Hall adjusted defensively in the second half to take control of the game and defeat Middletown, advancing to the second round of the CCC Tournament.

By Marlon Pitter

It was a tale of two halves Thursday night at Franklin Robinson Gymnasium in West Hartford where the Hall High School girls’ basketball team defeated Middletown in the first round of the Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) Tournament.

The Warriors, who pride themselves on stingy defense, allowed 32 first-half points, taking a slim 37-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“We weren’t sticking to our defensive assignments,” said Hall head coach Brittany Huggins. “We were fronting girls who were not post players. Defensively, we were not rotating to help. Just playing bad post defense – that’s really it. But they picked it up in the second half.”

What Hall lacked on defense initially, the team made up for on offense, securing an 88-50 victory over Middletown to advance to the second round of the CCC Tournament.

“We look so much better when we pass the ball to the open player,” Huggins said. “Offense looks good where kids are catching and shooting in rhythm, so that was good to see.”

Coming out of halftime, the Warriors outscored the Blue Dragons 25-8 in the third quarter to distance themselves for good. Jenna Zydanowicz and Olivia Bonee made 3-pointers 23 seconds apart to turn a seven-point lead into a 47-34 advantage with 4:06 remaining in the quarter.

“At that particular time, we were running in transition,” said Huggins. “We were kind of making them a little bit uncomfortable making them run in transition and that’s what kind of set us apart.”

Bonee took over the third quarter offensively, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the frame. Four others scored in double figures for Hall – Amber Raisner with 18, Maddy Mandyck with 17, Olivia Deslauriers with 12, and Lexi Gellerman with 10. Raisner and Mandyck had both reached double figures by halftime with 16 and 10 points, respectively.

The scoring did not stop for Hall with players coming off the bench in the fourth quarter. The Warriors scored 26 points in the last eight minutes of the game, and Deslauriers scored all 12 of her points in the final quarter.

Mackenzie Dunn led Middletown with 14 points, while Dominique Highsmith chipped in 11 and Amanda Fudge added nine.

Hall’s 88 points scored Thursday night were a season-high, eclipsing an 82-point performance in a win over Plainville on Feb. 6.

The Warriors shot 62 percent from the free throw line, converting on eight of 13 attempts. The Blue Dragons made 11 of 16 foul shots, good for 69 percent on the night.

Hall will host Glastonbury (12-9) in the second round of the CCC Tournament on Saturday at 10 a.m.

“They’re going to want to beat us really bad, so we have to have a good practice tomorrow and be ready to go on Saturday,” said Huggins.

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