The Hall High School girls basketball team hosted Bristol Eastern on Friday night in West Hartford.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

With eight minutes to play the Hall girls basketball team was down 12 points to Bristol Eastern.

With :02 to play it was a two-point game and Hall had possession of the ball under the Lancers basketball. The Titans had the perfect inbound play called, but Jayle Evins-Mosley tipped the inbound pass, taking precious time off the clock. Leah Berey managed to get off the Hail Mary pass, but time expired before the Titans could get off a shot, and they fell 64-62.

“It was probably one of the hardest efforts I’ve seen in my four years here,” said Titans head coach Ernestine Faienza.

It was truly a fast and furious fourth by Hall as they fought to overcome a decided size advantage against Eastern’s Evins-Mosley and the 3-point shooting of Olivia Viens. Titans senior captain Anya Leshem led the comeback, hitting the team’s first basket in the fourth, later scoring by inbounding the ball off the back of a Lancers player, grabbing the ball, and nailing a 3. When she hit a bankshot 3 with 1:46 to go, it was suddenly a five-point game and Hall had the momentum.

Alexa Reilly had a big 3-point basket to make it 64-60 with 1:14 to go, that was followed by Berey draining two free throws with 66 seconds left to make it a two-point deficit.

The Titan defense then tied up Eastern on the ensuing possession, but the arrow pointed to the Lancers. The visitors had three shots, including a pair of attempted putbacks by Evins-Mosley that would not fall, and Berey went to the floor to grab a loose ball and Hall called time out with :02 left on the clock and a score of 64-62.

“Leah and Anya both stepped up and Abby’s (Jarrett) defense and decision making helped us in the fourth,” Faienza said.

The play by Evans-Mosley on the inbounds pass at the end of the game was the exclamation point on the battle that Hall fought all night. The senior had numerous blocks and rebounds and was a force inside on defense, forcing players to stall their shots. “We were trying to make them lob the ball into her and then try and get a turnover,” Faienza said. “We played strong defense in the fourth, but we were outsized and we had a hard time switching.”

Leshem was the star of the night for Hall, leading the team with 31 points, including a trio of 3-point shots. Berey added 16 points, also with three 3-point shots. Both played aggressive defense and were not shy about driving to the hoop and taking the fouls that often followed.

Part of the problem for Hall in the game was not converting on the free throw chances. “It came down to layups and free throws and we missed 13 free throws (in the game),” said the Hall coach. “Make half of them and we win the game.”

The first quarter saw the Titans (9-5) struggle to get off good shots and make them. Bristol Eastern also threw a full court press at them, adding more pressure. On offense, Bristol Eastern was hitting 3s from everywhere on the Hall court. But it was just a 15-11 Lancers lead after the first.

Eastern (6-7)  built a nine-point lead with 3:00 to go in the second before Leshem hit a pair of foul shots to make it 25-18. When Berey hit a 3 with 1:50 to go, it was a 25-22 game in favor of the Lancers. Hall would score just four more points – all free throws – in the second while Bristol Eastern dropped 10 points in the same span including a pair of baskets followed by steals and baskets before Raquel Rozanski’s finishing touches on the run with a corner 3 as time expired to make it 35-26  at intermission.

Bristol’s Viens had a pair of big 3-pointers in the third quarter, and 3:17 into the quarter her team had pushed the lead to 47-35. Hall struggled over the remaining 4:43 as they scored just two points and saw Viens go coast-to-coast on a steal and layup, plus a foul shot, to make it a 15-point game with 2:12 left in the third. Aliza Schleif had a nice driving one-hander and added the foul shot with :58 to play, but Hall still trailed by 12, and would finish 24 minutes of play down 54-42, setting up the dramatic fourth quarter comeback run that fell just short.

Faienza was proud of the determination and heart her teams showed over the last eight minutes of the game, despite the final score. “That fourth showed the work we are doing every day is paying off. We tell them to always finish strong,” the coach said.

Game notes

• In the first half Hall missed eight free throws and made nine.
• Leshem and Berey both had 10 points in the opening half for Hall.
• Viens had a game best 13 points at intermission hitting three 3-pointers. She would finish with a team best 24 points with five total 3s.
• Hall was looking for its 10th win on the season in the game. The Titans have not had a double-digit win total since the 2017-18 season when they won 12 games.
• Evins-Mosley was almost not in the game to make that play at the end. She had three personal fouls in the first quarter. She was called for three more in the second half (a player gets 5 personal fouls before having to exit the game) but the officials got together on two of the calls and changed the player who was charged with the foul. They also did not call a blatant shove away from the ball by Evins-Mosley in the fourth while she was being tightly guarded.
• Hall is back on the floor Monday when they host 12-3 Bristol Central before a rematch on the road with Simsbury on Thursday. The Titans fell in overtime to Simsbury on Jan. 23.
• The loss to Bristol Eastern saw Hall slip to 15th in the CIAC Division II rankings, but they still sit in good position for making the post-season tournament. But they will have to earn it as they play 11-1 Northwest Catholic, who is ranked third in Division I on Feb. 10, and have a rematch on Feb. 12  with Farmington – a team that beat Hall earlier this season. After that it will be 11-3 Lewis Mills before they wrap up the regular season with the traditional season finale against Conard (3-10).

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