By Ron P. Coderre

It’s crunch time for the high school girls’ basketball teams as they position themselves for the CIAC Tournament.  

Tourtellotte with a 10-3 log is the only team that’s qualified to date.  Plainfield with seven victories needs one more win in its final six games to qualify.  That appears to almost be a certainty for the Lady Panthers.  Putnam and Woodstock, each with six wins, appear to be in a precarious position as both require two victories.  Putnam has seven games to accomplish the feat, while Woodstock must do it in six games.

Ellis Tech at 0-13 is out of contention, while Killingly at 3-11 needs a miracle to make the tourney list.

Marianapolis V1 and Pomfret, much like their male counterparts, appear to be in contention for league postseason play.  Hyde-Woodstock and Marianapolis V2 are struggling for wins.

Tourtellotte Reaches 10 Wins with Victory over St. Bernard

Tourtellotte, playing without head coach Carla Faucher, gave assistant coach Dawn Poirier her first high school coaching victory with a stunning 35-32 win over St. Bernard in Uncasville.  Trailing 25-20 entering the final quarter, the Lady Tigers rose to the occasion, outscoring the hosts 15-9 in the final eight minutes to secure the victory.  Assistant coach Poirier is 1-0 in her career and Tourtellotte is 10-3 on the season and 4-0 atop the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division.

Point guard Abby Poirier was the lone Lady Tiger in double figures but she received support from Allie Ablondi (8 points), Deanna Lazzarra (6) and Jess Dodd (6).  Earlier in the week Tourtellotte rolled over Ellis Tech 52-22 as Maegan Roy had 14points in leading the way to victory over the Lady Eagles.

In its other games, Ellis Tech lost to Norwich Tech 45-17 and to Parish Hill 45-13.  

Plainfield scored 49 points in each of its games last week, one resulted in victory while the other a loss.  The Lady Panthers opened with a 49-28 win over Woodstock Academy as Adrienne Lorange’s 15 points quelled the Lady Centaurs.  Against a good Bacon Academy team, a fourth quarter offensive drought doomed Plainfield as it went down 59-49.  Madeline Lorange had 14 points for the Lady Panthers in the losing effort.

Woodstock, striving to make the CIAC Tournament pulled off a 52-47 rewarding win over Killingly.  The victory puts the Acads at 6-8 on the year.  Colleen Topliff with 16 points and ‘long range bomber’ Rebecca Messier with 15 markers were the top gunners for coach Willie Bousquet.  Meagan Bianchi and Megan Vertefuille each had a dozen for the Redgals.  In its other game of the week, Killingly lost to Fitch 43-38 to fall to 3-11 on the season.

Putnam struggled on offense as it posted a 1-2 week.  The Lady Clippers lost to Bartlett High School 29-17 and MLC 21-16.  Holy Family Academy fell behind Putnam 14-6 in the first period of that contest and never scored another point, as the Lady Clippers won 45-6 to raise their record to 6-7 overall and 5-2 in the Constitution State Conference –East.  

Pomfret and Marianapolis V1 Pick up Key Wins

The Marianapolis V! team raised its record to 9-7 with a satisfying 53-35 win over Cheshire Academy on the road.  Caroline Soucy, who is emerging as an offensive threat for Marianapolis was the Lady Knights high scorer with 19 points.  Rachel Aho recorded a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.  The MPS V2 unit fell to 2-6 when it was dropped 51-19 by Miss Hall’s School.

Pomfret School went on the road to Suffield Academy and came home with a 48-41 win to go to 7-4 on the season.  Juliette Lawless was the top gun for the Lady Griffs with 22 points, while Deja Ross added 15.

Hyde-Woodstock lost to the Williams School 27-24 despite a10-point effort by Dossou Ndiaye.