High school suspends basketball coach for winning game 92-4 in Connecticut
His press led to some pressing questions.
A Connecticut high school girls’ basketball coach was suspended by his school Tuesday after his team won a game 92-4.
Coach Jason Kirck’s Sacred Heart Academy squad overwhelmed Lyman Hall High on Monday night to the point that the school publicly apologized. Kirck won’t coach Sacred Heart’s next game.
“Sacred Heart Academy Administration and Athletics are deeply remorseful for the manner through (which) the outcome of the game was achieved,” the school told the Hartford Courant. “Last night’s Girls’ Basketball game vs Lyman Hall High School does not align with our values or philosophies.”
Lyman Hall coach Tom Lipka said Sacred Heart showed “no mercy” and ran a full-court press for the entire first half of the game, after which they led 56-0, the Courant reported.
“They still used half-court pressure every time we had the ball in the second half,” Lipka told the Meriden Record-Journal. “They never dropped back into a zone. We didn’t score until the fourth quarter, and it just kept getting worse.”
It was a far cry from their last showdown, which Lyman Hall won 58-32 back in 2017, according to CT Insider. Rosa Rizzitelli led the way for Sacred Heart with 13 points on Monday night.
Sacred Heart is 3-0 with three dominant victories, while Lyman Hall is now 0-5. The schools are scheduled to play again Jan. 28, but they’ll need to mend some fences before then.
“(Kirck) said nothing, not a word,” Lipka told the Record-Journal of the postgame scene. “We walked through the (handshake) line, and we didn’t look in their faces. I know their (athletic director) was there and nothing was done to stop it. I just hope something is done that sends a message that this should never be done again.”
