The second round of the CIAC girls division II state tournament saw the South Windsor Bobcats host the Falcons of Fairfield Ludlowe.
The Lady ‘Cats entered the tournament as the 11 seed and cruised past Pomperaug in the first round. Ludlowe came in as the 27 seed, but a huge 76-55 upset over sixth-seeded North Haven brought the Falcons to South Windsor with a quarterfinal spot on the line.
It took a bit for the game to get going as both teams started off rather cold from the field. Both teams went several minutes before scoring their first points.
The game’s first basket came three minutes in on a long two-point jump shot by Falcons’ senior Cassidy D’Andrea.
It took four-and-a-half minutes before the Lady ‘Cats entered the scoring column on a layup from freshman Elise Glunt.
Ludlowe controlled much of the early part of the contest and looked as if they’d quickly run away with it. Tough defense and strong shooting helped Ludlowe build an early lead that lasted the entire first half.
When the buzzer sounded for halftime, the Falcons were comfortably ahead with a 25-13 lead.
The start of the third quarter would turn the game from bad to ugly. Ludlowe expanded their lead to 19 late into the third.
With just 2 minutes and 19 seconds left in the third, South had scored just 13 points and looked as if they’d go out sad. Bobcats coach Alex Goslin wouldn’t allow that to happen, saying “I said to stay positive and at this point, we have to fight. Shoot with confidence and get turnovers.”
Goslin’s philosophy would soon come to fruition. An and-one for junior Teagen Purcell finally ended the dry spell. A handful of big shots began to dig the ‘Cats out of their hole and showed signs of life.
While the lead still loomed large and the clock not in their favor, a new found energy had come alive in the home crowd.
Late in the third, South Windsor freshman Madison Carpenter drilled a three, which was followed by a quick turnover, then capped off with a long two from junior Asia Harr.
The Lady ‘Cats forced another turnover on the ensuing Ludlowe possession and turned the momentum upside down.
With the third quarter coming to an end, Fairfield still led by a score of 37-21. Goslin continued to stress the importance of taking each of their final eight minutes slowly, saying “We talked about one possession at a time and that we knew we could come back. Now or never!”
The quarter began with a three from South Windsor sophomore Shea Brochu. Carpenter came up with a steal to give the ball right back to the Bobcats.
On the very next Ludlowe possession, the Falcons turned the ball over once more on an errant pass.
Glunt found herself with the ball down low, spun free, hit the layup with a foul to bring the crowd to near deafening volumes.
Yet another Ludlowe turnover would pay off in a massive way for the ‘Cats as Brochu cashed in from three to bring the lead to single digits.
Around the five minute mark of the quarter, Ludlowe scored their first basket of the fourth courtesy of a floater by sophomore Claire Holt.
Bobcats senior captain Erin Martin tacked on a three of her own to make it just a six point differential.
The fifth Ludlowe turnover of the quarter came yet again from an errant pass. Shortly after, the Falcons committed their sixth turnover on a travel call, however, neither would lead to points for the home team.
With just under three minutes to play, Brochu buried a triple from the corner that brought the score to 39-35.
Around a minute later, Carpenter connected again from long range to make it just a one point game.
Immediately after, the ‘Cats forced an 8-second violation and got the ball right back.
Martin started with possession and swung the ball to Brochu. Brochu returned it to Martin, who chucked a long pass to Carpenter. Carpenter fired it quickly to Brochu, with it soon finding Purcell down low. Purcell found Carpenter open near the top of the key.
The freshman launched a three that went off the glass and found the bottom of the net. For the first time in the entire contest, South Windsor had the lead. What was once a 19 point deficit now read 41-39.
Ludlowe missed the ensuing three and began the foul game. The Falcons seemed to catch a break as Martin missed her free throws, however, the Lady ‘Cats captain fought through the sea of players to recover the rebound and go right back to the line. This time, she drained both.
D’Andrea drew a foul on a layup, giving the Falcons a chance, but her first free throw went off the back of the rim and prevented the lead from going down to two. With 20 seconds to go, Ludlowe trailed by three.
Martin returned to the free throw line for her third trip in the past minute. The captain buried both shots to put the final nail in the coffin.
A missed jump shot by the Falcons was rebounded by Purcell, before fittingly being handed to Martin to dribble out the clock. The horn sounded and the bench poured out to mob their teammates at mid court.
Goslin spoke to The Prowl after the game about what the comeback means for her team. “This comeback just shows how resilient we are and what happens when our players come together. At the end, it was us as a unit against Ludlowe and everyone’s main focus was on winning. That was the most connected I’ve seen our team play,” Goslin said.
Martin was proud of her team’s rare feat, saying “We haven’t been to the Quarterfinals in ten years and it’s really exciting to help lead this team there.”
Having played at South Windsor herself, Goslin knows the feeling of such a major win, saying “That is a crazy comeback win that you dream about as a little kid. For our girls to close that game out and the comeback showed their passion and revealed what our team is capable of.”
When the season seemed dead in the water with just several minutes left in the game, the Lady Bobcats now live to see another day, with a quarterfinal date set for Friday at 6:00 PM at Staples High School against the third-seeded Wreckers.
