Amity Girls Basketball Bumped from SCC Tourney by Cheshire

Thursday night’s 49-28 loss to Cheshire in the quarter-finals of the Southern Connecticut Conference Tournament won’t be among the highlights  of the season for the Amity girls basketball team. It wasn’t just the loss to the Rams (for the third time this winter) but the way the game was played and lost that has to be a major concern for Coach Michelle Martinik and her players.

Martinik said, “Cheshire is a very good team. Once we got behind, it was very difficult for us to come back. I don’t think my girls were nervous tonight, but this is the first time any of them had ever played in a post-season game. It was a new experience for all of them. We really never got anything going.”

Amity was without the services of its tallest player, Jessica Malinconico, who had suffered a concussion in a recent game and had to sit out this contest.

It was a game that Amity was really never in. The Rams got rolling with a three pointer from Missy Bailey. Consecutive scores from down low by Julia Strobel and Maria Blois quickly made it 7-0. The Lady Spartans finally knotted the scoreboard with Chloe Brinton’s trey with 5 minutes, 25 seconds left in the opening stanza, but that would be Amity’s only field goal for more than five minutes.

Meanwhile Strobel (who ended up with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds) added two more baskets as Cheshire went on an 8-1 run. Amity’s only point during this long offensive lull was one free throw from Brinton. Trailing 16-4 as the first quarter came to and end, Amity got a rare chance to smile as Alyssa Mirmina threw in a long three at the buzzer.

While the host Rams hit six of their first nine shots from the floor, the Lady Spartans connected on only two of its eight tries. In addition, Cheshire’s trapping press forced the visitors into making four turnovers.

“I don’t know if their press really bothered us, but it did change the tempo and force us to do things we don’t normally do,” Martinik added. 

Things got no better for Amity in the second quarter. Shooting a meager 12.5 percent from the floor (one of eight shots) the Black and Gold fell further behind and by the end of the first half the Lady Spartans were looking at a 27-11 deficit.

When Tabitha Brown gunned home a 3-ball with 5:52 left in the half and Brinton added two freebies, Amity had cut the Rams’ lead down to only eight points (18-11) but then went scoreless for the final 4:51. Led by Strobel and Bailey, the Rams closed the first half with seven unanswered points.

Martink said, “When we got it down to 18-11, I thought we had an opportunity to make it a game. Every time we made a good play, we’d end turning over the ball. They just stymied us throughout the game."

The 11-10 losers recorded 19 turnovers as compare to 16 for Cheshire.

Holding that 27-11 halftime lead, the Rams cruised through the second half with Coach Sara Mik making frequent substitutions and clearing her bench throughout the last 16 minutes of action.

Amity ended up connecting on only eight of its 44 shots (a feeble 18 percent) from the floor and a tepid seven of 16 (44 percent) from the foul line. On the other hand, the 11-10 winners landed 15 of their 34 shots (44 percent) and were a sizzling hot 15 of 16 from the foul line (94 percent). Led by Strobel’s seven rebounds, Cheshire also outboarded the Lady Spartans 32-24. Amity’s Jenn Post grabbed a team-best six rebounds.

Martinik added, “Strobel is tall and also very quick. She is a real presence inside and her team does a great job of getting her the ball.”

Cheshire (seeded #8) advances to Saturday’s semi-final game against top-rated Mercy at West Haven High. The 6th seeded Lady Spartans (who started out 10-4 but have now dropped six of their last seven games) turn their attention to the Class LL state tournament which gets underway next week.