No. 5 seed Conard, which received a bye in the first round, hosted their opening game in the Class LL State Tournament at home in West Hartford, defeating Stamford High School 54-39 on Wednesday night.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

For the first 16 minutes of play the Conard girls basketball team put on a clinic in their Class LL State Tourney second round matchup with Stamford. They controlled the tempo, employed a devastating press on defense and hit shots from everywhere on the floor.

“We knew they had a long trip here and we wanted to come out hard,” said senior Nicole Gorman. “Not one of us (seniors) was ready to say goodbye to this court,” said senior Emily Knowles. A Conard loss would be the end of four years of home games for the Red Wolves seniors. A win would give them a chance to host a quarterfinals game.

It was 14-7 after the first period and 30-7 after two periods for Conard. Clutch shooting by Knowles – who had 18 of her game-high 26 points in the first half, and Gorman went for 11 points with some key 3-pointers as she would finish with 18 points.

Up 15 in the second, Caroline Cersosimo showed that Conard was going to keep its foot on the pedal as she knocked the ball loose on defense, dove on the floor for it, and pushed it to teammate Courtney McPhee who was fouled going in for the basket at the other end. Knowles followed that with a 3 off a patient, spread offense that saw the ball pass through every player’s hands at least once until they got the shot they wanted.

“We have talked all year about our starts and how important they are for us,” said coach Laurie Cersosimo. “They can dictate our game and this was a big game for our seniors. I thought it was the best I have seen them play all season.” High praise from a coach whose team came in with a 17-3 record.

The first half was a record setting one for the Red Wolves. It was the 10th time in program history that a Conard team held a state tournament opponent to five or less points in a quarter. It’s also the first time that Conard has shut out an opponent for a quarter in their state tournament history. The previous low for a quarter was one point allowed in the fourth quarter against Greenwich on Feb. 28, 2017. The first time a Conard team allowed five points or less in a quarter during a state tournament game was Feb. 25, 1975, when Conard allowed five points in the third quarter against New Canaan.

But something happened on the way to what looked like a blowout win. Everything Conard did right in the first half, they did wrong in the third quarter. Stamford took full advantage, using its speed to turn a laugher into a contest in the second half. The Red Wolves turned the ball over three times on their first four possessions and the Black Knights were more than willing to take advantage.

When Taylor Roncaroni hit a 3 with 3:15 to go in the quarter that 23-point lead had been trimmed down to 36-20. Two more Conard turnovers and it was 40-24 after three.

In all the home team had six turnovers and saw a Stamford team that scored seven points in the first half, drop 17 in just the third quarter. “They are a good team,” said Conard’s McPhee of Stamford. “We knew they would go on a run, but I didn’t lose confidence in our team.”

The visitors run did not stop with the buzzer ending the third, as Stamford kept eating into the deficit. They got it to 11 points before Gorman drained a much needed 3 with 5:15 to go. It was not just any shot; she got the ball at the 3-point arc with a clean look at the hoop. Somehow Gorman saw a Stamford defender streaking in from her left and managed a pump fake that saw the defender sail past her. Gorman then calmly drained the 3 making the score 45-31 and, more importantly, giving her team a confidence boost.

“When she shoots, she’s hit clutch shots all season,” said Cersosimo of her senior player who passed her coach for 10th place on the school’s all-time list for 3s in a single season. In fact, she went one better – passing current Baylor player Azaiyah Felder’s mark of 39 for ninth place.

There was one second half change that Cersosimo made, which paid big dividends. She inserted junior Ryelle Gomes into the game and that instantly gave the Red Wolves a dominating inside force at both ends of the floor. Not bad for a player that missed all last year with an ACL injury and recovery and who is still not 100%.

“She came in and did things that changed the game,” the coach said. On offense Conard, started finding their groove again with Knowles, McPhee, and Gorman getting most of the points – Knowles from strong drives, pull-up jumpers and distance; McPhee from layups; and Gorman mostly from outside.

The Black Knights did pull to within nine with three-and-a-half minutes to go, but once again it was Gorman hitting a clutch basket as Conard earned the 54-39 win.

“We worked so hard all year to get a home game. This was really fun,” McPhee said after the game.

For Knowles it was another big game where she does it all and ends up as the leading scorer. Her 26 points ties her own mark set last year against E.O. Smith for most points by a Conard player in state tournament play. She’s also scored 25 (2024 vs. New Britain) and 24 points (2023 vs. New Britain). She is Conard’s all-time leading scorer and does it all with quiet confidence.

“I just play with energy,” said the Smith College-bound guard. “I play with confidence.” The win was also the 100th for head coach Laurie Cersosimo and her staff. The former Conard player took over the program in 2019.

Game notes

• Conard – the No. 5 seed in the Class LL Tournament – will now have to win every game they play on the road starting in the quarterfinals when they travel to Hamden to meet No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. If they win that game, the semifinals are played at neutral sites with the final at Mohegan Sun Arena.
• In Class LL, all top 8 seeds advanced to the quarterfinals with top seed Holy Cross leading the way.
• Sacred Heart knocked Conard out of the tournament in last year’s semifinals.
• Wednesday’s game was the 28th year Conard’s girls team has played in the state tournament. They are now 19-26 overall, and since 2015-16 they are 9-8, and 7-4 since the 2019-20 season.
• With at least one more game to play, Emily Knowles has now scored 1,872 points in her career. That’s the most by any female player in the Town of West Hartford.
• Knowles has scored 203 points all-time in state tournament games. McPhee – with her 10 points against Stamford – now has 62 points in state tournament games (2021-present).
• Knowles has scored 549 points this season and needs just 9 points to pass Felder’s 557 points in 2020 for most points in one season.
• Knowles also needs three more 3-pointers to pass herself for third place in that category in a single season. She now has 146 3-pointers in her career, second only to Callie Cosgrove’s record of 175 (2021-23).
• Wednesday’s game was the 13th home game for Conard’s girls team in the state tournament all-time. They are now 9-4 in those games, with six straight wins including seven of the last eight games.

WHPS coaches to have a team reach the 100-win milestone

• Pam Moffo: Conard (1973-80): 117
• Dan Wilcox: Conard (1980-89): 116
• Kathy Walling: Hall (1976-83): 112
• Jeff Kaplowitz: Hall (2006-16): 105
• Laurie Cersosimo: Conard  (2019-present): 100

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