Elite Hoops Freshmen Declare 'Shattering'—Set to Demolish Expectations!
HARTFORD – Two freshmen start for the Weaver girls basketball team. So does a sophomore. One of their seniors – whom coach Lavar Mitchell called a “double-double machine” – was on the bench Friday night during the Division IV quarterfinal state tournament game with a foot injury.
The Beavers were the third seed. But they are also young. Lauralton Hall, the 11th seed, had been in situations during the season where the Crusaders had trailed and lost and here they were in that same situation, down 10 after three quarters and they were not shooting the ball particularly well.
But Lauralton Hall fought. The Crusaders (14-10) dove after more loose balls; they got offensive rebound after offensive rebound. And they rallied to win the quarterfinal game at Weaver, 51-47, to advance to the Division IV semifinal against No.
7 Stonington, a 55-21 winner over East Hampton, on Monday or Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. “In a moment like that, earlier in the season, we wouldn’t have made that comeback,” Lauralton Hall coach Emily Menendez said. “We’ve lost a couple games by two and we haven’t been able to be able to fight through that.
“I said, ‘This has to be the game, when you’re down, you’ve got to make that comeback, you’ve got to be willing to fight to the end. ’ We had nothing to lose. ” Freshman Taeleyona Ramey led Weaver (21-4) with 24 points and Michaela Deiso was the leading scorer for Lauralton Hall (26 points), which had lost four of its last six regular season games and lost in the first round of the SCC tournament.