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03/02/2019 11:00 PMThe Hand girls' basketball team is going to the championship game of the Class L State Tournament. The Tigers claimed a 33-27 victory against 2nd-seeded Windsor in a semifinal game at Plainville High School on March 8. No. 19 seed Hand improves to 14-12 and advances to face No. 4 seed Hillhouse (22-4) in the Class L state final at Mohegan Sun Arena on either Saturday, March 17 or Sunday, March 18.
One week after making its mark in the Southern Connecticut Conference Tournament, the Hand girls’ basketball kept its momentum rolling into the Class L State Tournament. The Tigers earned victories versus RHAM, North Haven, Pomperaug, and Windsor in the first four rounds of the tourney to earn themselves a berth in the title bout.
Hand finished with a record of 9-11 for the regular season and then scored a huge win over Mercy in the first round of the SCC Tournament, dealing Mercy its earliest exit from the conference draw in 16 years. The Tigers later took a defeat against Wilbur Cross in the quarterfinals.
On Feb. 25, Hand began the Class L State Tournament as the No. 19 seed and defeated 14th-seeded defending champion RHAM by the score of 50-40 in a first-round road game. Three days later, the Tigers hosted fellow SCC opponent and No. 30 seed North Haven in the second round and notched a 68-38 victory to advance to the quarterfinal round.
On March 5, Hand earned a 58-46 win at No. 6 seed Pomperaug to advance to face No. 2 seed Windsor in the semis.
Junior Sara Wohlgemuth scored a game-high 19 points to go with nine rebounds and a pair of steals when the Tigers beat RHAM in the first round of states. Brooke Salutari chipped in with nine points for Hand, which forced RHAM into committing 23 turnovers.
Hand struggled out of the gate and scored just four points during the opening quarter. Down 8-4 after one, the Tigers started to find their legs in the second quarter and outscored RHAM 13-8 to take a 17-16 advantage into halftime. Hand found its shot during the third quarter as Salutari, Summer Adams, and Taya Akers each hit a 3-pointer to help give the Tigers an eight-point lead heading into the final frame. Hand finished the night with the 10-point win to advance to the second round. The Tigers had lost to RHAM in the semifinals of last year’s Class L State Tournament.
“This was a really big moment for our basketball team. To be able to exact a little revenge on the team that knocked us out of the semifinals last season in their gym is always nice, but more importantly, it was a reward for all the hard work these kids have done this season,” said Head Coach Tim Tredwell. “We’ve taken our lumps with one of the toughest schedules around, and the kids never wilted, they never got down, and they never made excuses. They’ve had great attitudes and kept working every day.”
Coach Tredwell said that the Tigers won their game against RHAM by showing the same trademark toughness they’ve displayed throughout the campaign.
“We’ve said all year if we worked hard and stayed close, it would pay off in the postseason. Even in the first half when...we had an opportunity to start getting down and feeling sorry for ourselves, the kids came into the locker room upbeat and dialed in,” Tredwell said. “Summer and Sara showed great leadership. Julia Kuhn was outstanding defensively, frustrating their best player and really causing problems for their offense. Hadley Houghton came up with a pair of big shots in the second half.”
Adams led all scorers by netting a career-high 20 points to lead Hand to its second-round victory over North Haven. Salutari scored 17 points, and Wohlgemuth had 15 points for the Tigers.
Adams scored 10 points in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers, while Salutari also hit a pair of threes to stake Tigers to a 23-12 lead after one. Hand ramped up the defensive pressure in the second quarter and, spurred by 3-pointers from Wohlgemuth and Akers, took a 19-point lead into halftime.
The Tigers showed no signs of slowing down in the third quarter. Salutari and Kuhn scored five points apiece in the frame to stretch the lead to 22 entering the fourth. Hand held North Haven to just two field goals in the final period and coasted into the quarterfinals with the 30-point rout.
“This was a really fun game to be a part of. The kids moved the ball beautifully on offense and shot extremely well. It didn’t seem to matter who got the look. It just felt like they were going to knock it down. Our defense was active, and you could see their confidence soar with every good play,”: Coach Tredwell said. “I couldn’t be any happier for Summer. She’s worked so hard this season and...she was outstanding tonight. To have another scoring threat, along with kids like Taya and Julia, knocking down shots when their number is called could make us a very tough out this time of year.”