Lady Hatters Stomp Southington, Advance in State Tourney

After losing three of their last four games, including a first-round exit from the FCIAC Tournament at the hands of New Canaan, the Lady Hatters are back to playing championship-caliber basketball, trouncing the visiting Blue Knights of Southington High School by a final score of 66-31 Tuesday at Danbury High School.

“They were hungry,” Danbury Head Coach Jackie DiNardo said of her players after the game.  “They got tired of getting beat up, tired of being on the short end of the stick.”

The #11-seeded Hatters wasted no time establishing themselves as the dominant team, running out to a 12-0 advantage to start the game.  Southington finally found the scoreboard after nearly five minutes of play, but they were unable to keep up with Danbury the entire night. 

The Hatters led 20-7 at the end of the first stanza and never looked back, holding the Blue Knights to just 11-for-48 shooting from the field (23%).

Senior captain Rabia Rawji led the Hatters with 21 points on a 9-for-11 performance from the field, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc.  Her sole three-pointer came in the first quarter, and seemed to ignite the senior captain’s confidence, rendering her virtually unstoppable for the rest of the evening.

“As soon as I hit that first three, I kept going,” Rawji said after the game.  “I didn’t want it to be my last game.  The intensity was great.”

Junior captain Casey Smith achieved her 20th double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and snagging 12 rebounds.  Although she was held to shooting just 6-for-17 from the field, she demonstrated her versatility in this game, recording 5 steals, 5 blocks, and 4 assists.

Freshman guard Rebecca Gartner added 8 points for the Hatters, including two three-pointers that found the basket.  Uniqua Tucker added 9 off the bench, including a three-pointer of her own, for Danbury in perhaps her finest performance of the season.

Just three players found their way onto the score sheet for Southington.  Tori Munson led the effort for the Blue Knights, scoring 17 points on the evening.  Mariah Berry dropped 11 points, while Donielle Charamut added 3.

With the win, the Hatters advance to the next round of the tournament, where they’ll travel to Glastonbury to face the #3-seeded Tomahawks, who advanced with a first-round win over Stamford.  Glastonbury is 19-2 on the season, and according to MaxPreps.com, the best team in the state.

“They’re at two losses, they’re in a tough league, and I hear they’re a great team,” DiNardo said after the game.  “We’re going to have to be ready to play.”

RaRawji’s confidence was still soaring after the game, and she isn’t fazed by the Tomahawks’ record or their ranking.

“We have a few days of practice, and we’ll be fine,” she said.  “If we bring the same intensity we brought today, we’ll beat them.”

Tip-off at Glastonbury High School is slated for 7 p.m. this Friday.