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03/08/2019 11:00 PMThe Hand girls’ basketball team continued its exhilarating playoff ride by knocking off two higher seeds to reach the championship game of the Class L State Tournament. The 19th-seeded Tigers notched a 58-46 win versus No. 6 seed Pomperaug in the quarterfinals, followed by a 33-27 victory over No. 2 Windsor in the semifinal round last week.
Hand, which is now 14-12 overall, will face No. 4 seed Hillhouse (23-4) for the Class L state title at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on either Saturday, March 16 or Sunday, March 17. This marks the Tigers’ second berth in the Class L state final in the past three seasons.
“This team continues to amaze me. After such a challenging regular season, these kids have grown up more in the past few weeks than I could possibly imagine,” said Head Coach Tim Tredwell, whose club won the state crown in 2017. “I’m just so proud of this team and excited that they’ve earned the opportunity to play at Mohegan.”
On March 5, the Tigers traveled to Southbury to face Pomperaug in the Class L quarterfinals and earned their second road win in the tournament with a 58-46 victory. Junior Sara Wohlgemuth netted a game-high 21 points, made seven steals, and grabbed four rebounds for Hand. Freshman Brooke Salutari added 15 points in the victory. Sophomore Julia Kuhn had six points, five rebounds and three steals, while fellow sophomore Maddie Thomas and junior Summer Adams combined to reel in 13 boards for the Tigers. Hand outrebounded Pomperaug 34-25 and forced the Panthers into committing 24 turnovers.
Pomperaug jumped out to a 14-4 lead midway through the first quarter, but the Tigers clawed their way back. A buzzer-beating layup by Wohlgemuth got Hand within five points at the end of one. Wohlgemuth’s layup was part of an 18-4 run that helped Hand take a 22-18 lead at the end of the second quarter. Sophomore Taya Akers made a three at the buzzer that sent Hand into the locker room with a 31-24 advantage.
The Tigers’ offense stalled in the third quarter. Pomperaug hit a 3-pointer late in the frame to give the Panthers a 38-35 lead, before Kuhn made a runner at the buzzer to cut it to one heading into the final period. It was all Hand in the fourth quarter as the Tigers calmly handled Pomperaug’s press and made several clutch free throws down the stretch to come away with the 58-46 victory.
“This is just a remarkable win for this team, and it’s a credit to these kids and their ability to persevere. It’s also a credit to our league,” Coach Tredwell said. “Playing teams like Hillhouse, Wilbur Cross, Mercy, East Haven, and Hamden throughout the regular season prepared us for these moments. You could see even when we got down early, that the kids were calm. Two months ago, their body language might have told a completely different story in the same situation. But it’s a different team now. They believe in themselves and each other. They’ve come together at the best possible time.”
Three days later, Hand squared off against 2nd-seeded Windsor in the semifinals at Plainville High School and defeated the Warriors 33-27. Wohlgemuth scored a game-high 12 points, and Salutari had six points for the Tigers. Hand limited Windsor’s offense to single digits in all four quarters, while handing the Warriors only their second defeat against in-state competition this season.
Buckets were difficult to come by as both teams played stout defense for 32 minutes. Hand held a 5-4 advantage following the first quarter. After Windsor took a brief lead in the second, Akers drained a three to give the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish.
Up 15-9 at the half, Hand stretched its lead to eight when Salutari made a layup early in the third. Still, Windsor did not go away quietly. Down by seven entering the fourth quarter, the Warriors cut the deficit to four with just less than two minutes to play. However, Hand’s captains were up to the task as senior Anna Beccia, Adams, and Wohlgemuth combined to hit four free throws down the stretch to book the Tigers’ second trip to Mohegan Sun in the last three years.
“We knew Windsor is big, athletic and would be in our face for 32 minutes. We were going to have to be physically tough enough to withstand their style of play, but also mentally tough enough to maintain our composure if things went south on us. And once again, our kids stepped up,” said Tredwell. “Maddie Thomas was incredible battling in the paint all night and staying patient on the offensive end. Julia Kuhn set the tone at the top of our zone. Summer Adams has transformed herself into a physical rebounder. Sara Wohlgemuth always seemed to find a little more in the tank. Anna Beccia hit clutch foul shots.”
Hand had previously finished with a record of 9-11 during the regular season. In the Southern Connecticut Conference Tournament, the Tigers earned a 47-40 first-round win versus Mercy and then lost a 54-45 contest against Cross in the quarterfinals. Hand started off the Class L State Tournament by defeating No. 14 seed RHAM (50-40) and No. 30 North Haven (68-38) in the first two rounds.