New Canaan 23, Brookfield 13
New Canaan 7th Grade Girls Basketball Team. Contributed
The New Canaan 7th grade girls’ team played another strong game on Sunday at Saxe, beating Brookfield by a score of 23-13.
New Canaan started the game with an 8-0 run, with Elizabeth St. George scoring the first 6 points of the game, followed by a fastbreak by Cameron Murphy that brought the score to 8. Brookfield got on the board with their first basket but Marlee Smith went coast to coast after her defensive rebound, bringing the lead back to 8. Strong ball control by Chloe Reidy and Sophia Karimnejad helped the girls maintain possession for most of the second quarter, and thanks to strong foul shooting by St. George and Julia Bazata, the team went into the half with a 14-4 lead.
Second half scoring started with a foul shot converted by Reidy, followed by a Quinn McKiernan steal that led to another Smith basket. However, the half soon turned into a defensive battle by both teams. Tyler Towers used her position in front of the net to grab several key defensive rebounds, and Emma Gibbens created multiple scoring opportunities in front of the Brookfield basket. Olivia West‘s strong work on the boards kept Brookfield from converting on multiple scoring chances late in the third. At the start of the 4th quarter, Brookfield was able to use a well-timed 3-point basket to regain momentum, but a Smith turned a St. George defensive steal into a basket that shut down Brookfield’s chances. Murphy’s strong ball control helped New Canaan win the possession battle as time clicked down. St. George converted 2 baskets late in the 4th that sealed the win for New Canaan.
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Norwalk Youth Basketball – 31, New Canaan 5th Grade Red – 25
NC Red 5 in action earlier this season. Credit: Terry Dinan
New Canaan’s 5th Grade Red team jumped out to a fast 12-4 lead after one period, thanks to the great outside shooting of Chris McLallen, who scored nine of his game-high 11 points in the first including two three-pointers. Matt Salmini chipped in with two of his five points to help New Canaan to an early advantage. Strong defense was turned in by Jerome Roscoe, Bear Morris and Ryan Tonghini.
Both teams showcased their defensive abilities in the second quarter, as the only basket was scored by Norwalk to make it 12-6 New Canaan at the half. Cooper Dinan, Connor O’Donnell, and Colin Tiscornia had multiple rebounds for New Canaan, keeping a much taller Norwalk team off the glass and, for the most part, off the scoreboard.
Norwalk came back to take a 19-15 lead in the third, despite the solid two-way play of Will Larson and Ryan Connelly. New Canaan went on a run early in the fourth to take a 21-19 lead in the fourth, but Norwalk countered with a scoring run of its own to pull away in the final minutes. Travis Sturcke was New Canaan’s main weapon in the fourth, scoring all six of his points in the final stanza.
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New Canaan 5th Grade Hoopsters Off to a Fast Start
Blake Wilson of NC Black 5. Credit: Mike Wilson
The New Canaan 5th Grade Black team soared into the Christmas break with a trifecta of victories over Fairfield County opponents this past weekend. The team led by Coach Fred Crawford is off to a 9-0 start in the early going of the 2015-2016 campaign.
New Canaan 50 Darien 46
New Canaan held off a pesky Darien team that just wouldn’t quit. The Blue Wave battled back from a couple of double-digit Ram leads to keep it close. Isaac McMullin, the speedy point guard, led the way for Darien while New Canaan had outstanding efforts on both ends of the court by Ty Groff, Trey Hartnett, Mack Seelert and Blake Wilson. Darien controlled the boards on this night but New Canaan drew on its experience and grit to seal the victory.
New Canaan 47 Ridgefield 31
In their toughest test of the season, New Canaan Black 5th grade shook off a lackluster performance from the previous night to put together a solid effort against the talented and well-coached Ridgefield Tigers. The game was tight for much of the first quarter as both teams battled neck and neck. However, New Canaan dominated play in the second quarter and that allowed them to hit the locker rooms at halftime with an 18 point lead. Ethan Crawford led all scorers with 19 points, Ty Groff had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, while Brendan Hagan and Giovanni Cascione were tenacious on defense for the undefeated Rams. The two teams will square off again up in Ridgefield in a few weeks.
New Canaan 43 Wilton 32
The gridiron rivalry and the physical play carried over on to the hardwood as New Canaan topped Wilton for the third time this season. The game started off tight with Wilton gaining the early advantage but then the Rams pulled away for good in the second quarter. Danny Rogers was a menace on defense along with Andrew Rittenberry who finished with 9 boards. Hunter Nelson chipped in some timely offense as he drained a couple behind the arc and finished with 8 points. The Rams held a 7 point halftime lead and battled hard down the stretch, coming away with the double-digit victory.