On senior night the Hall Titans girls basketball team fell to crosstown West Hartford rival Conard Red Wolves in the last game of the regular season.
Hall seniors Sofia Ruffo, Heaven Smith, Maddie Maxwell, and Carmen Molina Plaza were honored before the game. Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency
By Paul Palmer. Photos by Paul Palmer and Craig Rosenberg
Now the hard work starts for the Conard girls basketball team.
They closed out the regular season with a resounding 55-24 win against an overmatched, but scrappy Hall Titans squad. “They know what we need to do now in the post-season,” said Red Wolves head coach Laurie Cersosimo. The Red Wolves got off to a great 14-1 start to the season but then dropped two of their next three before putting things back together and finishing at 17-3. That is good enough to give Conard a home game in the CCC Tournament on Thursday at 6:45 p.m.
For Hall, it has been a season of fighting hard for everything, that ended at 5-15 after Monday’s senior night loss to Conard. There was no quit in the team, no matter the score or the record, and that was evident in the final game of the season.
The night started with head coach Ernestine Faienza honoring the teams three seniors – Sofia Ruffo, Maddie Maxwell, and Heaven Smith – along with junior exchange student Carmen Molina Plaza. Hall did hit the game’s first basket on a Maxwell jumper, but it would be all Conard after that.
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
Conard had a lot to prove to themselves as they rounded out the season. When the team was playing up to its ability they were as good as any other on the court. Junior’s Callie Cosgrove and Emily Knowles led the team in scoring, with fellow junior Courtney McPhee controlling the offense. Cosgrove missed the opening nine games with a leg injury but came back strong.
Her absence gave more quality minutes to junior Nicole Gorman, the team’s only senior Kathryn Torla, and freshman Caroline Cersosimo. But when they hit their rough stretch they were out of sync, they looked lost on the court. As tough as those moments and games were, Cersosimo knows they made her team better. “Anytime you face adversity, it’s about how you bounce back,” she said. “They had to figure out how to do that, and they did.”
Against Hall Monday night it was Cosgrove who was hitting early and often from three- and two-point range to get her team out to the 13-2 advantage. Conard’s up-tempo play and aggressive defense gave the Titans fits and led to them sending Conard into the bonus just 5:00 into the first quarter. When Ruffo buried a 3 for the home team, it was Knowles answering with her own, and then Cosgrove making the steal and converting the lay-up to make it 18-5 with just under two minutes to play en route to a 24-8 lead after one.
Heaven Smith (24) of Hall and Brooklyn Knowles (25) of Conard battle for position. Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
Clara McClay hit a step-up jumper to make it 30-8 and Cersosimo subbed out three of her starters. Hall would not give in and Leah Berey hit her 3 with 2:11 to go in the half. The Titans were having trouble getting the good shots and when they did get a good luck, the shots often did not fall. There was a lot of physical play, but not dirty play with several players from both sides being introduced to the floor.
While Hall struggled, Conard found its rhythm and showed just how connected they could be. Gorman and McPhee hooked up on a great passing play that led to an easy basket behind the Hall defense, Cosgrove blocked a shot at one end, grabbed the ball and raced down court to hit the runner and the foul shot that went with it with 6.5 seconds to go, and it was a 25-point lead. At intermission Knowles had a game high 14, Cosgrove had 13, and McPhee had five.
Leah Berey of Hall heads in for the basket ahead of Courtney McPhee of Conard. Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
In the third it was more of the same with Conard outrunning and outscoring the gritty Hall lineup. Cosgrove hit a 3 to give her 21 points on the night just under 1:30 into the third, then it was Knowles and McPhee teaming up. On a 2-on-1 Knowles fed McPhee who delivered a bounce pass back to Knowles for the easy hoop and it was 51-18. Though they were being outscored, Hall still contested every ball they could and Heaven Smith had a handful of blocks even after the outcome was not in doubt.
The fourth quarter saw both coaches have the chance to empty their benches and reward the players who had put in the work and the time at practice all season, but maybe didn’t see a lot of game time. “We have players that are always there. These kids show up every day and they deserve the chance to play – especially in a Conard-Hall game,” Cersosimo said. The starters who had been cheering the entire time they were on the bench, lived and died by every scoring attempt and rebound their teammates had.
Cosgrove would finish with 21 points, and Knowles had 20 for Conard. Berey had a team-high 10 for Hall with Maxwell chipping in eight and Ruffo had five points.
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
In last season’s CCC Tournament, Conard probably caught some teams by surprise as they made it to the final before losing to Simsbury. This time around their opponents know full well what Cosgrove, Knowles, McPhee, and the rest of the team is capable of.
“I’m confident going into Thursday,” Cersosimo said. “I know they will go out there and do the best that they can.”
Game Notes:
- Knowles finishes the regular season with 1,159 points, putting her in fourth place in the West Hartford Public Schools all-time scoring list. She also has 489 points on the season.
- Cosgrove finishes the regular season with 1,096 career points.
- Both Knowles and Cosgrove surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in this their junior season and did it in back-to-back games.
Hall and Conard players battle for position on an inbounds pass. Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
Hall vs. Conard girls basketball. Feb. 12, 2024. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg
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