Berlin gets second half boost to eliminate Ellington
What started off as a bucket-for-bucket chess match ended with a 19-point win for 18-seed Berlin as the Redcoats upset No. 2 Ellington in the second round of the Class MM tournament.
The score was tied on multiple occasions in the first half, and the teams went into the locker room knotted at 23. The Redcoats turned up the heat in the second, and quickly built a comfy lead over the Knights, eventually landing at a 59-40 final score.
Berlin coach Sheila McCabe-King said her team actually made changes on defense that lead to more buckets.
“They were getting some back doors on us, so we adjusted our defense,” she said. “We were playing a little too tight, so we played some gap defense and I think that came through for us and gave us some momentum, offensively. It calmed us down. When you get stops on defense, you can do a little more on offense.”
Preparing for the next round against 7-seeded Wolcott, would involve some film-watching and a little more fine tuning, but the regular season, the coach said, prepared the Redcoats for tough opponents.
“It’s a great bunch of kids I have,” she said. “We have six seniors, and we play in a very difficult CCC league, and we played at Tier 1. We took it on the nose, had a lot of bumps and bruises, but it gave us a lot of character, and I think it will get us a couple more wins in the state tournament.”
Berlin’s Kailee DeMaio had 21 points and teammate Brooke Walker had 13.
Sophia Vrakas lead Ellington with 20, and Hannah Kozik had 11.
Ellington coach Teighlor Clare-Kearney said a halftime adjustment she made simply didn’t pay off.
“I made the decision to switch to a 1-3-1, because they were attacking so much,” she said. “They weren’t taking those shots. They were trying to get into the lane. But, then of course they fire up in that third quarter. I made the decision, and I’ll stick by it. When a team is knocking down threes like that, it’s hard to counter, because we struggle shooting from the outside. We’re stronger inside.”
Clare-Kearney said the loss stung a bit more for her team, which had never had a better season or a higher seed in the CIAC tournament.
“It’s been a year unlike any other,” she said. “Definitely, our best season overall, and our best seeding. To have the opportunity to have two home games and then you’re in the final four, was how we tried to simplify it. It’s a young group and we only lost one starter, so we’ll all be coming back.
For a complete tournament bracket, visit www.ciacsports.com.
