Hawks come back, top AHS in NVL 1st round
WATERBURY — For 2 1/2 quarters, the Woodland girls looked like the same Hawks who had lost their last four games to end the regular season, trailing Ansonia, 33-21, with three minutes, 39 seconds to go in the third.
But over the final 11:39 of Saturday’s Naugatuck Valley League tournament quarterfinal matchup with the Chargers at Holy Cross High School, Woodland put together its most brilliant stretch of basketball this season. The Black and Gold outscored the No. 4 seed, 31-8, thanks to a suddenly-resurgent offense and a stifling man-to-man defense to pull away with a 52-41 win.
Hawks snap 6-game losing streak
BEACON FALLS — Something had to change for the Woodland boys’ basketball team. After getting out to a 4-1 start this season, the Hawks fell into a slump, dropping six straight. A couple of the losses could have gone either way, but for the most part, Woodland struggled to get it done.
On Tuesday, at the Hawks’ Nest, the Woodland boys overcame a hot-shooting Wolcott team by delivering the goods with the game on the line. Wolcott shot an eerie total of 11 two-pointers, 11 three-pointers and exactly 11 free throws to rack up 66 points on the scoreboard.
Torrington spoils WRHS girls’ senior night
BEACON FALLS — Woodland girls’ basketball seniors Katie Alfiere and Jen Fredericks had never beaten Torrington, heading into their senior night matchup with the Red Raiders Friday. Unfortunately for those two, they’ll graduate without ever defeating Torrington—at least in the regular season—after a 58-50 loss to the top squad in the Naugatuck Valley League.
Just like the Hawks’ previous contests against the NVL’s best, Woodland (13-6) stayed with Torrington (17-2) the entire game and held the lead several times during the first half. But the league’s leading scorer, Sarah Royals, scored a game-high 21 points, while two other Raiders hit double figures to help Torrington pull away at the end of the first half and stay ahead the rest of the way.
Festas de Sao Paio celebrates 60th year
NAUGATUCK — Thousands of people turned out for the Naugatuck Portuguese Club's 60th annual Festas de Sao Paio celebration Saturday, but no one received as much attention as Maria Fidalgo, who was honored as Mayor for the Day.
"The town has been running much more efficiently," Mayor Robert A. Mezzo joked. He was joined by other politicians who said she's a shining example of Portuguese immigrants' contributions to the town. Naugatuck has one of the densest Portuguese populations of any part of the state.
High school hoops roundup for Dec. 29
Three of the four local hoops teams were in action Tuesday, after a week-long holiday break. The Naugatuck girls got 29 points from Jessica Webber in her first game since reaching the 1,000-point plateau but fell to Wilby, 58-49. The Woodland ladies remained unbeaten by trouncing Derby, 64-43, and the Hawks boys continued their uncharacteristically hot start to the season with a 58-43 win over the Red Raiders.
Hounds girls clinch state tourney berth
NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck girls’ basketball team made senior night extra special Friday by qualifying for the Class L state tournament with a 54-33 win over Wolcott in the last game of the regular season.
It was a special night for the Greyhounds’ six seniors, who played the final home game of their careers and turned it into a momentous occasion. Naugatuck, 7-12 entering the contest, needed one more victory to extend its season and fought off an early deficit to come away with the W.
Even in defeat, Hawks prove they’re elite
BEACON FALLS — The word on the street before the Woodland girls’ titanic clash with St. Paul on Tuesday night was that the game probably wouldn’t be close—after all, the Falcons are one of the best squads in the Naugatuck Valley League, suffering their only loss to mighty Torrington early in the season.
That word must have been in a different language, because the Hawks didn’t get it. Though the Black and Gold fell, 42-40, in the final seconds of the Brass Division showdown, Woodland proved it belongs in the conversation about the best in the NVL.
“No one expected the game to be this close,” Woodland junior Heather Framski said. “We found out that we can compete and have a chance against a really good team, as long as we play to our potential.”
