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03/21/2021 12:00 AMBoys’ Basketball
The Guilford boys’ basketball team took a loss to Hand in its regular-season finale and then lost to Branford in the quarterfinals of the SCC Division II Tournament last week. The Grizzlies finished their season with an overall record of 5-8.
On March 15, Guilford hosted Hand dropped a 41-27 decision to the Tigers in its final game of regular-season play. Senior Jake Ciocca scored seven points for the Grizzlies, and sophomore Justin Hess had six points.
Then on March 20, No. 5 seed Guilford played No. 4 Branford in the quarterfinal round of the SCC Division II Tournament. Guilford, which had a bye through the first round, took a 53-46 defeat against the Hornets in the contest.
Guilford held a 15-13 lead after the first quarter and was up 26-21 at halftime against Branford. However, the Hornets outscored the Grizzlies 20-9 during the third quarter to bring a 41-35 lead into the fourth and then held on for the victory.
Ciocca scored 16 points for Guilford in the game. Senior Jack Tandler scored eight points, sophomores Justin Hess and Luke St. Marie had seven points apiece, and senior Evan Ghoreyeb scored five points for the Grizzlies.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
After taking a loss to Hand in its regular-season finale, the Guilford boys’ ice hockey squad was slated to play Branford in the first round of the SCC-SWC Division II Tournament last week. However, the game was canceled after Guilford was forced to withdraw from the tournament as a result of a team quarantine due to potential exposure to COVID-19.
On March 16, Guilford played a road game against Hand and lost the contest by a 5-2 score at Northford Ice Pavilion.
Guilford was the No. 8 seed in the SCC-SWC Division II Tournament and was scheduled to host No. 9 Branford for a first-round matchup before the game was canceled. The Grizzlies finished their season with an overall record of 2-6.
Girls’ Ice Hockey
The Guilford girls’ ice hockey team completed its regular season with a record of 7-1 after winning its final two games of the slate last week. The defending champion Grizzlies are playing in the SCC Tournament this week.
Guilford claimed an 8-2 win versus Masuk-Barlow-Newtown-Lauralton-Shelton-New Milford at the Sports Center of Connecticut on March 17. Freshman Sofia Cuozzo had three goals with an assist, while junior Maddie Epke scored two goals to go with three assists for the Grizzlies. Sophomore Kim Evans scored two goals, and junior Olivia Gill tallied a goal with an assist. Junior goalkeeper Julia McDonald made 18 saves in net.
The next day, the Grizzlies played Law/ND-Fairfield/Foran-Weston/Pomperaug and prevailed by an 8-2 score. Cuozzo and Epke each had three goals and one assist in the win. Evans and freshman Ryleigh Gagnon netted the other goals for Guilford in the victory.
No. 2 seed Guilford hosted No. 3 seed the Law co-op team for an SCC semifinal game on March 23 (after press time). With a win, the Grizzlies would face the winner of top-seeded West Haven- Sacred Heart Academy and the 4th-seeded Masuk co-op squad in the championship game at Bennett Rink on Thursday, March 25 at 6 p.m.
Gymnastics
Guilford sophomore Ella Esposito put forth an excellent performance while competing as a team-of-one when the Hand gymnastics squad faced Foran at ABC Gymnastics on March 16.
Esposito took second place for the all-around by posting a total score of 34.8 at the meet. Esposito claimed second place on the beam (9.2), finished in a tie for third on bars (8.3), and came in third place for the floor (9.0) on her way to placing second all-around on behalf of Guilford.
Hand defeated Foran by the final score of 134.8-120.0 to improve to 3-1 on the season.