By Michael Letendre
AVON – With less than three minutes to play in the final game of the CCC girls basketball tournament, fourth bracket, the crew from Bristol Central was leading 29-27 and had top-ranked Avon on the ropes.
But the Rams did not score a point over the final 3:34 of the game, Avon’s Katelyn Wankier scored the game-tying hoop and when teammate Sophie Mango drained the go-ahead free throw with 1:43 to play, third ranked Central was unable to respond as the Falcons scooped up a 33-29 victory on Friday to take the bracket finale.
The Rams (4-11) came rolling into the final game – having defeated Bulkeley (70-19) and second ranked Northwest Catholic (52-42) to earn a shot at Avon via a three-game winning streak.
But it wasn’t going to be easy on the road.
The Falcons (5-9) led by a 7-0 push early, trailed by as many as five late before making all the big plays to end the fourth quarter, earning the victory in the end.
Jocee Powers (game-high 14 points) opened the contest with seven straight points over the first two minutes – leaving Central to play catch-up for the remainder of the half.
Janessa Bartell (10 points) hit 5-of-6 free throws while Brooke Watson splashed in a 3 over first quarter play and through eight minutes of action, Avon’s edge was chopped to 12-8 via Central’s 12-5 run.
The Rams’ defense was excellent over second quarter play, limiting Avon to just two points in the stanza.
In fact, the Falcons didn’t score a point over the final 5:47 of the second frame.
And that’s when Central nabbed the lead at the half.
Finishing the second quarter on an 8-0 jaunt, Ella Watson and Sophia Torreso drained back-to-back 3s to tie the score and when Brooke Watson flipped in a lay-up at the halftime buzzer, the Rams held its first lead of the afternoon at 16-14.
The teams briefly exchanged the lead in the third tilt but late in the quarter, Bartell found Sophia Torreso for a three and when Bartell sank a foul line bank shot, Central entered the final frame in front by a 22-18 push.
In the fourth, two free throws by Mango tied the score at 24-24 with 6:25 to go but Central had a couple answers.
Central coach Steve Gaudet slowed things down and when Bartell sent a pass over to Sophia Torreso for another wide open 3, the Rams led it by three, 27-24.
Two minutes later, Gwen Torreso found Bartell for a lay-up and with 3:34 left in regulation, Central’s lead of 29-24 was the largest of the game.
After Avon retook the lead with 1:43 to play, Bartell missed a hoop but Avon turned the ball over with a ton of time left on the clock.
With under a minute remaining, Ella Watson missed a runner but off a jump-ball, Central got it back – still trailing 31-29 – with 48.5 seconds to play.
Central held the ball, took timeout with 17.3 seconds left, and looked for one last hoop to tie or go ahead.
But a turnover with eight seconds to play led to an Erin Geary lay-up at the buzzer as Avon won the contest, 33-29.
NOTES…The game marked the final contest for Central seniors Janessa Bartell, Damani Hough, and Gwen Torreso.
GIRLS BASKETBALL PAIRINGS
Bracket No. 4
Round 1 – March 23
#8 BYE at #1 Avon
#4 Lewis Mills 28, #5 Maloney 27
#3 Bristol Central 70, #6 Bulkeley 19
#2 NW Catholic 59, #7 Tolland 57
Second Round – March 25
#1 Avon 28, #4 Lewis Mills 14
#3 Bristol Central 52, #2 NW Catholic 42
Consolation Round
#5 Maloney 33, #6 Bulkeley 29
Finals – March 26
#1 Avon 33, #3 Bristol Central 29
CCC TOURNAMENT, girls basketball – Bracket 4 final
No. 1 AVON 33, No. 3 BRISTOL CENTRAL 29
from Avon high school
Bristol Central (4-11) 8 8 6 7 – 29
Avon (5-9) 12 2 4 15 – 33
BRISTOL CENTRAL (29): Brooke Watson 2 0 5, Gwen Torreso 0 0 0, Janessa Bartell 2 6 10, Ella Watson 2 0 5, Sophia Torreso 3 0 9, Damani Hough 0 0 0, Arianna Rivera 0 0 0. Totals: 9 6 29.
AVON (33): Jocee Powers 6 0 14, Sophie Mango 3 4 10, Erin Geary 2 0 4, Kate Wankier 1 0 2, Adi Standish 1 1 3. Totals: 13 5 33.
Three-pointers made: B. Watson (BC), E. Watson (BC), S. Torreso (BC) 3, Powers (A) 2.
Records: Avon 5-9 overall, Bristol Central 4-11
