East Hampton Holds Off Old Lyme

After losing to Old Saybrook last week, East Hampton coach Shaun Russell said that his team had to find a way to keep games in 30s. His team must be listening.

The Bellringers fought off Old Lyme 34-31 Tuesday night at home to end a three-game losing streak. It was East Hampton's second consecutive game holding an opponent to under 40 points.

"We really dug in and played solid team defense tonight using many combinations of players," Russell said. "We rebounded well all night and were good enough with the ball to give ourselves some chances to get good shots off of our offensive sets. I am really proud of how the kids played and fought tonight."

Russell has been searching throughout the season for that right combination. What has worked one night hasn't necessarily worked the next. Against the Wild Cats, he called it a team effort.

"This was a quality win consisting of a great team effort. Everyone who played gave something of value to the team," Russell said. "Hailey Picking and Becca Gustine had excellent floor games and played tough defense. Adrianna Zawodniak and Ashley Chasse gave us big rebounds and helped with handling the pressure. Sarah [Denehan] and Klaudia [Komarnicka] made some big plays and made some critical shots. Taylor Muncy and Megan Close gave really quality minutes off the bench especially on the offensive end of the floor."

Denihan and Komarnicka scoed eight points each to lead East Hampton. Muncy, a freshman, scored six.

The Bellringers (3-7) and Wild Cats (2-9) played to a 13-13 tie in the first half, but East Hampton prevailed in the end, in large part to its defense, which held Old Lyme to 10 baskets. Five of those baskets were scored by Nicki Strizzi, who led Old Lyme with 17 points.

"We moved forward in our overall game tonight and we still have room to improve, but we are getting there," Russell said. "This was a big win especially playing without starter Leah Coughlin [illness], who has been our most consistent player thus far. It is going to take contributions from everyone going forward on any given night as finding the right combination of players each night will be key. They all must be prepared to play."

East Hampton will now prepare to play at Haddam-Killingworth on Friday. The Cougars (6-3) lost to Portland 49-47 in overtime on Tuesday night.