Endorf, Granby Memorial Girls Advance to NCCC Semis with Win Over Bolton

Kristen Endorf scored 13 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead the No. 3 Granby Memorial High girls basketball team past No. 6 Bolton 62-45 in the NCCC tournament quarterfinals Saturday at Suffield Middle School.

“She’s an all-league guard,” Granby Memorial head coach Dean Godin said of Endorf. “That was a special half of basketball. She didn’t force anything. She played both ends of the floor. She made great decisions. She could have easily had five or six assists tonight, but we didn’t hit some shots.”

Endorf had a relatively quiet game leading up to the final period after drawing two quick fouls in the first quarter, earning her a spot on the bench for the rest of the half.

“I had to sit her,” Godin said. “What we do here, if you get two fouls in 1st half you got to sit. We did well with her on the bench [at first].”

Indeed, the Bears built a 22-11 lead with 2:34 left in the second quarter before Bolton scored five straight points to end the half at 22-16.

In the third, Granby Memorial pulled ahead 35-24, only to see its lead whittled down to 35-30 at the end of the period.

But Godin credited his seniors - including Endorf, Haley Makuch (11 points), defensive specialist Gabby Dixon (six points) and Kylynn Kane (five points) - for keeping the team focused despite the Bulldogs’ counter punches.

The Bears outscored Bolton 27-15 in the fourth quarter to advance to the semifinals

“The reason why we won was that we had senior leadership,” Goding said. “We had Kristen and Haley and a bunch of kids who took over at the end. Gabby Dixon gave us great minutes. If we had a young team, that’s a loss tonight.

“Kylynn Kane played really well. She gave us some great minutes off the bench. Teams have been playing us small and she hasn’t been able to get in as much and she was ready for it.”

Emily Stone had eight points, Emily Uhl had five, Ellie McDougall had three and Michele Guttermuth and Sara Eckhardt both had two.

Bolton, for its part, was led by Jaime Grzych and Erin Westerman, who each had 10 points, followed by Emelie Vanasse (8 points), Olivia Schipani (6 points), Paige Swanbon (4), Ali Hanlon (3), Kelsey Socha (2) and Sarah Marshall (2).

“I wasn’t happy with our defense in the first half,” Bolton head coach Wayne Hapgood said. “We didn’t play the type of defense that we could play. We stepped up in the third, but the fourth once we put them on the line and they started to hit [free throws], the game was over.”

Bolton (12-9, 10-7) must now wait until Feb. 28 to play in the first round of the CIAC state tournament.

“We thought we would have 12 wins by the end of the season, and that’s what we ended up,” Hapgood said. “We got pretty good bracket in the states.”

It was a big victory for Granby Memorial, on the other hand, as it is guaranteed playing two more games before the state Class M tournament.

The Bears (17-4, 14-4 NCCC) will face No. 2 Suffield High in the semifinals this Tuesday. And, at worst, if Granby loses for a third time this season to the Wildcats, it will play in the conference consolation game for third place.

“Survive and advance, that’s what I told my team,” Godin said. “I haven’t been really thrilled with the two days of practice before this. I thought our focus once regular season ends there’s a break in the norm. Instead of thinking it’s the end of something, it’s the start of something new.”