Enfield Girls Eke Out Overtime Win in Rotary Tournament

ENFIELD, CT — For the second straight year, Enfield High School had all it could handle with Bacon Academy in the finals of the Enfield Rotary Classic girls basketball tournament.

Last season, the Bobcats came oh so close, falling in the title game 51-47 in becoming the only team to lose by a single-digit margin during Enfield's 20-0 regular season.

Fresh off an impressive 58-39 win over a good Wethersfield team in the tournament's first round, Bacon looked to be the squad that would end the Eagles' 36-game regular season winning streak, and remain undefeated in the process.

They very nearly pulled it off, rallying from eight points down in the final 6:43 of regulation time, then grabbing a three-point lead in overtime before the hosts came back to tie it again in the final minute.

With just 2.9 ticks left on the clock, Enfield's Erica Lovering, who had knotted the contest at 53 with a basket 40 seconds earlier, was fouled and sent to the free throw line. After missing her first attempt, she drained the second, then helped stymie a desperate Bobcat attempt for a last-second miracle shot to enable the Eagles to escape with a 54-53 victory and their fourth straight Rotary Classic championship.

Enfield started the contest looking as if it intended to run Bacon right out of the gym, as Danielle Delano canned a three-pointer just six seconds after the opening tip. However, the Bobcats, guided by 2012 Gold Key Award-winning head coach Dave Shea, embarked on a 7-0 run to put the Eagles in an unfamiliar position - down by four.

Three straight hoops by Mary Baskerville and another trey by Delano pushed Enfield back in front late in the first quarter, and a buzzer-beater by Cassie Urso extended the advantage to 29-19 at halftime.

After intermission, a Baskerville layup provided Enfield its largest lead at 12, but Bacon outscored the Eagles 13-6 over the remainder of the third quarter to trail 37-32 entering the final eight minutes.

A key moment came when Baskerville fouled out of the contest with the Eagles leading 45-41 with 3:04 to play in regulation. The Bobcats took advantage of her removal, scoring four straight points to tie the game. Regina LeBlanc knocked down a pair of free throws to reclaim the lead for Enfield, but a basket by Jocelyn Luizzi sent the teams into an extra session.

A three-pointer by Bridget Anderson provided Bacon a 52-49 lead, but Delano trimmed that to one with 1:15 left. Kellie Nudd made a free throw for the Bobcats, but Lovering tied it again with 43 seconds left to set up her dramatic final-moment heroics.

Baskerville led three Eagles in double figures with 14 points, with Delano and LeBlanc contributing 10 apiece. Luizzi took game scoring honors with 21 points, giving her 38 in two games to earn the tournament Most Valuable Player award, while Jill Reynolds added 12 for the Bobcats.

Baskerville, Delano, LeBlanc, Luizzi and Reynolds were named to the All-Tournament team, along with Evelyn DeVaux of Wethersfield, which topped Rockville 53-24 in the consolation game prior to the title tilt.

Enfield (6-0), which has won 37 straight regular season games since a 51-48 loss to Suffield on Jan. 9, 2015, resumes play Wednesday, traveling to RHAM at 6:45 p.m. Bacon Academy (5-1) hosts New London Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Photo credits: Tim Jensen