By Michael Letendre
WINDSOR – The Bristol Eastern girls basketball easily could have thrown in the towel during its Central Connecticut Conference Interdivisional showdown at Windsor on Friday night.
The Lancers trailed big early, made a tremendous comeback late – eventually forcing overtime against the Warriors.
In the extra session, Windsor outscored Eastern by an 11-5 push to snare a 63-57 victory for its first win of the campaign.
The Kingstreeters fell to 0-2 overall but showed grit over its first two games.
Eastern’s Ciara Collins scored a team and career-high 32 points in the losing cause but helped her squad late to force the overtime period.
Collins notched over 56-percent of her team’s offensive total which was an amazing showing against a very tough Windsor squad.
Taigan Parent added nine points – retying her season and career-high – while Emma Stavens netted seven, matching her total against Edwin O. Smith to open the season, to lead the Eastern cause.
Ayanne Franks scored 34 points to lead all scorers, notching nine of Windsor’s eleven points in overtime.
Eastern trailed 15-6 after the first quarter of play while the Warriors zipped out an eighteen-point lead midway through the second stanza.
But the Lancers went on a late run in the period and did a tremendous job in making it a single-digit affair again, trimming the deficit to 27-18 at the break.
Collins then dropped in 10 third period points while Parent hit two big hoops as Eastern pulled to within three at 37-34 by the completion of three quarters.
And eventually, Parent helped Eastern capture the lead.
The Lancers eventually captured the lead with ninety seconds remaining in regulation.
Parent scored a hoop to give Eastern a two-point lead at 50-48.
Windsor retook the edge before Stavens canned an outside jumper to put Eastern up again at 52-50 with less than a minute to go.
But two foul shots by the Warriors tied the contest up at 52-52 as Eastern had one more chance to win the game before overtime was needed.
And Collins took a final shot at it.
Her reverse layup off an inbounds play with six seconds left did not fall as four more minutes were added to the clock in order to decide the ultimate victor.
The teams traded hoops to open the fifth frame, but Franks went to the line on consecutive plays, making four foul shots, propelling the Warriors to a 58-54 edge it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
The Lancers look to get to the pay window for the first time this year on Tuesday, squaring off against Hall in a CCC Interdivisional tilt from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol.
Hall opened its campaign last Tuesday with a 63-50 loss to Middletown in West Hartford.
Bristol Eastern Girls Basketball
WINDSOR 63, BRISTOL EATSERN 57
from Windsor high school
Bristol Eastern (0-2) 6 12 16 18 5 – 57
Windsor (1-1) 15 12 10 15 11 – 63
BRISTOL EASTERN (57): Taigan Parent 4 0 9, Emily Piendak 0 3 3, Ciara Collins 12 7 32, Leah Roy 2 1 5, Janessa Gonzalez 0 1 1, Emma Stavens 2 2 7, Gracie LaMar 0 0 0. Totals: 20 14 57.
WINDSOR (63): Mikaela Williams 6 2 14, Amaiya Stevens 2 0 4, Janet Woodward 3 0 6, Kennedy Carter 1 0 3, Jordyn Bay-Kent 1 0 2, Ayanna Franks 11 12 34. Totals: 24 14 63.
