Hawks roll past Hounds, lift record to 7-0

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Woodland's Lindsay Feducia scored 14 points in the Hawks' victory over Naugatuck on Tuesday night. - RA ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — Four days without a game or practice didn’t stop the undefeated Woodland girls’ basketball team.
The Hawks went back to the court with purpose and defeated Naugatuck, 47-25, on Tuesday night. Woodland didn’t allow a field goal in the first 8:20 of the contest, and started the game on a 16-2 run. At the half, Woodland led 29-12.
“We hadn’t practiced in four days,” Woodland coach Gail Cheney said.  “As a coach, you don’t know what you’re going to get when they come back. But we came out and played well.”
The Hawks improved to 7-0, while Naugy fell to 2-6.
Heather Framski scored a game-high 15 points for the Hawks, while Lindsay Feducia posted 14 and Andrea Piccolo added 10.  Framski and Feducia asserted themselves immediately.
Feducia fired a pass to Framski, who collected the ball on the right block and made a layup 10 seconds into the game. One minute later, Framski again found Feducia, who buried a three.
“Once Heather gets herself established, it sets up outside shots,” Feducia said.
On the ensuing possession, Framski added two more points off a turnover to give Woodland a 7-0 edge 90 seconds into the game.
Lauren Piroscafo, who scored a team-high eight points, hit two free throws to put Naugy on the board. However, the Hawks didn’t stop there.
Piccolo converted a layup off a nifty pass from Feducia and Kelsey Deegan struck with a layup to increase Woodland’s lead to 11-2. Framski capped the quarter with a three and a jumper in the lane in the final minute.
Renee Augustine scored Naugy’s first hoop early in the second quarter, and finished with six points and a team-high 14 rebounds. However, Woodland never relinquished control of the game.
Woodland’s early quick-hitting run proved to be the difference. The Greyhounds helped the Hawks with a stagnant offense that never materialized.
“We settled [with outside shots] all night long,” Naugatuck coach Jodie Ruccio said. “We need to balance our scoring and get post players involved.”
The Hawks received contributions from numerous players. After the game, Cheney praised the efforts of Kate Tuckey, Deegan and Piccolo, who all chipped in on offense to take some of the focus off Framski.
“It takes a little burden off her,” Cheney said.
For Naugatuck, it’s time to regroup and focus on upcoming games.
“We have a lot of winnable games coming up, but we have to learn from our mistakes,” Ruccio said.
As for Woodland, they their unblemished record will be put to the test. But, the Hawks aren’t letting their record impact their play.
“We really don’t think of it when we play,” Feducia said. “We’re just trying to be the best we can be.”