Enfield Girls Pass First Tough Test

ENFIELD, CT — After breezing to a trio of season-opening victories, the Enfield High School girls basketball team faced its first challenge Thursday night, in the form of 2016 Class LL semifinalist E.O. Smith.

The Eagles jumped to a quick start, opening up a 15-2 lead in the first quarter, then withstood a Panther fourth-quarter comeback to emerge with a 51-41 victory.

Danielle Delano set the tone by draining a three-point shot just nine seconds into the contest, one of four treys she would make in the first half, including a banked buzzer-beater at the conclusion of the first half. She finished with a game-high 20 points.

Enfield broke open a tight contest with a 10-0 run early in the third quarter to stretch the margin to 17. The Panthers responded with six straight points to close the deficit to 39-28 entering the final period.

A 7-2 stretch enabled the Panthers to close within six with 1:19 to play, but final-minute baskets by Cat Fonseca and Delano sealed the Enfield win.

Mary Baskerville had 15 points for the Eagles, but sat out a good portion of the game with foul trouble. DElano had nine steals, four assists and four blocked shots, as a tenacious Enfield defense held first-team All-State player McKenna Dale to just 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the game's final six minutes.

The Eagles return to action Wednesday, hosting Rockville in the opening round of the Enfield Rotary Classic at 7 p.m.

Photo credits: Tim Jensen