Plainfield — A common narrative attached to high school sports along the Interstate 395 corridor: Schools from Norwich south are generally more successful.
Saturday provided a notable exception. Windham and Plainfield advanced to the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II girls’ basketball tournament championship game, thwarting Stonington and St. Bernard respectively.
Third-seeded Windham Windham survived a furious rally in the final minute and edged No. 2 Stonington, 35-34. Fourth-seeded Plainfield, in its home gym, controlled most of its game, defeating No. 1 St. Bernard, 38-27.
The Whips and Panthers meet for the title at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Windham led 30-21 late in the third quarter before the Bears (12-10) used a 12-2 run, eventually tying the game on Anne Drago’s basket with 1:17 remaining. Windham’s Aniya Jenkins and Sienna Ortiz made free throws to give the Whips a 35-33 lead in the closing seconds.
Stonington’s Rory Risley missed the second of her two free throws with 4.5 seconds left, leaving Windham to inbound the ball to the end the game. The Bears forced a turnover, giving Drago a last-second shot that bounced off the rim.
It was Windham’s third win over Stonington this season.
“We’ve lost to them by six, by one in overtime and by one here,” Stonington coach Paulla Solar said. “They’re clutch. They finish when they have to finish. But I think our kids played really hard.”
Adalyse Gonzales led Windham with 14 points, including three 3-point field goals.
“Even when we face-guarded (Gonzales), she still managed to put the ball in the hoop,” Solar said.
The Bears will be off until the state tournament.
St. Bernard (11-10) fell behind Plainfield 10-2 and never really recovered.
“Not the start we needed,” coach Mike Nystrom said. “We were up 11 at the half last time (St. Bernard won in Plainfield earlier this season) and took them by surprise a little bit. This was a totally different first half.”
The Saints trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before getting as close as three. With Plainfield up five, sophomore Madelene Nordstrom hit a 3-pointer with two minutes left to all but end it.
“Every time we got close, we made a mistake,” Nystrom said. “Not just a missed shot, but something foolish.”
Angelica Tompkins led the Saints with 16 points. Karley Belisle and Nordstrom had 11 apiece for the Panthers.
“The kids were pumped (about the chance to play at Mohegan Sun). It was more of an incentive,” Nystrom said. “They were crying afterwards. They wanted to go to the Sun.”
m.dimauro@theday.com
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