Pomperaug’s Lauren Rubinstein, No. 10, drives to the basket around the defense in last Friday’s 53-42 win over Newtown in the quarterfinal round of the SWC tournament. (Ken Morse photo)
By KEN MORSE
Special to the Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer
The Pomperaug girls basketball team saw its run at a South West Conference (SWC) title come up short in the semifinals Monday, Feb. 22, when they lost 56-43 to Notre Dame of Fairfield. The Lancers jumped out to a 10-point first-quarter advantage at 19-9 and fought off a brave comeback from the Panthers, outscoring Pomperaug by 10 in the final quarter, 18-8, to secure the win.
The Lady Panthers held a 14-10 second-quarter advantage and outscored Notre Dame 12-9 in the third quarter to close to 38-35 before they ran out of gas.
Karli Opalka led the way, scoring 18 points and pulling down 15 rebounds, but there were no other double-figure scorers to keep up with the pace of the Lancers. Rachel Bonnanzio scored nine points, and Lauren Rubinstein added eight points, with Caly Farina and Allison McCormick getting four points each to account for all of the Pomperaug offense.
The Lady Panthers were a little more consistent on offense in the quarterfinal round of the SWC playoffs Friday, Feb. 19, when they came away with a 53-42 win over Newtown.
Opalka led the way with 15 points and 18 rebounds. Farina and McCormick scored 10 points each, Rubinstein scored nine points, and Katy Rafferty racked up eight points to spread the scoring around.
“Any time we play Newtown, it’s like a Red Sox-Yankees matchup,” said Pomperaug head coach Joe Fortier. “I’ve known coach Jeremy O’Connell for a long time, and there is no one I respect more than him. He will have his team ready to play no matter what the records are.
“Newtown gave us fits the last time around, and we managed to pull it out by three points. Our girls don’t quit, and that’s what makes them winners. They find a way to win.
“I think the difference in this game is we hit our foul shots when we had to and really put the game away in the last quarter at the foul line.”
Although it’s not always the Panthers’ strong suit, Pomperaug blistered the net from the foul line, hitting 21 of 35 chances, including a game-changing 13 for 20 in the final quarter with the game hanging in the balance.
Rubinstein was nine of 16 from the charity stripe and five of six in the last quarter, with Farina hitting on six of seven, including three of four in the game’s final minute.
Opalka established herself in the paint early on as Pomperaug out-rebounded Newtown 14-9 in a first quarter that led to an 11-10 lead heading into the second quarter.
Claudine Legato and Bonnanzio had seven rebounds each, and McCormick came off the bench to bury two big 3-pointers, allowing the Panthers to start pulling away at 25-18.
Newtown closed the gap 25-22 when Rylee Mulligan put down a shot in the lane and Laurel Wilcox hit a pull-up jumper. Pomperaug had the final possession of the half, and McCormick beat the buzzer on a put-back to give the Panthers a 27-22 edge at the break.
“Our girls make some plays that other teams don’t expect,” said Fortier. “They play with a lot of heart, and when you do that good things are bound to happen.”
The Nighthawks continued to pressure the Panthers, closing the deficit at 31-28 with 4:27 to go in the third quarter. But Pomperaug kept coming up with the big play as Rafferty busted a 3-pointer through the net, and the lead was back up to a seven-point advantage at 35-28.
Opalka began the final quarter scoring four straight points to open up a 42-33 lead, sending Newtown to a time out. The Nighthawks never recovered, even when they cut the deficit to 46-40. That’s when Rubinstein and Farina proceeded to hit six straight free throws to open up a 12-point advantage with a minute left to play.
Pomperaug will now prepare for the Class L state tournament that begins play Monday, Feb. 29. The Panthers, ranked 8th at 17-5, will host 30th-ranked 8-12 East Lyme at 7 p.m.
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