Audra Yazmer Beats The Buzzer, H-K Upsets Morgan

Haddam-Killingworth girls basketball coach Ann Deibert is a big proponent of developing versatility in her roster. Among several moves this season, she took sophomore forward Audra Yazmer out of the post and utilized her at the three-guard position.

Yazmer and other Cougars have worked hard on their mid-range shooting, and it just so happened that Yazmer was in a position Thursday night, with the game on the line against host Morgan, to show how much she’s improved.

Yazmer buried a shot from 15 feet on the right wing, beating the buzzer and lifting the Cougars to a 33-32 upset victory over the Huskies. The basket completed H-K’s rally from a nine-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.

“We had the ball on the end line with 12 seconds to go and came down and ran a specific play,” said Deibert, “and that shot opportunity was not open. We always talk about if it’s not open and we reverse the ball quickly, then we should have a backside wing shot. The second opportunity was there.

“What I love about Audra’s game and several of our other players is that they are lethal from mid-range. Our mid-range game has definitely paid off for us in a lot of games.”

The Cougars finished the regular season with a 4-8 record. As the No. 6 seed in the 10-team Shoreline tournament, they meet No. 3 Cromwell in the quarterfinals on Monday.

Morgan (9-3), the No. 2 seed, will host either Hale-Ray or Westbrook in the quarterfinals. Thursday’s game had no bearing on tournament seeding.

“We talked before the game tonight and I said, ‘Make this game matter,'” Deibert said. “And they certainly did. It’s exciting to win the way we did. Morgan is an extremely good program with two prolific scorers, Catie Donadio and Caeley Ayer, and a shot-blocker of epic proportions in Alex Kelly. They are a formidable opponent.”

Sophomore forward Kaleigh Bodak led H-K with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 5 steals. Audra Yazmer finished with with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, twin sister Payton Yazmer added 6 points and 7 rebounds, and Julia Favalora had 4 assists and 5 rebounds.

Donadio, a top contender for Shoreline Player of the Year honors, led Morgan with 12 points.

The Cougars outscored the Huskies 16-6 in the fourth quarter, producing almost half of their offensive output over the final eight minutes.

“Our game plan was to play a game of containment,” said Deibert. “We needed to make sure we could defend Morgan and make sure we knew where their shots were coming from. It was man-to-man defense and we packed the paint, and our girls committed to that plan and talked each other through it.”

The Cougars had assists on 8 of their 12 field goals. It was a far cry from their first meeting with Morgan this year, when Deibert said they shot 2 of 22 from the floor in the second and third quarters and lost by 27 pointws.

“The girls knew that that performance was not indicative of what we can do,” Deibert said. “They came out and they took this game. It was great to watch and great to be a part of and a great win for young girls, a young team. It was very exciting to be a part of it.”

HADDAM-KILLINGWORTH (4-8)
Kaleigh Bodak 6 4-10 16, Carly Rettberg 2 0-2 5, Payton Yazmer 2 2-4 6, Julia Favalora 0 0-0 0, Audra Yazmer 2 1-2 5, Tessa Wills 0 0-0 0, Ella McGlynn 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8 33.

MORGAN (9-3)
Catie Donadio 4 4-6 12, Caeley Ayer 2 0-0 5, Katie Martin 0 2-2 2, Sofie Passante 0 0-0 0, Alex Kelly 2 4-6 8, Ava Johnson 1 0-0 3, Victoria O’Neil 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 10 32.

Score By Quarters
HK 3 7 7 16–33
M 5 9 12 6–32

3-Pointers: HK–Rettberg 1; M–Ayer 1, Johnson 1.

In other Shoreline girls games:

East Hampton 51, Portland 22

PORTLAND (2-10)
Ava Hurley 3 1 8, Izzy McClelland 0 1 1, Hannah Brunk 0 1 1, Carly Graves 4 0 8, Tatum Hair 0 0 0, Sam Lasky 2 0 4, Leah May 0 0 0. Totals: 9 3 22.

EAST HAMPTON (12-0)
Meryl Curtin 3 0 8, Madison Yorker 4 0 8, Mya Field 3 3 9, Hannah Barrientos 4 2 10, Danielle Adams 2 4 9, Amber Murphy 0 0 0, Delaney Russell 1 0 2, Jackie Russell 2 0 5, Jordan Murphy 0 0 0. Totals: 19 9 51.

Score By Quarters
P 8 6 4 4–22
EH 9 10 22 10–51

3-Pointers: EH–Curtin 2, Adams 1, J. Russell 1; P–Hurley 1.

Old Saybrook 55, Westbrook 41

WESTBROOK (0-12)
Emma Parkhurst 0 1-2 1, Jamie Sacco 6 5-6 22, Gianni Salisbury 0 3-4 3, Adriana Stranieri 1 1-2 3, Allison Brarziewsci 3 0-0 9, Kayla Prisley 1 0-0 3. Totals: 11 10-15 41.

OLD SAYBROOK (3-9)
Taylor Stone 3 0-0 6, Lily Cody 4 0-0 9, Beldina Feratovic 0 3-4 3, Priscilla Gumkowski 8 0-0 21, Ella Hagleston 1 0-0 2, MacKenna Cooke 2 0-0 4, Cassie Johnson 1 0-0 2, Jenna Tully 2 3-4 8. Totals: 21 6-8 55.

Score By Quarters
W 3 5 12 21–41
OS 12 14 12 17–55

3-Pointers: W–Sacco 5, Brarziewsci 3, Pirsley 1; OS–Gumkowski 5, Tully 1, Cody 1.

Old Lyme 51, Hale-Ray 30

Senior Emily DeRoehn led the host Wildcats (9-3) with 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Megan Loflin (8 points, 6 rebounds), Sam Gracy (8 points) and Ellie Zrenda (11 rebounds) also were major contributors. The Noises finish the regular season at 3-9.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Morgan 61, Haddam-Killingworth 54

MORGAN (12-0)
Zach Johnson 5 5-7 15, Drew Nye 2 0-0 5, Jason Cohen 1 2-2 5, Alex Fratamico 9 3-5 22, Rob Zirlis 4 0-0 8, Cooper Galdenzi 3 0-0 6. Totals: 24 10-14 61.

HADDAM-KILLINGWORTH (6-6)
Alec Erskine 0 0-0 0, Chase O’Linn 3 0-2 6, Tate Callender 3 0-0 6, Mason Gorham 9 0-0 19, Tony Giambanis 2 1-2 6, Jimmy McGoey 7 0-0 17. Totals: 24 1-4 54.

Score By Quarters
M 18 15 7 21–61
HK 17 9 15 13–54

3-Pointers: M–Nye 1, Cohen 1, Fratamico 1; HK–McGoey 3, Gorham 1, Giambanis 1.

Hale-Ray 71, Old Lyme 70

OLD LYME (6-6)
Colbe Andrews 4 3 13, Nick Cox 4 0 9, Jacob Ritchie 7 0 19, Frank Sablone 8 1 17, Max Sweeney 5 0 10. Totals: 29 4 70.

HALE-RAY (6-6)
Matt Conroy 4 0 10, Loudon Chupas 4 4 12, Mamush Ciccarello 6 3 20, Ross Kulaga 1 4 6, Hunter Espinosa 5 0 10, Miles Gagne 3 1 10, Nate Matetich 1 1 3. Totals: 24 13 71.

Score By Quarters
OL 18 10 18 24–70
HR 10 23 13 25–71

3-Pointers: HR–Ciccarello 5, Gagne 3, Conroy 2; OL–Ritchie 5, Andrews 2, Cox 1.

Old Saybrook 54, Westbrook 46

OLD SAYBROOK (6-6)
Ben Yost 9 1-2 19, Riley Lawson 5 0-0 12, Ryan Stratton 3 0-0 7, Peter Waida 1 0-0 3, Bradley Kulmann 0 2-2 2, Aaron Tolve 4 2-2 11. Totals: 22 5-6 54.

WESTBROOK (2-10)
Bran Naccarato 5 2-4 13, Joey Caslin 2 0-0 5, Brenden Engels 2 0-0 6, Jack Naccarato 6 2-2 18, Nick Palumbo 1 0-0 2, Ryan Engels 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 4-6 46.

Score By Quarters
OS 10 17 14 13–54
W 12 4 17 13–46

3-Pointers: OS–Lawson 2, Tolve 1, Stratton 1, Waida 1; W–J. Naccarato 4, Engels 2, Caslin 1, B. Naccarato 1.

Valley Regional 64, North Branford 29

VALLEY REGIONAL (8-4)
Andrew Yermenson 2 0-0 6, DiAngelo Jean-Pierre 3 0-0 6, Kyle Metz 2 0-0 4, Sam Hutchinson 0 1-2 1, Cameron Ruel 3 1-1 9, James Marsden 4 2-2 12, Saagar Patel 4 3-5 11, Marcus SantaMaria 5 0-0 12, Keenan Pindar 1 2-2 4. Totals 24 9-12 64.

NORTH BRANFORD (0-12)
Ryan Monde 0 0-2 0, Niko DeSisto 1 0-1 2, Blake Pearson 1 0-0 2, Jack Meehan 0 3-7 3, John Onofrio 1 0-0 2, Jake Saldutti 3 2-4 9, Trevor Holzer 2 2-2 7, Jaiden Sorrell 1 0-0 2, Zac Abbaganaro 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 7-16 29.

Score By Quarters
VR 22 12 16 14–64
NB 2 9 9 9–29

3-Pointers: VR–SantaMaria 2, Yermenson 2, Ruel 2, Marsden 2; NB–Saldutti 1, Holzer 1.
Of note: For Valley, Marsden (12 rebounds) and Patel (11 rebounds) had a double-double, and Jean-Pierre contributed 7 assists and 5 rebounds.