Connect with us

Girls Basketball

East Catholic holds off surging Canton to advance to Class S semifinals

Canton’s Avery Brown puts up a shot during Monday night’s Class S quarterfinal game in Manchester. East Catholic won, 54-53.

MANCHESTER, March 4, 2024 – A season of contests built to this moment Monday night in the Class S girls basketball quarterfinals. The Canton High girls basketball team won just nine games this season and dropped five in a row at one point.

But as the post-season approached, there were signs that the Warriors were putting it together. Coming into Monday night’s state tournament game against No. 6 East Catholic, the Warriors had won five of their last six games.

Last Friday against No. 3 Ellis Tech (17-3), the Warriors gave up just 19 points – the fewest points allowed by the Canton girls in a state tournament game ever.

East Catholic had a 12-point lead late in the second quarter and led by eight points after three quarters of play. No. 19 Canton put on a display of determination, pride and guts to grab the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter.

But 6-foot sophomore Urielle Abrokwa was too difficult to contain in the lane. She scored a game-high 24 points and scored three of East Catholic’s final four points to lift the host Eagles to a 54-53 win over Canton.

East Catholic (18-6) moves into the semifinals for the first time since 2007 and continues on their quest for their first state championship since 2004.

Freshman Ruby Theberge led the Warriors (12-13) with 17 points while senior Avery Brown sank 16 points, including four shots from three-point range to keep Canton in the ballgame. Senior Sam Yanke added 13.

“They did everything we asked of them and then some,” Canton coach Brian Medeiros said. “They put themselves in a position (to win). I told them they would would steal this gamein the fourth quarter and they put themselves into a position to steal this game.

“This was the best game we’ve played this year,” he said. “It forced everyone to rise up. It was more than Avery (Brown) and Ruby (Theberge). Everyone that participated played to the best we could have asked. It was so fulfilling to see them be what we thought they could be (as a team).”

East Catholic led by eight after three quarters, 40-32 but committed numerous turnovers in the fourth quarter to allow the Warriors to eventually take the lead for the first time when Sam Yanke drove to the basket for a layup with 5:44 remaining in the game to give the Warriors a 41-40 lead.

Canton’s Sam Yanke had 13 points in Monday night’s loss to East Catholic in the Class S quarterfinals.

Canton used a 9-0 run to take the lead with Theberge getting two steals in the rally and Avery Miller picking up one steal.

The Eagles quickly retook the lead when Abrokwa scored in the lane. In the game, the Warriors had a hard time boxing out Abrokwa, who scored numerous baskets on second-chance opportunities in the lane after a missed shot from her or a teammate.

Theberge hit two foul shots to give Canton the lead again, 43-42 but Abrokwa grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to but the Eagles up one, 44-43. Esmeralda Encarnacion and DeJahlee Dogans hit two big three-point shots and the Eagles had five-point lead, 50-45, after a quick 8-2 run.

Canton rallied again to tie, 50-50, holding the Eagles scoreless for 2:04 and scoring five points on a jumper from Sam Yanke, a foul shot from Helen Canny and Yanke pulling down her own rebound after a miss and scoring with 1:59 remaining.

Abrokwa scored with 1:28 remaining when she caught a shot in the low post from her teammate that was short and put it into the basket to give East Catholic a 52-50 lead. The Eagles added a pair of foul shots to increase their lead to four, 54-52 with 13.6 seconds remaining.

Brown hit a three-point shot from the corner with 4.2 seconds left to cut the lead to one. Abrokwa was fouled but missed both shots. The Warriors rebounded the ball but their shot to win bounced off the rim.

“We kept saying this was a year of missed opportunities of what we could have been,” Medeiros said. “Tonight was the first night we truly showed what could have been (as a team).”

East Catholic will face Thomaston in Saturday’s semifinal game. “We knew adversity was coming at us at some point,” Eagle head coach Chad Malone said. “Adversity builds character. They threw some good punches at us and we hit them back. We got it done when we needed to.”

East Catholic 54, Canton 53
At Manchester
Canton (53)
Ruby Theberge 5-7-17, Brook Czerwinski 1-0-2, Sam Yanke 6-1-13, Avery Miller 1-0-2, Avery Brown 5-2-16, Emery Howard 1-0-2, Ally Wire 0-0-0, Henna Glassey 0-0-0, Helen Canny 0-1-1. Totals 19-11
East Catholic (54) Micah Pullen 0-0-0, Kailani Galan 0-3-3, Alyssa Deleon 0-0-0, Liz McGuirl 2-4-10, Dejahlee Dogans 3-1-10, Esmeralda Encarnacion 1-0-3, Asia Harr 2-0-4, Phyllis Harr 1-0-2, Urielle Abrokwa 10-4-24. Totals 19-12
Canton (12-13)               9    8  15  21  – 53
East Catholic (18-6)     14  11  15  14  — 54
Three-point goals: Brown (C) 4, McGuirl (EC) 2, Dogans (EC) 3, Encarnacion (EC)

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.

More in Girls Basketball