West Hartford’s Conard High School girls basketball team advanced to the CCC tournament semifinal with a 45-36 come-from-behind win over Glastonbury.

The Conard girls basketball team defeated Glastonbury in the CCC quarterfinals on Feb. 18, 2023. Courtesy photo

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There’s a rivalry brewing in the CCC conference.

Conard and Glastonbury split their regular season series and with a trip to the CCC semifinals on the line, the two teams met for a third time at Plainville High School on Saturday in a quarterfinal matchup.

Nerves were apparent as neither team seemed poised to take control in the game’s opening moments. It wasn’t until 5:25 left in the first quarter that the first points were scored by Conard’s Emily Knowles with a jumper in the lane. One minuter later, Glastonbury’s  Maddie Handrahan made a 3-pointer to open their scoring.

The game was back and forth until the waning moments of the quarter before Conard’s Clara Gaglioti made a three at the buzzer to end the quarter ended tied at 12.

In the second quarter, Glastonbury’s defense took over and held Conard to just six points while taking charge with an explosive 16-point effort. Leading 28-18 at halftime, Glastonbury seemed destined to advance.

Enter the third quarter and the first minute and a half were more of the same. With the score still at 28-18, a steal by Conard and subsequent layup by Conard’s Courtney McPhee, suddenly and drastically shifted the momentum Conard’s way. All of a sudden every rebound and every loose ball would end up in Conard’s hands. Conard would take advantage of the momentum and score 12 points in the quarter while holding Glastonbury scoreless until 36 seconds remained. The teams would end up tied at 30 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Conard continued its dominance on the defensive end holding No. 3 seed. Glastonbury to just six points. For Glastonbury, unfortunately, it was just one of those games where nothing would go in. Meanwhile, Conard would continue its 27-8 run to steal control of the game.

Callie Cosgrove would go 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter and eventually score a game-high 18 points in the win for Conard.

Conard, the No. 6 seed, will face CCC No. 2 seed E.O. Smith Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at the University of Hartford for a chance to head to the CCC finals.

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