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03/03/2019 11:00 PMThe Guilford girls’ basketball team featured a young roster and had to deal with a formidable schedule in the Southern Connecticut Conference this year. However, the Indians grew immensely as the regular season wore on and then showed plenty of heart, might, and fight during the playoffs.
After taking a close loss to Amity in the SCC Tournament, 21st-seeded Guilford went up against No. 12 Foran in the first round of the Class L State Tournament on Feb. 25. The Indians used a furious fourth-quarter rally to pull off a 52-49 upset over the host Lions and advance to a second-round matchup at East Haven. Guilford took a 58-35 loss versus the 5th-seeded Yellowjackets to finish the year with an overall record of 10-13.
Even in defeat, Head Coach Bob Welsh expressed great pride about the effort and hustle that his club displayed throughout the campaign.
“For any coach, getting to the tournament is a key goal when the season starts out, and being tournament tough when the time comes is equally as important,” Welsh said. “This season, with a young team and a very tough SCC schedule, I wasn’t sure if our hopes of getting to the tournament might be on hold until next year. But I can’t say enough about how this team battled, improved, and began to believe in themselves.”
After Foran jumped out to an 8-0 lead, Guilford called a timeout when the two teams played in the first round of states. The Indians shook off some early nerves and settled in, battling Foran throughout a low-scoring first half. Guilford went to halftime trailing 21-14.
The dynamics of the game changed in the second half with a faster pace and both teams scoring in bunches. Foran scored 21 points in the third quarter and began to press Guilford. Freshmen center Lauren Cunneen (11 points) responded by scoring 10 points in the period, allowing Guilford to hang around.
The Indians were down 41-31 entering the final quarter. Guilford got a spark off the bench from freshman Faith O’Donnell (12 points), who hit three consecutive 3-pointers to help close the gap to 49-46. That set the stage for fellow freshman Miabella Diaz (11 points), who drove the baseline and scored to bring the Indians to within a point in the final minute.
Foran was unable to score on its next possession and then fouled Diaz, who calmly stepped to the line and hit both ends of the 1-and-1 to give Guilford its first lead at 50-49 with 20 seconds remaining. Junior Elle Petra made a great steal and got the ball to sophomore Moira Kellaher, who was fouled with nine seconds to play. Kellaher made two pressure free throws to put Guilford up 52-49. Foran had one more chance, but senior captain Janie Danaher (10 points) blocked Jasmine Lord’s shot to secure a thrilling State Tournament victory for the Indians.
“The kids were very excited, as well as our fans. I know many thought it was one of the most exciting games of the year,” Welsh said. “The fact that we outscored them 21-8 in the final eight minutes was a testament to how resilient this team was by the end of the year and how they learned how to compete. The players and coaches were very proud of the success we had this year, and the future is filled with promise for seasons to come.”
In its second-round game, Guilford fell behind East Haven 8-2 early, but the Indians found their stride, and outscored the Yellowjackets 19-16 to make it 24-21 with 3:30 remaining in the first half. However, East Haven got on a roll and closed out the half on a 15-0 run to take a 12-point advantage into the break. The Yellowjackets added to their lead in the second half to finish with the 58-35 victory and advance to the quarterfinals.
Coach Welsh concluded that the 2018-’19 campaign not only yielded some solid results for his squad, but also set the stage for Guilford’s younger players to reach even greater heights next winter.
“There certainly is reason for optimism for next year and beyond with a young team with a great deal of promise, providing they work together to improve and encourage one another,” said Welsh.
From the Sidelines
Guilford scored 38 second-half points in its Class L first-round victory versus Foran. The freshman trio of Miabella Diaz, Lauren Cunneen, and Faith O’Donnell combined for 30 of those points.
The Indians finished with a record of 9-11 during the regular season, earning the No. 10 seed in the SCC Tournament. Guilford lost a 39-34 contest against No. 7 seed Amity in the first round of the tournament.
Guilford also finished second in the SCC Quinnipiac Division with a record of 5-3 this season.