Canton’s Avery Brown, left and shown last January against East Windsor, had a game-high 23 points in Wednesday’s Bristol Central Holiday Classic. (Photo courtesy Bill Brewster)
BRISTOL, Dec. 27, 2023 – Avery Brown had a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds to help lead the Canton High girls basketball team past Gilbert, 53-30, on Wednesday and into the championship game of the Bristol Central Holiday Classic.
The Warriors (2-1) will face host Bristol Central on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. in the title game. The Rams throttled Platt, 69-25 in Wednesday’s second semifinal contest.
The Holiday Classic also includes a boys division. Simsbury (1-3) whipped Capital Prep on Wednesday, 69-44 for their first win of the season and will face undefeated Bristol Eastern (4-0) in the tournament championship game Friday night at 7 p.m. following the Canton and Bristol Central girls contest.
Defense set the tone for Canton against the Yellowjackets. The Warriors raced out to an early 15-0 lead in the first quarter. Avery Miller set the tone on the defensive end holding Gilbert’s top scorer Emily Arel without a point in the first quarter. Arel, a junior, has already surpassed 1,000 points in her career.
Canton limited Gilbert to two points in the first quarter and 14 points in the first half. “Defense was the name of the game,” Canton coach Brian Mederios said. “Avery Miller, Ally Wire, Hanna Glassey and Brooke Czerwinski all did a great job guarding and forcing Arel into tough shots all game long.”
Brown had three steals and five assists while Sam Yanke had a game-high 20 rebounds and four steals.
Brown and freshman Ruby Theberge accounted for 13 of Canton’s first 15 points. Brown finished with 23 points while Thenerge finished with 13 points. Arel scored 20 to lead Gilbert (3-2).
This is Canton’s first appearance in a traditional holiday tournament final since 2016 when the Warriors beat Hall in the final of their own Canton Holiday Classic. From 2017 through 2022, Canton hosted round-robin tournaments with pre-determined opponents in all contests.
Canton 53, Gilbert 30
At Bristol
Canton (53) Avery Brown 8-4-23, Ruby Thenerge 5-2-13, Avery Miller 0-0-0, Sam Yanke 1-0-2, Brooke Czerwinski 1-0-3, Hanna Glassey 1-0-2, Ally Wire 4-0-8, Helen Canny 0-0-0, Aya Affsa 1-0-2. Totals 21-4-5 53
Gilbert (30) Emily Arel 7 6-20, Neela Gilbert 0-0-0, Andrea Buncalan 1 2-5, Taylor Plourde 0 1-1, Addy Lillie 2-0-4. Totals: 10 9-14 30
Canton (2-1) 15 12 13 13 — 53
Gilbert (3-2) 2 10 8 10 — 30
Three-point goals: Brown (C) 3, Thenerge (C), Czerwinski (C)
Bristol Central Holiday Classic
BOYS BASKETBALL
Wednesday’s semifinals
Simsbury 66, Capital Prep 28
Bristol Eastern 52, Bristol Central 49
Friday’s games
Consolation: Bristol Central (1-3) vs. Capital Prep (1-3), 4 p.m.
Championship: Simsbury (1-3) vs. Bristol Eastern (4-0), 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Wednesday’s semifinals
Canton 53, Gilbert 30
Platt 69, Bristol Central 25
Friday’s games
Consolation: Platt (0-5) vs. Gilbert (3-2), 2:30 p.m.
Championship: Canton (2-1) vs. Bristol Central (3-2), 5:30 p.m.
