Third in a four-part series about BEHS girls basketball championships under coach Tony Floyd
By Michael Letendre
TBE is back celebrating the Bristol Eastern girls basketball coach Tony Floyd accomplishments during his 46 years as coach.
The Lancers were able to defeat Career Magnet 41-12 on Jan. 21 this past season to get the veteran coach his 600th win.
And along the way in accumulating all those victories, Floyd was able to win a state championship…or four.
The Bristol Edition just broke down Eastern’s state title teams from 1982-83 and 1986-87.
But there’s obviously more to the story.
Obviously, Floyd has been a staple of girls basketball for decades and to conclude the decade of the 1980s, going into the 90s, the BEHS girls program was able to tally back-to-back championships to cement the team as one of the best in the state.
One of the more impressive elements of all these title runs was the lack of three-point shooting though the team made one or two along the way.
But that lack of three-point shooting did nothing to slow down the Kingstreeters charge to the state title in 1989-1990.
Here’s a special look at that squad which had to battle all the elements along the way to win another championship.
The 1989-90 season
After taking home the 1986-87 Class L Championship, Eastern had two very good seasons – going 17-4 in 1987-88 and then backing that up with a 16-7 ledger one year later.
But when 1989-90 come rolling around, another state champion run — or two — was being put together.
And between the two championship teams, Eastern won 46 of 49 games — most in dominating fashion.
“The team with Ginny Ziogas and Helen Pikiell that won back-to-back, that team was an excellent team,” said Floyd. “They were teams that just worked hard, and they had that drive.”
Pressing, trapping and transition offense were common elements in Eastern victories and starting with that 1989-90 team, the combination of Sara Scarritt, Melanie Buchanan, Shonda Brooks, Pikiell and Ziogas were the starting five over that first run of the back-to-back championships.
It all started on Dec. 8, 1989, as Ziogas dumped in 20 points in the Lancers 56-47 win.
Eastern ended up going 23-1 that year with just a 40-35 setback at Newington on Feb. 9, the only loss of the campaign.
The Lancers smashed St. Paul 75-14 on January 23 as Ziogas led the charge with 19 points while Tracy Pomerenke added 12.
Buchanan and Brooks each added 10 points to the till, Pikiell nabbed eight while Jen Mead came off the bench to score six points.
Three days later against Bristol Central, Ziogas plastered the Rams for 20 points, Brooks hit for 16 and Scarritt added 15 over Eastern’s 74-46 romp.
In the rematch against Central on Feb. 21, Ziogas led four scorers in double figures with 14 points to help the Kingstreeters finish the campaign at 19-1 with its 57-35 triumph at Central.
Janet Kawiecki posted 10 points for the Rams.
Eastern earned the second seed in the Class LL fray and ended up squaring off against powerhouse Southington, winners of the division from 1986-1989 and the runner-up in 1985, in the finals.
And the Lancers were 2-0 against the Knights’ outstanding program going into postseason play.
“That attitude, they just believed in themselves,” said Floyd. “They set the tone which was great. And that’s why the program has been successful with all the kids every year.”
After a first-round bye, Eastern came out and fried No. 15 West Haven 54-34 in Bristol on Feb. 28.
Ziogas (19 points) and Scarritt (14) combined for 33 points to get into the quarterfinal round.
The team was a nifty 22-of-28 from the free throw line while Brooks scooped up nine points and 17 rebounds.
On March 2, Eastern battled No. 7 Newington — the only squad that had beaten the Lancers that season — in the quarters from Plainville High School.
Eastern led 20-17 at the half but trailed 29-28 after three completed frames.
However, it was all BE in the fourth period as the locals bombed the Indians for 25 points while Eastern’s defense allowed just 11 on the flip side.
Ziogas smashed Newington for 32 points, scoring 15 in the fourth frame to seal the deal.
From there, sixth ranked Staples (22-4) provided a stern test on March 7 but the program got down early and never recovered over a 56-52 win for the Lancers.
Scarritt canned 19 points while Ziogas netted 14 to get Eastern back to the championship round.
Late free throws from Buchanan and Brooks (10 rebounds) sealed the win for the Kingstreeters.
Again, Eastern got the job done from the charity stripe, going 20-of-26 at the line.
No. 8 Southington (20-5), the defending Class LL champs, stood in the way of Eastern’s title aspirations as beating the same team three times in one season is tough — in any sport.
The All-CCC South final took place from Central Connecticut State University and the Lancers trailed 28-24 at the half before snaring a 44-41 lead through three quarters.
The Knights were limited to single digits (nine points) over the final period of action as Eastern took the state title behind an impressive 58-52 victory.
“They believed in themselves,” said Floyd. “Nobody was going to stop them.”
Ziogas, who drained a fourth quarter three-pointer, led the victors with 18 points, Brooks flipped in 14, Scarritt scored 13 points and passed out five assists and Pikiell netted eight to get the Lancers their third ever crown.
Brooks, the MVP of the championship game, surged for a double-double as her 26 rebounds established a new Eastern record which still stands today.
Ziogas, the 5-foot-8 junior forward, averaged 20.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists-per-game that season with one more to go before heading to Pace University in New York.
Captains on that squad were Brooks, Scarritt and Buchanan.
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