Printer Friendly Version - East Haven Girls’ Hoops, Boys’ Hockey Lose in State Tournament

Senior captain Makenzie Helms and the East Haven girls’ basketball squad finished their year with a record of 20-6 after losing to Hillhouse in the Class L quarterfinals on March 5. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The East Haven girls’ basketball team saw its season come to a close when the 5th-seeded Yellowjackets took a 63-49 loss to No. 4 seed Hillhouse in the Class L State Tournament quarterfinals on March 5. East Haven finished the year with an overall record of 20-6 that included the team’s fourth consecutive division title and second straight appearance in the final of the Southern Connecticut Conference Tournament.

Hillhouse took a 20-10 lead after the first quarter and entered halftime with a 33-24 advantage over East Haven in the Class L quarters. The Easties began their comeback and got within two points at 48-46 with about 3:30 to play. However, Hillhouse outscored the Yellowjackets 15-3 the rest of the way to close out the game and seal the victory.

Senior captain Makenzie Helms scored a game-high 21 points in the loss for East Haven. Helms was named the Gatorade Connecticut Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year on March 8. Junior captain Alexis Pendziwater scored 11 points, while sophomore Taylor Salato had nine points for the Yellowjackets.

The East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton-Morgan-Valley Regional (EH-OL-OS-EH-M-VR) co-op boys’ ice hockey squad lost a 5-3 decision versus Watertown-Pomperaug (W-P) in the first round of the Division II State Tournament on March 5. The Yellowjackets, who were playing in states for the 33rd year in a row, posted an overall record of 9-11-2 on the season.

The 17th-seeded Yellowjackets had top-seeded W-P on the ropes late in the game, but the Indians scored the final three goals of the night to win it. East Haven got on the board thanks to a goal from sophomore Dave Amatruda, and the two teams were locked in a 1-1 tie after the first period.

Following a scoreless second period, Watertown-Pomperaug scored a goal to go up 2-1 in the third. EH-OL-OS-EH-M-VR responded by netting two goals in 40 seconds to take a 3-2 lead. Valley Regional senior Ricky Persico and Morgan sophomore Ryan Egan scored the goals.

W-P tied the game with 2:45 remaining and then took a 3-2 lead by scoring another goal with 1:08 to play. The Indians added one more goal on an empty-netter to get the 5-3 victory and advance to the quarterfinals. Junior Logan Hamilton made 21 saves for the Yellowjackets, who outshot W-P by a 29-25 margin.

Sophomore Dave Amatruda and the East Haven co-op boys’ ice hockey team took a 5-3 defeat against Watertown-Pomperaug in the first round of states last week. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier