24-0 run powers Ansonia past WRHS
BEACON FALLS — The Woodland Hawks came into Tuesday’s battle with Ansonia with all the incentive they needed. Only two wins separate the Black and Gold from their goal of extending the season into the state tournament.
Woodland lost an earlier Brass Division contest to the Chargers by a slim, 64-57 margin so there was no reason to believe this one wouldn’t go down to the wire. Apparently, Ansonia didn’t get the memo; it led by as many as 20 and went on to win, 81-73. The Chargers (10-6) have been red hot, winning 9 of their last 11 games and are poised to battle Seymour next Tuesday with the Brass Division hanging in the balance.
Alfiere, Framski not enough in Hawks loss
BEACON FALLS — This season has been all about trying to get over the hump for the Woodland girls’ basketball squad. The Hawks have been near the top of the Naugatuck Valley League, but haven’t been able to overcome the league’s best and have suffered a few letdowns along the way. The Black and Gold had another chance to get over that hump last Friday against Holy Cross.
But Woodland squandered a halftime lead and double-doubles by both Katie Alfiere and Heather Framski en route to a 58-50 loss to the Crusaders in Beacon Falls.
Hanging onto a 30-29 lead at halftime, the Hawks went back and forth with Holy Cross throughout the first 2 ½ minutes of the third quarter before the Green and Gold went on a 7-2 run to open up a 42-36 lead—their largest edge to that point—with 2:55 remaining in the third. Woodland closed the gap to 42-40 with 1:26 left in the period, but Cross responded by outscoring the Hawks, 13-6, from that point until the 3:25 mark of the fourth to seal the win.
Holy Cross relays doom Woodland
BEACON FALLS — The good news for the Woodland boys’ swimming and diving team is that it’s been close in just about every single meet. The bad news is that the Hawks have fallen short in most of those contests. That was the case last Friday, as Woodland fell narrowly to Holy Cross, 97-88.
Though the Hawks trailed the entire meet, strong individual performances by Patrick O’Dell and Adam Trumbley in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard breaststroke, respectively, pulled Woodland within seven points heading into the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Crusaders, though, pulled out a first-place finish by just .07 seconds to clinch the win.
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Greyhounds can’t quite catch Cats
NAUGATUCK — The Greyhounds have struggled this season trying to run and gun with the best of the Naugatuck Valley League. They changed their tactic Friday and came out against Seymour with a defensive presence that knocked the Cats off their game.
But while working to keep Seymour in check, the Hounds lost a little bit of their own offensive oomph and came up on the short end of a 54-42 final.
“Our goal wasn’t to go out there and slow down the pace of the game,” Naugatuck head coach Kevin Wesche said. “We did want to limit them to one look at the basket and pick it up on the other end. For whatever reason, that didn’t happen the way we had planned it. Seymour did a good job of working the ball around, and they were very patient. We really had no answer for Kyle Moran, especially in the final period.”
Hawks swimmers undeterred by 2-5 mark
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Rountree leads Woodland romp in Derby
DERBY — Woodland boys’ basketball head coach Tom Hunt said before the season that junior Yahmad Rountree would make a huge difference when he returned to the lineup. Hunt wasn’t kidding. Rountree, in just his second game of the season, poured in a game- and career-high 28 points in a 72-56 rout of Derby Tuesday night.
Twenty-two of Rountree’s 28 points came in the second half, helping the Hawks pull away from the Red Raiders, who stuck around until midway through the third quarter. Derby crept to within three at 30-27 with 5 ½ minutes left in the third, but Woodland put together an 8-0 run, started by an impressive fast-break dunk by Rountree, to gain a 38-27 lead that would never shrink to less than eight the rest of the way.
