Bellringers’ 24-Point 4th Quarter Spells First Defeat for Panthers

Despite losing its starting five from last season’s Shoreline Conference championship team, it doesn’t mean the East Hampton girls basketball team isn’t going to be a contender in 2022.

Down seven against unbeaten Cromwell after three quarters, the Bellringers outscored the Panthers 24-11 in the fourth to come away with a 44-38 victory at home on Tuesday.

Sophomore guard Jackie Russell led all scorers with a career-high 24 points as East Hampton won for the fourth time in five games.

The Bellringers had a one-point advantage at halftime but scored just two points in the third quarter to fall out of the lead.

“We got good looks in the third quarter, we just couldn’t buy a basket,” coach Shaun Russell said. “In the fourth quarter we worked at getting those same types of shots with better offensive rhythm and tried to take it one possession at a time and build some momentum, which we were able to do.”

Cromwell’s defense played a major role in its 4-0 start, limiting opponents Newtown, Haddam-Killingworth, Morgan and Pomperaug to an average of 28 points. The Bellringers came on strong, nearly equaling that output in the game’s final eight minutes.

“I thought we did a good job all game long on the defensive end and were able to rebound as a team throughout the game,” Russell said. “Once we got the lead, we managed the situation well and made enough free throws to keep the lead.”

Liana Salamone contributed 12 points for East Hampton.

Jessica Grodzicki led the Panthers with 14 points and Nevaeh Clark scored 9.

Both teams are off until next Tuesday, when East Hampton hosts H-K and Cromwell hosts North Branford. Panthers coach Kelly Maher will be recognized that night for her 300th career win.

CROMWELL (4-1)
Kayla Nappi 0 0 0, Grace Mikan 1 0 3, Cameryn Hickey 1 0 2, Jessica Grodzicki 6 0 14, Nevaeh Clark 2 3 9, Adela Cecunjanin 4 0 8, Abby Burgess 0 0 0. Totals: 13 5 38.

EAST HAMPTON (4-1)
Amber Murphy 0 0 0, Olivia DeMartino 0 0 0, Liana Salamone 2 8 12, Delaney Russell 0 1 1, Jackie Russell 7 3 24, Jordan Murphy 3 1 7, Madison Yorker 0 0 0, Katie Ireland 0 0 0. Totals: 12 13 44.

Score By Quarters
Cromwell………..7 10 10 11–38
East Hampton…7 11  2  24–44

3-pointers–Cromwell: Grodzicki 2, Clark 2, Mikan 1; East Hampton: Jackie Russell 7.

In other girls basketball games Tuesday:

Westbrook 39, Old Lyme 31

WESTBROOK (3-0)
Adrianna Stranieri 2 0 4, Leticia Pires 2 0 4, Sadie Susi 2 2 6, Jami Sacco 9 0 21, Alex Zanzalari 1 0 2, Gianni Salisbury 1 0 2. Totals: 17 2 39.

OLD LYME (2-2)
Ava Roth 1 0 2, Ella Curtiss-Reardon 0 1 1, Kate Walsh 2 0 4, Melanie Warren 1 0 2, Alexis Fenton 5 0 12, Megan Loflin 4 2 10. Totals: 13 3 31.

Score By Quarters
Westbrook..11 9 13 6–39
Old Lyme……8 9  9  5–31

3-pointers–Westbrook: Sacco 3; Old Lyme: Fenton 2.
Of note: Sacco had 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks, and Susi had 5 rebounds and 3 steals for the Knights.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Hale-Ray 74, Coginchaug 52

HALE-RAY (3-1)
Drew Conroy 1 0-0 2, Mamush Ciccarello 8 5-6 23, Loudon Chupas 10 0-3 24, Miles Gagne 2 1-2 6, Nate Matetich 5 1-3 11, Avery Gugliotti 2 2-4 6, Charlie Gable 1 0-2 2, Alex Malone 0 0-0 0, Luke Karpiej 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29 9-20 74.

COGINCHAUG (0-2)
Jeremy Mangiameli 2 5-5 11, Sam Whittle 0 1-2 1, Francesco Marotta 5 1-4 12, Connor Willett 3 4-7 10, Mekhi Watson 0 0-0 0, Colin Murphy 0 0-0 0, Jayson Penney 4 2-3 10, Adam Schaffer 3 0-0 8. Totals: 17 13-21 52.

Score By Quarters
Hale-Ray…….22 24 19 9–74
Coginchaug…..8  7 18 19–52

3-pointers: Hale-Ray–Chupas 4, Ciccerello 2, Gagne 1; Coginchaug: Schaffer 2, Mangiameli 2, Marvatto 1.

Art Kohs Tournament Final: Waterford 47, Xavier 44

WATERFORD (3-2)
Logan Peabody 2 0-1 5; Derek Rivera 1 0-1 2; Nolan Gollsneider 4 0-1 10, Jordan Elci 5 1-5 12, Evan Petrosky 0 2-2 2, Sean OConnell 4 8-12 16. Totals: 16 11-22 47.

XAVIER (2-2)
John Carrozzella 0 1-2 1,  Ethan Bessoni 3 0-1 6,  Vik Vakati 2 0-0 6, Anthony Parker 8 1-2 21, Richie Rivers 2 2-6 6, Aidan Driscoll 2 0-0 4. Totals: 17 4-11 44.

Score By Quarters
Waterford…..15 9 10 13–47
Xavier………..13 12 5 14–44

3-pointers: Waterford–Gollsneider 2, Peabody 1, Elci 1; Xavier–Parker 4, Vakati 2.
Of note: Jordan Elci was named tournament MVP. The all-tournament team: Simon Partyka (Valley Regional), Adam Molusis (Glastonbury), Anthony Parker (Xavier), Aidan Driscoll (Xavier) and Sean O’Connell (Waterford).

Art Kohs Tournament Consolation: Glastonbury 38, Valley Regional 31

VALLEY REGIONAL (2-3)
Zach Kirla 0 0 0, Di’Angelo Jean-Pierre 0 0 0, Simon Partyka 3 0 8, Andrew Yermenson 0 0 0, Jack Driscoll 0 0 0, Sam Hutchinson 4 0 8, James Marsden 3 0 7, Brayden Shea 0 0 0. Totals 12 4 31.

GLASTONBURY (1-3)
Owen Peterson 3 3 9, Adam Molusis 3 0 6, Trey Tennyson 1 2 4, Dan Cantafi 6 0 13, Jack Hennessy 3 0 6. Totals: 16 5 38.

Score By Quarters
Valley Regional….7 11 7 6–31
Glastonbury……..12 12 8 6–38

3-pointers: Valley–Partyka 2, Marsden 1; Glastonbury–Cantafi 1.

Stratford Holiday Tournament: Stratford 68, Morgan 52

MORGAN (0-3)
Drew Nye 6 2-2 17, Cooper Galdenzi 9 4-6 26, Ben McDonnell 2 1-2 5, Michael Fragola 1 0-0 2, Dante DiGianni 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 7-10 52.

STRATFORD (3-0)
Jayquan Kirkland 8 3-3 20, Brady Knorr 6 5-7 17, Jzhuan Davis 7 1-2 19, Mike Olivencia 3 3-4 9, Niko Thompson 1 0-0 3. Totals: 25 12-16 68.

Score By Quarters
Morgan……14 15 16  7–52
Stratford….16 19 17 16–68

3-pointers: Morgan–Galdenzi 4, Nye 3; Stratford–Davis 4, Kirkland 1, Thompson 1.
Of note: With Joel Barlow dropping out of the four-team event, Morgan will not play a second game. Stratford will play Trumbull in the tournament final.