Cheshire Girls' Basketball Advances in SCC Tourney

The Cheshire girls basketball team breezed to a 49-28 SCC Tournament first-round victory over Amity Thursday night at Cheshire High.

Now comes the hard part. The Rams will meet Mercy, the No. 1 team in the state and top seed in the tournament, Saturday at noon at West Haven High in the second round. The Rams have lost twice to Mercy this season by 38 and 29 points. Still, Thursday's win was a confidence builder.

"I wanted to come out of here with a little run," Cheshire head coach Sarah Mik said. "I know Amity tries to slow things down like they did in the first half. We come out we don't press in the second half. That's not the kind of coach I am, let them back in it a little bit, and then our fourth quarter, thank goodness was little bit more on fire. I wanted to leave this game kind of on a roll, running, running, running, just to create that little atmosphere because that's all we're going to see on Saturday. I didn't want that slow-down atmosphere."

Cheshire (11-10), which has defeated Amity three times this season, won this game in the first half with its pressing defense and by creating good looks at the basket. The Rams took a 16-7 lead after the first quarter on 6 of 11 shooting while holding Amity to 2-for-9 from the field.

It was more of the same in the second quarter as Amity finished the half 3-for-19 from the field and the Rams opened a 27-11 lead, behind Julia Strobel's 10 first-half points (16 for the game).

Strobel, who also had four rebounds and three blocks, was comfortable in the post and able to find her shot easily.

"It's a great way to start the SCCs. We had a great night, a really strong beginning," Strobel said. "I guess I was on tonight. It was easier than any other night. I was taller than most of the other girls so it worked out well."

"She's feeling it," Mik said. "She started off strong, but now she's feeling the crunch time. It could be a one-and-done situation. She wants to definitely leave a mark."

Amity actually outscored Cheshire in the third quarter 7-6 as the game slowed to Amity's perferred half-court tempo, but the Rams got to the free-throw line early in the fourth, hitting 7 of 8 for the quarter, and pulled away with a 13-3 run for a 47-21 lead with 2:39 left in the game.

"We had an opportunity, it was 18-11, there were a couple of possessions to make it a tight game," Amity head coach Michelle Martinik said. "Cheshire, they're a great team and once they get a big lead on you, it's tough to come back from.

"We showed a lot of character in the second half," Martinik added. "It's tough to come out down 16. This is the first time any of these girls have been in a postseason, myself included."

Tabitha Brown finished with a team-high nine points  and Chloe Brinton added seven for Amity (11-10).

Cheshire freshman Missy Bailey, who along with Strobel earned All-Housatonic honors, added 13 points, including three threes, and made two steals.

Mik knows her team will have to execute on Saturday no matter what approach the Rams take against Mercy.

"Even in the two losses we went in differently," Mik said. "Last game we tried to slow the game down, spread the ball out and realistically it helped because it held them to 56 points just because we had the ball a little bit longer than they did. We're not going to do that as much offensively. We just need to take care of the ball. We work the press-breaker because that's where they work the majority of their points. If you can be strong with the ball, keep your head up, you have a chance."

"(Tonight's win) definitely gives us confidence (going in against Mercy)," Strobel said. "The first time they made us run and run and run. And I think we're ready this time. Hopefully it will be a good game. I think we could definitely break their press and win if we just all five of us work well and are on the same page."