RHAM of Hebron upset the Ansonia Chargers 56 – 45 on their home turf Tuesday in the Class M state tournament.
RHAM, with an 11 – 9 record, was the tourney’s 18th seed. Ansonia, at 13 – 7, was seeded 15th.
Things started out well for the Chargers, who used a frenzied defense to force RHAM to turn the ball over on each of its first three possessions. But Ansonia, could not convert the turn overs into baskets, as a bundle of shots rolled around — then away — from the hoop.
Neither team put on a scoring show in the first period.
With 4:12 left to go, the Chargers clung to a 2 – 0 lead until RHAM finally got one to drop through the bucket. The defensive battle reached a fevered pitch in the fourth period as the final 1:32 took 25 minutes to play — thanks to 22 foul shots between the two teams.
The game came down to foul shooting, obviously.
RHAM won the battle, knocking down 20 of 26 in the final period and just 2 of 2 prior to that to pin a 56 – 45 loss on Ansonia putting an end to the Chargers season.
“We are from the CCCS,” said RHAM head coach Tim Guernsey. “That prepared us for a game like this.”
“We knew Ansonia would be physical. It’s a great football town and the NVL is noted for it’s physical play,” Guernsey said. “We hit some big shots when we had to and that was the best foul shooting that we’ve had all season.”
The Chargers had the opportunity to blow it open early, but their shots just wouldn’t drop. Ansonia got second and third chances with Tierney Lawlor ripping down 14 rebounds while scoring nine points.
The game unraveled for the Chargers in the third period, when seven Ansonia turnovers allowed RHAM to take a 30 – 21 lead into the final period.
RHAM heated up at the free throw line and the lead swelled to 12 points with under a minute to play at 50 – 38. Melissa Tirella threw down a three-pointer but it was too little too late as the Chargers fell by a 56 – 45 margin.
“We did what we set out to do defensively,” Ansonia Coach Patrick Lynch said. “But we couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity because our shots would not stay in.”
“Some of these girls never played in a state tournament game so that may have played a part in it. But we have a bright future here,” Lynch said.