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02/09/2019 11:00 PMGirls’ Basketball
The North Branford girls’ basketball team split two matchups last week and stands at 7-12 with one game remaining in the regular season. The T-Birds took a home loss to Morgan, but bounced back by defeating Haddam-Killingworth to put them one victory shy of qualifying for the playoffs. North Branford needed to defeat Coginchaug in its regular season finale to guarantee itself a spot in the Class M State Tournament this year. The game took place at Coginchaug on Feb. 11 (after press time).
On Feb. 4, North Branford took a 56-42 defeat against Morgan on Senior Night. Prior to tip-off, senior captains Jessie Kilburn and Angelina Ramada were honored for their contributions to the program. Despite the loss, Kilburn turned in a big performance by scoring 23 points to go with 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Morgan held a 23-21 halftime lead, before outscoring the T-Birds 14-9 during the third quarter. The Huskies pulled away by making several key free throws down the stretch. Freshman Braeden LeBeau contributed seven points with 11 rebounds, five blocks, and four steals for the Thunderbirds.
Three days later, North Branford notched a pivotal 54-37 victory at Haddam-Killingworth. Kilburn had a career night that featured 29 points, 21 rebounds, three steals, and one block to lead North Branford to the victory. Kilburn scored eight of her points in the third quarter as the T-Birds increased their 21-18 halftime lead to a 39-28 advantage entering the final quarter of action. Junior Julia Ricardo scored 15 points in the victory, and LeBeau grabbed 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Erica Piercey had eight assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
Boys’ Basketball
North Branford took a road loss versus Morgan and then dropped a home game to Haddam-Killingworth last week.
On Feb. 5, North Branford lost to Morgan by a 65-38 score. Three nights later, North Branford took a 73-59 defeat against H-K. The Cougars were only up 33-32 at the half, but then outscored North Branford by nine points in the third quarter to come away with the win. Junior Mike Sitro scored 14 points, senior Dylan Martinik had 13 points, and senior captain Matt Cosgrove scored 11 for North Branford (1-14). Fellow senior captain Gary Robinson added eight points in the loss.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Junior Mackenzie Glenn claimed third place in the long jump for North Branford at the Class S State Championship at the Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 7. Glenn scored six points with her performance to put the T-Birds in 18th place at the meet.
Glenn recorded a leap of 16 feet-4.75 inches to finish third in the long jump at states. Glenn improved upon her distance of 15-9.25 from when she won the event at the Shoreline Conference Championship the previous week.
Also at the meet, senior Ana Pavic finished 15th in the 300-meter dash with a time of 44.65 seconds, while sophomore Nadia Becker clocked in with a time of 8.12 to place 36th in the preliminaries of in the 55-meter dash.
In relays, North Branford’s 4x200 team of Glenn, Becker, sophomore Onna Gott, and Pavic finished seventh with a time of 1:53.98. The 4x400 group featuring Becker, Glenn, Pavic, and senior Gillian Pena finished in 11th place at 4:34.48.
Boys’ Indoor Track
North Branford was represented by a few athletes at last week’s Class S State Championship meet.
Senior Michael Rabuffo took 19th place in the 300-meter dash by running a time of 39.28 seconds for the T-Birds. Junior Joe DeLucia placed 19th in the 600-meter run at 1:33.08.
For relays, the T-Birds’ 4x400 squad of senior Jeremy Conboy, DeLucia, junior Freddie Little, and Rabuffo finished in 14th place with a time of 3:49.89. Those same four athletes also joined forces in the 4x200 relay and finished 25th with a time of 1:43.97.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
North Branford split a pair of home contests last week and also lost one on the road to move to 4-9-1. The Thunderbirds defeated Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug and then lost to Sheehan at Northford Ice Pavilion, before going on the road and taking a loss against the East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton-Morgan-Valley Regional co-op squad.
On Feb. 2, the Thunderbirds earned a 5-4 win over Lyman Hall/H-K/Coginchaug, scoring three goals in the third period to emerge victorious. Junior Nick Vecchio scored two goals, while senior captain Sean McKee, senior Brendan Stoner, and sophomore Nick Poulin also found the back of the net. Senior captain Nick Mancini had two assists in the victory, with Poulin and senior Erich Fruin recording one assist apiece. Sophomore Tyler DiNapoli made 24 saves in goal.
Two nights later, North Branford dropped a 4-2 decision to Sheehan. Senior captains Nick Barrett and McKee scored goals for the T-Birds, who saw McKee, Stoner, and sophomore Griffin Geist each get an assist.
Then on Feb. 6, the T-Birds took a 2-0 loss versus the East Haven co-op team, despite outshooting the opposition by a 41-26 margin.