation and overtime. The two squads were knotted at 41 going into the OT period, where East Haven suak 12 of its 14 free throws to come away with the win.
Junior McKenzie Helms led the charge by scoring a game-high 31 points for East Haven. Alexis Pendziwater scored nine points, and Isabella Ragaini added seven points in the victory
East Haven (19-2) will play No. 3 seed Hand in the SCC Tournament semifinals at Law High School on Monday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. Should the Easties win that game, they’ll play the winner of No. 1 Mercy and No. 4 Hamden in the SCC final at East Haven High School on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
Prior to SCC Tournament play, East Haven wrapped up its regular season with a 54-39 win at Branford that prevented the Hornets from clinching a spot in the postseason. Helms led the way with 13 points and eight assists, while Pendziwater and Taylor Salato finished with nine points apiece for the Easties. Schlottman added eight points, and Julia SanGiovanni and Isabella Ragaini each finished with six points.
Boys’ Basketball
The Yellowjackets earned their sixth win of the year by defeating beating rival Branford 48-30 on Feb. 12.
Eddy Popolizio led all scorers by netting 21 points for East Haven. Ian Reynolds added nine points and Ryan Spano pitched in eight points for the Yellowjackets, who will close out their season when they host Platt Tech on Senior Night at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Boys’ Indoor Track
Senior Jay Donaldson scored a point for Yellowjackets in the 55-meter dash at the State Open Championship, which took place at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 17.
In the preliminaries, Donaldson sprinted to a time of 6.62 seconds to take fourth place and advance to the championship heat. In the final, Donaldson again ran a 6.62 to finish in sixth place for East Haven.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Freshman Kisha Francois competed at last week’s State Open Championship and picked up a point for East Haven in the long jump.
Francois finished sixth in the long jump with a career-best leap of 16 feet-11.5 inches at the Open. She also competed in the 55-meter dash and finished in 14th place by clocking in at 7.63 seconds.
Wrestling
The East Haven wrestling team saw two athletes earn medals at the Class M State Championship, which was held at Guilford High School on Feb. 16 and 17. Junior Josh Rao finished second in the 195-pound weight class, sophomore Alec Divito took fourth in the 126-pound division, while sophomore Tanner Divito and senior Connor Gontarz posted sixth-place finishes for the Yellowjackets, who totaled 105.5 points and finished in ninth place at the meet.
Rao was the No. 3 seed in the 195-pound bracket at the state meet and received a bye through the first round. In the second round, he won a 12-4 major decision over Stratford’s Emmanuel Sainville, followed that up by pinning Foran’s Nolan Bannon in at the 3:13 mark, and thene defeated Law’s Kevin Brocksom via pin at 4:59. Rao then squared off against New London’s Jacob Commander in the championship bout and lost by pin at the 1:55 mark.
At 126, Alec Divito won his first three matches as the No. 13 seed. He won his first match by pin at 3:14, and then defeated a pair of higher seeds. Divito beat No. 4 seed Isaiah Ross of Platt by a 8-0 major decision and later prevailed by technical fall at 4:10 mark of his match against St. Bernard’s Doug Rediger, who was the No. 5 seed. In the semifinals, Divito took a loss via pin at 3:09 against top-ranked Sean Johnson of Ellis Tech. In the consolation rounds, Divito won a 6-3 decision over Foran’s Jordan Lang, before losing in the third-place match to Brookfield’s Louis Stabile by a 3-2 decision.
In the 132 bracket, Tanner Divito won his first match by a 20-4 technical fall and then lost a decision. In the consolation rounds, Divito won by pin at 3:22 and then picked up another win by a 14-5 major decision. He then dropped two straight matches to take sixth place. At 145, Gontarz won a pair of matches by pin at 1:25 and 5:28, before dropping a decision. He then lost both of his matches in the consolation round to finish in sixth.
Additionally at states, senior Amadeo Buggatti picked up two victories, winning a 9-3 decision in his opening bout and a 7-3 decision in his first consolation bout in the 138-pound division. Also notching a pair of wins was senior Justin Fonacier at 220 as he won 12-7 in his first bout and then won a 6-1 decision in the consolation rounds. Five other Yellowjackets also earned victories in their opening bouts: Freshman Matt Divito won a 12-0 decision at 106, junior Victor Garcia won a 16-0 decision at 113, senior Antonio Lieto won by pin in 53 seconds at 120, junior Danny Jarrin earned a pin at the 5:53 mark at 160, and freshman Danny Clough advanced at 170 via a forfeit. After losing his first bout, junior Armando Castaneda won by pin in his first consolation match at the 4:52 mark in the 285-pound division.
Also competing for East Haven in the Class M meet were sophomore Fabricio Bugatti in the 152 division, along with freshman Kristian Fonacier at 182.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton boys’ ice hockey squad earned a 5-2 victory over Woodstock Academy last week to move within either one win or a tie from clinching a berth in the State Tournament for the 32nd consecutive season. The win improved East Haven’s record to 7-6-1 for the year.
Matt Henderson and Alec Speirs both scored two goals for the Yellowjackets, while Joe Consiglio netted the other goal. Consiglio, Henderson, and Chris Giglietti all finished with two assists, and Rocco Plano and Charlie Carlo each had one. Matt Twarowski recorded 24 saves in goal to help East Haven get the victory.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Branford-East Haven-North Branford girls’ ice hockey team saw its 10-game win streak get broken last week. The Wings hosted West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy at DiLungo Rink on Feb. 15 and took a 3-0 defeat for their first loss since Jan. 10 to move to 16-3 as the playoffs approach.
The No. 4 seed Wings are hosting No. 5 Notre Dame-Fairfield/Law/Foran/Weston in the first round of the SCC South Division Tournament at 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19. With a win, the Wings would play at No. 1 seed West Haven-Sacred Heart Academy in the semifinals at Bennett Rink at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The final takes place at Bennett Rink in West Haven at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. After SCCs, the Wings will compete in the State Tournament that begins on Monday, Feb. 26.