North Branford Girls’ Basketball, Boys’ Hockey Begin Their Seasons with Wins
Girls’ Basketball
The North Branford girls’ basketball squad opened up the season by playing three Shoreline Conference games last week. The Thunderbirds came away with a pair of victories to begin their year with a record of 2-1. The T-Birds won a close game against Old Saybrook, routed Hale-Ray, and then lost to East Hampton during the first week of play.
North Branford rallied for a 34-32 victory at Old Saybrook in its first game of the year on Dec. 11. After trailing 18-6 at halftime, North Branford outscored Old Saybrook by a 28-13 differential over the final 16 minutes of the game to get the two-point win. Senior captain Jessie Kilburn led the charge for the T-Birds by scoring 13 points in the victory. Senior captain Lily Blomster and freshman Braeden Labeau added six points apiece.
Following its win against the Rams, North Branford split a pair of home games later in the week. On Dec. 13, North Branford defeated Hale-Ray by the lopsided margin of 53-10. Two days later, the T-Birds dropped a 50-28 decision versus East Hampton.
Boys’ Basketball
North Branford took a 71-65 overtime loss against Hale-Ray in its season opener last week. The T-Birds are entering their first year with new Head Coach Cliff Yerkes.
North Branford and Hale-Ray were knotted at 60-60 as time wound down in regulation. Hale-Ray held for the final shot, but the Thunderbirds made a stop as the clock struck zero to force overtime. Hale-Ray outscored North Branford 11-5 in the OT session to emerge with the victory.
The difference in the game came down to free throws. Hale-Ray converted more than 20 of its attempts from the stripe, while the T-Birds shot less than 50 percent from the line. Despite the loss, Coach Yerkes was proud of how his team battled in the game, especially since half of North Branford’s key players weren’t on the roster a season ago.
Junior Mike Sitro finished with a double-double by scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for North Branford. Fellow junior Bret Fee scored 13 points and added eight boards. Senior captain Matt Cosgrove scored seven points, senior Giovanni Parillo also had seven points, and senior captain Gary Robinson scored six points in the loss.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
North Branford kicked off its winter campaign by splitting a pair of home games last week. North Branford edged out Westhill-Stamford in high-scoring matchup, before taking a defeat versus South Windsor.
On Dec. 12, the T-Birds scored five goals in the third period to earn an 8-7 win against Westhill-Stamford 8-7. Senior captain Sean McKee recorded a hat trick by scoring three goals in the victory. McKeen netted one goal in the first period and then lit the lamp twice in the final stanza. Sophomore Nick Poulin scored a pair of goals for the T-Birds, including the game-winner with just 1:44 left in the game. Senior captain Nick Barrett, senior Ricky Caruso, and sophomore Matt Pedersen also scored goals in the win. Poulin contributed two assists, while senior captain Nick Mancini, junior Nick Vecchio, Caruso, and sophomore Shawn D’Aversa all had one assist for the T-Birds.
Then on Dec. 15, North Branford lost to South Windsor by the final score of 4-1.