For as many times as the Derby Red Raiders opened the door for the Ansonia Chargers to steal a win at home, Ansonia just couldn’t grab the opportunity.
Derby’s defense and rebounding helped the Red Raiders capture a 48 – 44 win over their neighboring rivals Tuesday.
Ansonia had some chances in the last minute of the contest as Raiders star senior Mary Hyde went 2‑for‑6 from the charity stripe, the only shaky part of an otherwise strong 19-point effort.
But the Chargers could only get as close as four, their last bucket on a 3‑point shot by Chargers senior guard Kristin Mooney, who finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Derby Coach David Chevarella bemoaned the slow start by his Raiders as Ansonia broke out to an early 8 – 0 lead.
He credited reserves Jenna Cripps, Mollie Kane and Sabrina Lappost for establishing a better tone once the game got rolling.
“We didn’t come out ready to play. That’s been our downfall the last three or four weeks,” Chevarella said. “Our first two possessions we turned the ball over and we weren’t putting a body on people and weren’t contesting any shots, so thank God our bench has come through for us the last few games and gave us some quality minutes.”
Derby eventually got some inside scoring going with Hyde and Cripps producing big baskets. By the half, Derby had a 5‑point lead. Come the end of three periods, the Raiders had a 41 – 33 advantage.
Still, the game got closer as Ansonia made a comeback. The effort short circuited in the final minute as the Chargers could only get one big basket after Hyde’s rare misses at the line.
Ansonia Coach Patrick Lynch expressed frustration with the missed chances.
“They gave us the opportunity. We had three straight empty possessions where we missed a shot, didn’t take a shot and missed another one,” Lynch said.
“She [Hyde] missed a few, gave us a chance and we just didn’t capitalize.”
Lynch said the Chargers will have to focus on boxing out and rebounding. The lack of it from the Chargers helped the Raiders get more shots.
“Even games we got wins in, the past five or six games we’ve been out rebounded in probably every game,” he said. “It’s a matter of boxing out and getting more rebounds.”
Hyde said the game could have gone either way, but pointed to Derby’s offense as winning the day.
“That and our fast breaks worked, the pressing was somewhat accurate and our bench helped us,” she said. “Most of all our games, we don’t start off strong. We come out flat-footed and we can’t play defense good. As the game goes on, I think everyone on the team becomes more comfortable and we actually get into it and more intensity comes as the game goes along.”
Derby’s escape pushes the team to a 7 – 7 mark in its first season in the Naugatuck Valley League.
Ansonia falls to 9 – 6.
