Lady Mustangs fall
PUTNAM — Last weekend the Putnam Science Academy Lady Mustangs participated in the annual Rivers Holiday Tournament featuring some of the top teams in the northeast.
In the bracket style tournament format the Mustangs made a deep run all the way to the finals before falling to host The Rivers School.
In the first game of the tournament the Lady Mustangs rolled to an easy victory over Bradford Christian Academy by a final score of 61-35. The Mustangs were led by Ari Koivisto who scored 10 points, tallied 6 rebounds and had 4 steals. Sha’raya Haines scored 12 points as well in the win.
In the second round of the tournament the Mustangs faced crosstown school Marianapolis Prep. In a back-and-forth affair that saw the Mustangs lead by as many as 11 points in the second half. Marianapolis came storming back to take a late lead. The Mustangs wouldn’t go away as Sha’raya Haines (18 points) hit a 3-pointer to tie the game and then hit two free throws to push the Mustangs to victory, 48-46.
In the championship the Mustangs came up just short falling 56-53 to The Rivers School. The Mustangs fought the whole game, but ultimately came up short. Once again Sha’raya Haines led the Mustangs with 20 points and Kayla Robinson chipped in with 9 points. Both Haines and Robinson were named to the All-Tournament Team.  A 2-1 weekend for the Mustangs that featured exposure to college coaches and games against top competition is exactly what the Lady Mustangs were looking for.