Sometimes, an opponent is just too good.
That was the problem for the Derby High girls basketball team when it hosted undefeated Torrington High on Saturday. Although the Derby Red Raiderettes hung tough for awhile, in the end, the Torrington Lady Red Raiders showed why they were undefeated and raised its record to 7 – 0 with a 71 – 41 victory.
“We had a lot of missed layups and they had a lot of transition points,” said Derby coach Dave Cherarella, whose team dropped to 3 – 4. “We didn’t have the personnel to match up with them and played a zone defense but they hit the outside shots.”
Derby hung tough in the first quarter and had two chances to take the lead but missed a layup and a jumper. Torrington countered its first scare by hitting a layup to go up 11 – 8 and its second scare with a three-pointer to make it 14 – 10.
“Our team could have played better,” said Derby senior co-captain guard Mary Hyde. “We weren’t consistent.”
Junior forward-center Marissa Conte said, “We didn’t really play up to our capability. Winning was tough but we’re better than a 30-point loss.”
Hyde (13 points, one three-pointer, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals, three forced turnovers) and Conte were instrumental in keeping Derby in the game. Despite only being 5 – 5, Hyde was tenacious underneath and came up with rebounds against bigger opponents.
“I box out and put a body on someone at all times,” said Hyde.
The first quarter ended on Hyde’s layup from senior co-captain Taylor McMahon (four points, one three-pointer, one rebound, four assists, two steals), cutting the deficit to three, 17 – 14.
Unfortunately for Derby, Torrington built its lead nine, 23 – 14, to start the second quarter Kayla Langenheim (16 points) hitting two straight layups for the visitors. The lead ballooned to 15 at the break, 36 – 21.
“Torrington had too many runs and we didn’t always play fundamentally sound,” said Chevarella. “When they go on a big run, we panic and don’t have the ability to respond.”
Size and speed also favored Torrington, who got many points off the offensive glass. However, In the first half, Derby had 14 turnovers and conversely, had eight in the second half for 22 turnovers.
Torrington finished with 16 turnovers, eight in each half. Derby played better in the third quarter and cut down on its turnovers. Derby lost the third quarter by only one point, 14 – 13, and trailed 50 – 34 after three quarters.
Hyde made plays, swishing a trey, a jumper and set up two layups on offense in the third quarter. On defense, she wreaked havoc and her aggressiveness produced steals and forced turnovers, which led to her teammates garnering thefts.
“I have to know where the ball is at all times and know where my teammates are,” said Hyde. “I talk to them at all times.”
Conte (eight points, 15 rebounds, one assist, two steals, one forced turnovers) hit a layup from Hyde, was a force on the glass and played well defensively.
“I have a lot of aggression [inside of me] and I take it out on the court,” said Conte.
Junior Jenna Cripps (six points, one three-pointer, three rebounds, one assist, two steals) was in the right place at the right time for Derby and had a couple of interceptions and hit a trifecta in the fourth quarter from McMahon.
Cripps’ classmate, Jordyn DiMartino (six points, one three-pointer, one rebound, one assist, two steals, one tieup, one forced turnover) hit a trey and showed positive signs on defense.
Also contributing for Derby were seniors Tillia Gjanta (two points, one rebound) and Heather Smith (one point, two rebounds, two steals) and juniors Mollie Kane (one point, one rebound, one assist, two steals, one forced turnover) and Sabrina LaPost (one rebound).
“We try but the team has to want it and come out and play,” said Hyde.
Sarah Royals (26 points) helped Torrington break it open in the fourth quarter with many easy layups.
Derby is adjusting to life in the NVL and doesn’t have many non-league games, which it did while playing in the SCC. While the Red Raiderettes played some tough teams in the SCC, they feasted on games against tech schools and other out-of-conference opponents.
“It’s better that we have teams we can compete with,” said Hyde. “The tech schools are [virtually automatic] wins and this way, we have to work hard. We’re evenly matched [with most NVL teams],”
Chevarella said. “It’s a long year and Torrington is one of the better teams in the league, but there are a lot of games that are winnable. We hope to get eight wins and make states.”
