Week 9 girls’ basketball recap: Young Sheehan team rolling along, St. Paul knocks off Holy Cross, Portland gets its first win
Three of the top four scorers on the Sheehan girls’ basketball team are freshmen. The Titans have no seniors.
But Sheehan (14-3) has done well this season, winning five of its last six games, and is ranked second in Class MM behind Northwestern Regional (15-1).
Coach Mike Busillo is a bit surprised.
“I thought we would be OK,” he said. “I didn’t know if we’d be 14-3 because we’ve got a lot of young kids and they haven’t played together a lot. I didn’t know what to expect.
“I have good players but it’s new, it’s high school basketball, the opposing coaches are scouting you, that sort of thing.”
Freshman Megan Wresien is the team’s leading scorer (15 ppg) and rebounder (8 rpg) and has had a 30-point game this season. Her twin sister Jenna is also one of the top scorers, along with junior Liv Cassesse (11 ppg). Suzie Hotaling is the third freshman who contributes offensively.
“My juniors have done a great job as far as leadership,” Busillo said.
When the Titans first played Foran on Dec. 20, it was their second game of the season and they lost 30-28. On Jan. 24, they beat Foran 60-47.
“The first game we played Foran, a lot of that game was the newness of it and it was a possession by possession game,” Busillo said. “They outplayed us at the end. We had a six-point lead in the fourth quarter and we kind of gave it away but I was proud of the fact we came back the second time we played them.”
Top performances
Abby Bradbury, Valley Regional: Bradbury had 34 points in a 73-56 victory over North Branford Tuesday.
Emma Diehl, Bolton: Diehl had 18 points and 13 rebounds in a 64-44 win over Ellington Tuesday.
Maddy Hughes, E.O. Smith: Hughes scored 23 points in a 61-59 victory over Enfield Tuesday.
Emily Knowles, Conard: Knowles posted 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 46-28 victory over Bristol Eastern Tuesday and 26 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and an assist in a 67-44 victory over Northwest Catholic Friday.
Sophia Mates, Canton: Mates put up 28 points and 15 rebounds in a 65-34 win over SMSA Tuesday.
Liz McGurl, East Catholic: McGurl notched 20 points, nine on free throws, in a 47-37 win over Lewis Mills Friday.
Morganne Pineda, Portland: Pineda scored 31 points in a 56-36 victory over Old Lyme which was Portland’s first win of the season Monday.
Georgia Qua, Suffield: Qua had a double-double (16 points, 13 rebounds) along with six blocks in a 55-40 win over SMSA Friday.
Shaniqua Thomas, Comp Sci: Thomas had 34 points in a 46-44 win over Hale Ray and became the first 1,000-point scorer in school history Monday.
Tiara Tyson, Manchester: Tyson scored 39 points in a 63-59 win over Middletown Friday.
Storylines of the week
- East Hampton (15-1) beat Valley Regional 44-39 in a Shoreline Conference game Friday, snapping a 12-game Valley win streak dating back to Dec. 28. Liana Salamone led East Hampton with 23 points, including 10 from the free throw line.
- Conard had a program first last Tuesday: only three players scored in a 46-28 win over Bristol Eastern. Emily Knowles had 23 points, Callie Cosgrove had 12 and Courtney McPhee had 11. Conard (13-3) has won four straight games.
- St. Paul (10-5) beat Holy Cross 76-69 Tuesday in a NVL shootout between Holy Cross’ Mya Zaccagnini (34 points) and St. Paul’s Audrey Tice (24 points). Rebecca Kelly had 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for St. Paul. Holy Cross (14-2) hadn’t lost since its first game of the season, to Mercy.
Games to watch
Cromwell (14-3) at Valley Regional (14-3), Tuesday, 5 p.m.: The last time Cromwell lost was Jan. 12 to Valley, 49-45. The two Shoreline foes will meet again for the second time in the regular season and could face each other again in the Shoreline tournament. They’re also both in Class M. It’s a big week for Cromwell, who also has to play East Hampton (15-1), whose only loss came to the Panthers Jan. 3, on Friday.
Mercy (13-4) at Hamden (17-0), Friday, 5 p.m.: Mercy dropped two of its last three games, a 60-50 loss to Sacred Heart Wednesday and a 69-39 loss to Bishop Guertin (N.H.) Saturday. The Tigers will try to get back on track this week but face a formidable SCC foe in unbeaten Hamden, who beat Mercy 48-44 on Jan. 13.
Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.
