×
×
homepage logo
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE

Cold-shooting Campbell girls can’t handle champion Conant

By Hector Longo - Special to The Telegraph | Mar 12, 2021

Campbell's Karleigh Schultz pulls up for a jumper on the fast break. The senior scored a team-high 16 points, but the Cougars fell to defending champ Conant, 65-45, in the Division III state semifinals on Thursday night.

MANCHESTER — At some point, the rim simply closed up and choked the life out of the Campbell High girls basketball season Thursday night in the Division III state semifinals at Trinity High School.

Defending champion Conant High dominated the frigid Cougars, outscoring them 19-3 in the decisive third quarter on the way to a 65-45 victory.

The Orioles will bid for a second straight title, third in the last four years, when they tangle with Fall Mountain Regional here on Sunday.

“We have a team that has struggled to put the ball in the hoop all year. We kind of made our mark on the defensive end. I thought we did a nice job creating some pressure situations tonight. I think if we could have put it in the hoop a little bit more you would have seen the defense pick up a little bit more too,” said Campbell coach Sean Hogan.

“But that’s a heck of a team over there on the other side of the ball. It’s a tough task to stop those three girls all at once at the three different positions and Liz (Gonyea) is absolutely spectacular.

“It took everything we had. I thought we put ourselves in a great position to make some shots and keep ourselves in the game. It was just one of those nights where it didn’t want to find the hoop for us, which was tough to swallow.”

Things began pretty much the way Hogan might have liked with Campbell 10-2 Campbell hunting its third straight playoff win.

Maddie Davis drilled a couple of long threes, while both Tori Allen and Karleigh Schultz were active on the offensive glass.

Still, the teams played to a 13-13 stalemate, and that had to feel like a loss for the Cougars. It also served as a harbinger of some stormy weather ahead.

Conant junior Teegan Kirby just took the game over in the second. Kirby scored six in the first and popped in 10 in the second period on her way to a game-high 18 points and the defending champs took a 32-24 lead into the break.

Ultimately, the third quarter doomed Campbell, which went the entire eight minutes without a field goal.

While Conant’s Emma Tenters and Mylie Aho had their way on one end, Campbell saw the ball carom in and out repeatedly from all angles.

“We missed a lot of shots at the rim, a lot of open threes,” said Hogan. “Defensively, they do a nice job with their on-ball defense. They’re one of the only teams we see all year that plays man. We knew we were up against it with their man defense.”

The result was a barrage that ended this one early.

For Campbell, Schultz led the way with 16 points, while Allen and Davis each finished with a dozen. All three ended their Campbell hoop careers on the floor last night, along with gritty point guard Riley Gamache and forward Alyssa Gonzalez.

Losing that quintet might be the toughest part of the night for Hogan and his program.

“Fantastic class. One of the coolest classes ever. Those five kids, I had a hard time taking any one of them off the floor. You see the passion they all play with,” said Hogan. “And Tori is an exception to that even … The way she led this team and committed to everything and cared, and really just worked so relentlessly hard. She’s the heart and soul. I couldn’t say more about everyone we have in this senior class.”

The ride with this group to the state semis, especially in a crazy season like this, will create some special memories for the entire Campbell bunch.

“We loved the opportunity. We were excited for it,” said Hogan. “It was a lot of fun. It was nice. We have had this one circled since the start. It’s bummer not to see the ball go through the hoop, but this is what it’s all about. We got to where we were looking for.”

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

Interests
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *