Lady
Mustangs
head to
Nationals
PUTNAM — The Putnam Science Academy Lady Mustangs are headed to Nationals in Charlotte, N.C. after finishing the regular season with a 10-game winning streak.
The finish of the regular season with a win 64-52 win over Proctor Academy, improved the Lady Mustangs record to 20-8 on the year.
Kayla Robinson had a team-high 17 points to go along with 3 steals. Paula Barghout added 16 points and 8 rebounds while Ari Koivisto contributed 9 points and 8 rebounds.
Earlier in the week, Putnam Science Academy Lady Mustangs came away Feb. 12 with a road win against St. Luke’s 71-54. The Lady Mustangs are playing their best basketball down the stretch to earn their 8th straight win.
Senior Paula Barghout led PSA with 15 points and 8 rebounds in the win.
Fatima Lee added 13 points and 2 steals for the Lady Mustangs. Kayla Robinson (5 steals) and Ari Koivisto (5 assists) each scored 10 points for PSA.
PSA 70
St. Andrews 49
BARRINGTON, R.I. — The Lady Mustangs captures their 9th victory in a row Feb. 15, defeating St. Andrew’s School 70-49. Fatima Lee led the ladies with a 17-point performance. Niya Fields had a strong game with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Ari Koivisto added 12 points and 4 rebounds in the win.

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By Shawn Bates
Putnam High
The Lady Clippers did what they needed to do last week and that was to win out for their seeding in the CIAC Tournament. With wins over Wheeler 33-29, Windham Tech 64-45 and a CRUSHING 75-7 romping over Grasso Tech.
Putnam is running on all cylinders and the ladies have nothing but a lead foot on the gas heading into tourney time. The Clippers are at 16-4 for the year and have jumped up in the Class S rankings by another spot to # 3 in the state.
The athletic director mixed ECC teams and tech teams in the schedule and got Putnam where they needed to be at this time of year. The team is prepared to work harder to make a run in the tournament.
Coaches Mandi Hogan and Ashley Espinosa have done more than their jobs with this group of kids this year.
Boys’
The Clippers had one mission this year and that was to qualify for a CIAC tournament berth. Well due to some hard work put in by the coaches and the players, the team has succeeded — they’ve hit the magic number of eight.
Last week the Clippers made their way to Cheney Tech. They had lost to them earlier in the season, 61-53. So the Clippers had pay back on their minds and they would battle throughout the game to get a 53-48 win on the road. That earned them the seventh game needed for the tourney. Tyion Harris would lead all players with 19 points and Sebastian Ramos would chip in 9. Aiden Ciquera delivered another 9.
Feb. 15 the Clippers were on the road again. This time they headed Wheeler to play the Lions. Both teams would come out flat in the 1st quarter with both teams combining for a whole 10 points. At half time the school changed up and with some scrappy play and Tyion Harris playing a huge part of the offense, the Clippers took a 12-point lead into the locker room 25-13.
The Clippers would come back out on to the court and with some good bench play and the starters hitting the shots, Putnam got back onto the bus with a 55-43 win and qualified for the CIAC tournament. The boys now will be playing for seeding with three games left for the season. They are currently ranked 18th in the state.  They played Killingly and Montville on the road and on Feb. 22 Putnam will host Grasso Tech for Putnam‘s last home game and senior nigh

The Woodstock Academy boys’ basketball team qualified for the Division III state tournament Feb. 16 with a 70-59 win over Fitch in Groton.
“From 2-8 in our first 10 games to 6-3 in our second half with a chance to get our ninth win at home on Monday is just plain fantastic. We’re thrilled,” said coach Marty Hart.
The Centaurs finished up the regular season with a game at home Feb. 19 that was too late for this edition.
The Falcons (3-16) have not had the best of seasons, but came on to the floor charged up Feb. 16 as it was their Senior Night game.
Fitch scored 21 first quarter points, nine of those by senior Justice Farris, who scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half.
Despite that effort, the Centaurs (8-11) kept pace.
The score was tied at the end of the first quarter and The Academy was only down by three, 37-34, at the half.
“The pace favored Fitch in the beginning, but once we started getting stops and scoring inside, everything started to open up from the outside, too,” Hart said.
Chase Anderson scored 12 of his 24 points in the second half and Cole Hackett added 10 of his 18.
The Centaurs were ahead by three at the end of the third and gradually pulled away in the final quarter.
“Eight wins is great. We are going dancing,” Hart said. “I am proud of the work the players and coaches have put in. More importantly, we are getting stronger and will be a tough out in the upcoming (Eastern Connecticut Conference) and state tournaments.”
The Academy put itself in position to qualify with a 73-41 win over Montville Feb. 13.
The Centaurs pulled away from the Indians by scoring 30 points in the middle two quarters to take an 18-point lead.
Luke Mathewson, Anderson and Hackett combined to score all 18 first quarter points to give the Centaurs the early lead.
The Academy scored only 11 second quarter points, but added 19 in the third including eight points from Aaron Johnson to take the 48-30 lead going into the final quarter.
Samuel Plummer came off the bench to seal the deal.
He hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 16 points.
Hackett ended with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Anderson finished with 13 and 10 respectively.

Prep Basketball
The Centaurs Gold prep basketball team earned a split over the weekend at the Brewster Academy Invitational.
Feb. 17 the Centaurs downed Covenant College Prep in Wolfesboro, N.H., 95-73.
Jakigh Dottin led the Centaurs with 18 points while Dibaji Walker chipped in with 16 and The Academy raised its record to 29-4.
The win followed on the heels of a tough, 82-81, defeat at the hands of host Brewster Feb. 16.
Ty Perry led the way in that game for the Centaurs with 18 while Walker again contributed 16 points.
The Centaurs Blue Prep boys’ basketball team lost its third straight at home Feb. 17 at the Alumni Fieldhouse.
The Isaiah Christopher School downed the Centaurs, 86-83, to drop the Blue squad to 17-11 on the season.
Gedi Juozapaitis paced the Centaurs with 23 points while Alex Illic added 19.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director