Split Decision: New Canaan Boys Basketball Wins, Girls Fall to Darien

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New Canaan sophomore Nick Crovatto drained a pair of clutch free throws with less than a minute left to break a 43-43 tie and help lift the Rams to a 46-43 win over the Blue Wave Monday night at Darien High School. The Rams were led by junior Tyler Sweeney who scored 21 points, 17 of which came in an exhilarating second half that saw multiple lead changes and swings of momentum. “I’m really proud because things weren’t going our way,” New Canaan head coach Mike Evans said. “We created our own momentum and got it done.”

Darien started the game strong, building an 11-9 lead in the first quarter. Junior two-guard Jackson Ryan hit two three-pointers for six of his team-high 15 points on the night to help the Wave to their early advantage.

New Canaan Girls Basketball Tops Staples, Earns State Playoff Berth

What a difference a year makes. One season removed from a 3-17 campaign the New Canaan Rams girls basketball team qualified for the State tournament Friday night by defeating Staples 40-37. The victory was a big one for New Canaan head coach Kim Palmer, who has seen her team win 4 of its last 5 games to earn the postseason bid—New Canaan’s first since the 2011-2012 season. “I’m so happy that they accomplished one of their goals this year in making the state tournament,” Palmer told NewCanaanite.com. “I’m really proud of where the girls are—there’s a lot of heart and emotion and hard work that’s gone into it, and I’m excited for them to take it to the next level.”

New Canaan was led by senior co-captain Elizabeth Miller who scored 12 points, including several foul shots down the stretch that saw the Wreckers all but erase a 9-point New Canaan lead earlier in the 4th quarter.

Miller Leads New Canaan Girls Basketball Over Danbury

Elizabeth Miller scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the 4th quarter, leading the New Canaan Rams girls basketball team to a key 53-46 home win over Danbury on Wednesday night. “The girls came to play,” New Canaan head coach Kim Palmer told NewCanaanite.com. “I’m really proud of where they’ve come from the start of the season until now. There’s been a tremendous amount of growth and the kids are playing well together. I couldn’t be happier for them because they deserve it.”

New Canaan Girls Basketball Falls to Warde

Thirty point losses usually don’t elicit much optimism, but for New Canaan girls basketball head coach Kim Palmer, there were many positives to be taken from the Rams’ 64-34 loss to Warde on Friday night. “We were able to put the ball in the basket against a really good team,” Palmer told NewCanaanite.com. “Defensively, we were able to get some really good stops. We never let down, we never hung our head. We moved the ball against the press and run our offense against a really good team.

New Canaan 6th Grade Girls Basketball Runners-Up in Coppo Tourney

For athletes in the New Canaan Basketball Association the Joe Coppo Memorial Tournament is an annual right of passage, kicking off the winter hoops season for the 18th time in 2014. Formerly known as the NCBA Tip-Off Tournament, the event was renamed in honor of Joe Coppo, a local leader in New Canaan youth sports prior to his death in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. For the 6th grade NCBA girls team the 2014 was a successful one, as it finished in second place with a 3-1 overall record. Here is a recap of the action from this past weekend:

Game 1 – Stamford 27, New Canaan 25

In the first game of the Joe Coppo Tournament, New Canaan lost a heartbreaker to Stamford, 27-25. New Canaan started the scoring with a jump shot by Marlee Smith, but quickly fell behind, and never led the game again.