Lady Hatters Stumble At New Canaan

The Lady Hatters suffered an early exit from the 2011 FCIAC Tournament on Saturday at New Canaan High School with a 51-46 loss to the hosting Rams. 

Danbury got off to a slow start (scoring just four points in the first quarter) and gradually turned up the tempo as the game wore on, but turnovers and missed foul shots got in the way of a Hatters comeback bid.

Danbury showed an early persistence to shoot the three-pointer, despite its resistance to fall through the basket.  The Hatters shot 3-for-20 (15%) from beyond the arc in the game, including just 2-for-9 in the first half.

“I think they just were open, and saw that everyone was doubling down on Casey [Smith]” said Danbury Head Coach Jackie DiNardo after the game.  “And we’re just not hitting the shot.”

A bright spot for the Hatters came in the fourth quarter, when junior co-captain Casey Smith sunk consecutive free throws to score her 1,000th career point.  The game was put on hold momentarily while Danbury Head Coach Jackie DiNardo presented Smith with a celebratory bouquet. 

“I’m happy for her, and she’s got another year,” DiNardo said.  “She’s over 500 rebounds too, that’s something that came up, and you know, she deserves it.”

Notably, the Rams celebrated the career of junior Sarah Mannelly, who also scored her 1,000th career point in the game, just minutes earlier.

Smith led the Danbury effort with a game-high 27 points on an 11-for-18 performance from the field and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe.  Senior captain Rabia Rawji and freshman guard Rachel Gartner added eight points a piece for the Hatters.

New Canaan used a more balanced offensive assault, with three players scoring in the double digits.  Senior co-captain Christina Loop led the Rams with 15 points as Mannelly and senior co-captain Melissa Tweed added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Hatters shot 16-for-48 (33%) from the field, with the Rams shooting a similar 18-for-55 (33%).  DiNardo said after the game that the difference was in the free throws – the Hatters shot 11-for-20 (55%) from the free throw line, including six misses in the game’s pivotal fourth quarter.

“You can’t miss that many free throws in the fourth quarter.” DiNardo said after the game.

Smith agreed.  “I think tonight it was our foul shots, our turnovers,” she said.  “It was just one of those games, it happens every now and then.”

The loss means an ecit from the FCIAC tournament, but the Lady Hatters still have a chance to make some noise in the state tournament this weekend at Danbury High School, when they host Southington in the first round.  Smith said there’s only one way the Hatters know how to prepare.

“Long practices,” she said.  “We’re going to want it more, because we lost two tough games before we beat Bassick, and then came here and lost.  So we want it a lot more.”