Briggs, Treacy help Canton rally to win opener over Ellington

Canton’s Maggie Treacy (23), Emily Briggs (22) and Leah Eschenbrenner (24) look to move up the ball upcourt against Ellington Tuesday night. (Photo courtesy Bill Stewart)

ELLINGTON, Dec. 15 – It was opening night and the Canton High girls basketball team trailed for most of it. Host Ellington opened up the game with a 12-4 run, led by two at halftime and led by three after three quarters.

But the Warriors buckled down and closed out the game with a 19-1 run to win its season opener with a 60-42 victory over Ellington Tuesday. Emily Briggs led the Warriors with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds while Maggie Treacy added 20 points, five steals and nine assists. Briggs and Treacy combined to score 23 of Canton’s 28 points in the fourth quarter.

“Abbe Skinner, Emma Charron and Carly Atkinson did a very solid job in their new starting roles,” said Canton coach Brian Medeiros, now beginning his third season behind the bench. “We did a great job defensively. We were very active all night.” The Warriors had 20 steals and blocked three shots.

“We got a great spark off the bench from Belle Magna, Sarah Bowman and Leah Eschenbrenner when the team was down during the middle and later parts in the game,” he said. “It was great to see that we handled ourselves pretty well when dealt with adversity. This was a good win to start the season.”

Canton will host its home opener on Friday when they face Hartford Classical at 7 p.m. The Warriors will continue the homestand with a challenging match with New Fairfield on Monday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. The Rebels went 24-2 a year ago before losing in the Class L semifinals. New Fairfield is ranked No. 16 in the New Haven Register’s preseason coaches poll.

The Warriors, who shared the NCCC championship with Avon and went to the Class S championship game a year ago, have additional tough games on the road with No. 22 Notre Dame-Fairfield (Jan. 2) and with No. 14 Avon (Feb. 4). Notre Dame-Fairfield went 20-6 a year ago before being eliminated by Canton in the Class S semifinals, 52-42. Avon is now playing in the Central Connecticut Conference after 30 years in the NCCC.

Canton did earn points in the Register’s preseason poll and was ranked No. 26. Thirty-six teams received votes. Canton won its opening game for the third time in the last four years. This was the latest opening night for the team since 2001 when Canton beat Bridgeport Central on Dec. 15.

Canton 60, Ellington 42
At Ellington
Canton (60) Emma Charron 1-2-4, Carly Atkinson 1-0-2, Abbe Skinner 0-1-1, Emily Briggs 9-7-25, Maggie Treacy 6-7-20, Belle Magna 1-1-3, Leah Eschenbrenner 1-0-3, Sarah Bowman 1-0-2. Totals 20-18
Ellington (42) Caitlyn Gresh 2-2-8, Erin Hayes 3-1-8, Courtney Fitz 1-1-3, Julie Brisson 1-0-3, Katie Burlet 1-0-2, Oliva Webber 0-0-0, Madi Lemeiz 7-1-15, Haley Fox 0-1-1, Payten Waiters 0-1-1. Totals 15-10
Canton (1-0)               13    9  10  29 – 60
Ellington (0-1)             14  10    7  11 — 42
Three-point goals: Gresh (E) 2, Hayes (E), Brisson (E); Treacy (C) 2, Eschenbrenner (C)