Connect with us

Canton

Windsor Locks stuns Canton girls in NCCC tournament

CANTON, Feb. 20 —  The Canton High girls basketball looked like they were heading to the postseason on a roll.

Junior All-State guard Sarah Benedetti scored 25 of her game-high 32 points in the first half as Canton completed the regular season with a dominating 56-34 win over Avon. It was Canton’s first win over Avon since 1999, ending a 18-game losing streak to the Falcons and giving Canton (14-6, 12-4 NCCC) the No. 2 seed in the NCCC Tournament.

“It feels good to finish up this way,” Canton coach Jeanne Holian said. “Who expects to come into Avon and win like this?”

Canton broke open the game in the second period. Benedetti drained a three-point shot to extend a seven-point lead to 10. It ignited a 14-4 run that decided the contest. Benedetti scored 10 of the 14 points in the decisive run on a pair of three-point shots, a basket in the low post and off a nice assist.
Megan Roux added nine points while Katherine Curvino scored seven. And the Warriors limited Avon to just 34 points.

“Our defense has been good. We’ve been working together as a team,” Holian said.

It all came to a stop in Saturday’s NCCC Tournament quarterfinal in Canton. No. 7 Windsor Locks upset the Warriors, 47-41.

“They wanted it more than we did,” Holian said. “The last time we played them, we won by 20 but it was tied in the third quarter. They hustled more and we got frustrated.”

Benedetti was limited to 10 points. Roux had 17 but it wasn’t enough. “You’ve got to come to fight,” Holian said. “Hopefully, we’ve learned something.” Canton’s next games will be in the Class S tournament, which begins March 1.

Related Topics

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Canton