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03/09/2018 11:00 PMThe defending champion Hand girls’ basketball team was eliminated from the Class L State Tournament by taking a 59-40 defeat against top-seeded RHAM in a semifinal contest at Bacon Academy on March 12. The Tigers finished their year with a record of 22-5.
Previously, Hand, which was the No. 4 seed in the tournament, began its title defense with a 55-41 first-round home win over 29th-seeded Avon, after which the Tigers defeated No. 13 Bassick (64-53) and No. 12 seed Law (84-53) at home to move on to the semifinal round.
Hand hosted Bassick for a second-round contest in the Class L State Tournament on March 5 and prevailed by the score of 64-53. Sophomore Sara Wohlgemuth led all scorers with 20 points, while senior co-captain Gabby Egidio poured in 19 points against Bassick (14-7). Sophomore Summer Adams added 10 points for the Tigers, who shot 18-of-23 from the foul line.
After struggling to find its rhythm early, Hand was able to take an 18-10 first-quarter lead behind seven points from Wohlgemuth and six from Egidio. The second quarter belonged to Adams as she scored all 10 of her points in the frame to give Hand a 38-28 halftime lead. The third quarter saw Egidio and Wohlgemuth relentlessly attack the rim, with each player scoring seven points to bump the lead up to 56-42. Hand slowed down in the fourth quarter, going without a field goal and allowing the Lions to hang around. Fortunately, the Tigers were solid from the free-throw line, and went 8-of-10 down the stretch to ice the victory.
“We knew this would be a battle going in. Bassick is very aggressive and has multiple players who can finish around the rim. They also have some capable shooters, so they provided a number of challenges defensively,” Tredwell said. “After we shook off the cobwebs in the first few minutes, I thought we were much better offensively, especially when we attacked the rim. But we can’t rely on our offense to bail us out. We’re going to need to be sharper on the defensive end.”
Four nights later, Hand was home to battle Law in the Class L quarterfinals and won by the final tally of 84-53. Wohlgemuth led four Tigers in double figures with a game-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers. Senior co-captain Emma Sullivan poured in 16 points, Egidio added 13 points, and senior Halle Freund chipped in 11 versus Law (16-8). Five different players hit a three to help Hand hit a total of 10 in the game. The Tigers’ defense limited Law to just three field goals in the first half.
Hand came out firing in the first quarter with senior Hannah Martin, Egidio, freshman Julia Kuhn, and Wohlgemuth all hitting threes to put the Tigers up 23-8 after one. Hand cooled off a bit in the second, while struggling to keep Law off the foul line. The Eagles hit just one field goal, but went 9-of-12 from the stripe to keep the Tigers’ lead to less than 20 at the break. The third quarter belonged to Wohlgemuth, who hit four 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to push Hand’s lead to 24 heading into the final frame. Eight different Tigers got in the scorebook in the fourth quarter as Hand defeated SCC Oronoque Division rival Law for the third time this year in its final home game of the season.
“I am still amazed by how well we shot the ball tonight. To come out firing like that against a tough SCC opponent shows how locked in our kids were for this game. The SCC is clearly one of the best conferences in the state. You go through a gauntlet of great teams, great players, and great coaches every night, so if you can survive the regular season, you should be in the best possible position to handle whatever the State Tournament throws at you,” said Coach Tredwell. “I loved our defensive intensity and, except for a brief lull early in the third, it seemed like they maintained it for the entire game. I was especially excited for our four seniors. This was the last game they’ll every play in their home gym and, for everything they’ve done for our program, it was only right to send them off with a big win.”
From the Sidelines
The Tigers finished their campaign with a 12-1 record at home.
Hand’s only regular-season losses came against SCC champion and Class LL state finalist Mercy (50-40 on Dec. 14 and 54-41 on Jan. 22) and Notre Dame-Fairfield (63-52 on Dec. 27).
In the SCC Tournament, the Tigers defeated Cheshire (66-37) and Cross (64-62) in the first two rounds, before taking a 56-55 defeat to East Haven in the semis.