Lady Hatters Lose in Heartbreaker on Senior Night

The visiting Vikings of Westhill High School spoiled the Lady Hatters’ celebration of Senior Night, defeating Danbury 47-46 in a heartbreaking thriller that came down to the game’s final possession. 

The Hatter offense was explosive early, jumping out to a 19-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Danbury led by a ten-point performance from junior captain Casey Smith, shot 9-for-11 from the field during the opening stanza.

Then they went cold.

The Hatters scored just four points in the second quarter on a 1-for-8 performance from the field, and the Vikings were able to storm back and enter halftime with a 26-23 lead. 

The third quarter was no kinder to the Hatters, and the deficit grew.  The Danbury shooting woes continued, as only two shots from the field found the basket in the third quarter.  With the game entering the final period, Westhill held a 37-29 lead and appeared to have the game all but wrapped up.

And then, Rebecca Gartner found her stroke.  After shooting just 1-for-9 (including 0-4 from beyond the arc) in the game’s opening three periods, the freshman guard electrified the packed crowd by draining three fourth quarter 3-point shots, leading the Hatters attempt at a comeback with nine points in the final quarter. 

“Coach kept on telling me to just keep shooting, no matter what, so I did,” Rebecca said after the game.  “I just forget about the misses and try to keep on my game.

With just 13 seconds on the clock and trailing by one, senior captain Rabia Rawji inbounded the ball on the Vikings’ end of the court.  A stingy Westhill defense didn’t give the Hatters an easy shot, and freshman Rachel Gartner was forced to put up a desperation 3-pointer that didn’t hit the mark as time expired.

Danbury Head Coach Jackie DiNardo seemed to believe that the anxiety factor certainly came into play during that last possession.

“They didn’t want to be the person who missed the shot,” she said after the game. “And I hate to keep saying it, but that’s lack of experience.”

The Danbury effort was led by Casey Smith, who led all scorers with 19 points on an 8-for-10 performance from the field and 3-for-3 shooting from the foul line.  Rebecca Gartner added 13 for the Hatters in her best offensive performance to date.

The Vikings were led by Megan D’Allesandro with 14 points and Suzanne Cohen with 13 points, including a 3-for-4 performance from 3-point range and 2-for-2 shooting from the charity stripe.

With the loss, Danbury falls to 14-4 on the season.  They’ll be looking to get back on track with a game against Darien on Monday.  Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Danbury High School.