Lauren Rubinstein, No. 10 far right, drives around a RHAM defender with Katy Rafferty, setting a pick in the Lady Panthers’ final game of the season. They lost the Friday, March 4, game against RHAM 70-61 in the second round of the Class L state tournament. (Ken Morse photo)
By KEN MORSE Special to the Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer
For a game that is supposed to be played in an upright position, there were a lot of players sprawled out on the court as the No. 8 seed 18-6 Pomperaug Lady Panthers went head-to-head with No. 9 seed 18-4 RHAM in the second round of the Class L state tournament Friday, March 4, at the Panthers’ Den in Southbury.
Sometimes things just don’t turn out the way you expect they will. The Lady Panthers saw a season filled with so much promise fall by the wayside in a hard-fought 70-61 loss to the Sachems.
When you turn the ball over 16 times in a 12-minute span from the second quarter midway through the third, the handwriting is on the wall. When you send the opponent to the foul line in the final quarter in order to get the ball back, and they deposit 16 of 20 through the cylinder, that is not a good sign.
“The turnovers were very uncharacteristic of this team,” said Pomperaug head coach Joe Fortier. “I thought we did a good job in the second half maintaining our composure, but when a team knocks down their foul shots like that with the game on the line, it’s tough to come back.”
Despite things not falling the Panthers’ way, a group of girls were diving to the floor for loose balls, pulling out all the stops, trying desperately to not have this season come to an end. Trailing by 15 points at 50-35 entering the final quarter, the Lady Panthers somehow found the courage to battle back and make it a two-possession game twice in the final minute of play.
Pomperaug chased a double-digit lead from the midway point of the second quarter until the Panthers scored on back-to-back possessions for just the third time in the game. Lauren Rubinstein (eight points, five assists) went coast-to-coast on a steal and then drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut the deficit at 59-51 with two minutes to play.
Maresa Catenzaro (13 points) hit for 10 free throws in the final quarter for RHAM. Sydney Masna had 17 points and 12 rebounds to give the Sachems a presence in the paint.
With 1:07 to go, Caly Farina (12 points, five rebounds, five assists) buried a three from the corner, and Pomperaug was trailing by only two possessions with a score of 62-56. At just 30 seconds left on the clock, Lauren Rubinstein drove the length of the court to make it a 64-58 game, and the Panthers were still in it.
The Pomperaug seniors, who were not ready to call it a career, left everything they had out on the court as three of them – Katy Rafferty, Lauren Rubinstein and Caly Farina – all fouled out in the final few minutes of the contest.
Leah Rubinstein scored on a drive in the lane to cut the deficit at 68-61 with only 12 seconds left, but RHAM sealed the deal at the foul line with Catenzaro hitting a pair, giving her 10 of 13 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
“The way these girls battled back and made it a two-possession game twice in the final minute says a lot about the heart of these kids,” said Fortier.
“I love the character of this team; they went out fighting. These seniors put up a whole lot of wins over the last four years, and it’s going to be tough to see them go.”
There was trouble on the horizon in the first quarter when Karli Opalka (26 points, 20 rebounds) was the only Panther to put a shot through the net as Pomperaug fell behind 13-9.
In the first minute-and-a-half of the second quarter, Pomperaug had three turnovers, and coach Fortier quickly called a time out to try to regroup. Claudine Legato (11 rebounds, six points) was a welcome addition under the boards, but the turnovers continued.
By the time the teams headed to the locker room at the half, the Sachems outscored the Panthers 14-9 and took a 27-18 advantage into the break.
“We were getting to the rebounds but we weren’t attacking the basket enough,” said Fortier. “They created pressure, and we made some bad decisions.”
Rachel Bonnanzio (six rebounds, two blocks) scored on a drive in the lane, and Rafferty sank a pair of free throws but Pomperaug still trailed by double digits in the third quarter.
Allison McCormick hit a shot from the corner to try to get the Panthers back in it, but RHAM made the exclamation point when Lia Baroncini (13 points) hit a three that beat the buzzer and gave the Sachems a 50-35 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Pomperaug seniors didn’t get to put any trophies in the showcase outside the gymnasium during their four-year reign, but Lauren and Leah Rubinstein, along with Rafferty, Farina and Bonnanzio did leave their mark on a program that won’t soon forget the Fab Five, who leave with a record of 72 wins and 22 losses.
“I would have loved another five minutes,” said Fortier. “I think we would have caught them. I’m proud that I got to coach this group of seniors. They won a lot of basketball games during their time here.
“Yes, we did come up short, but we have had an awful lot of fun over the past four years and it’s always hard to say goodbye, especially to such a special group of girls like this. And now we look forward to starting it all over again with another group of girls who are ready to leave their mark.”
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