Hand Girls Come Back to Win State Basketball Title

UNCASVILLE, CT — Colleen Caruth was 17 days old on March 13, 1999, giving her the distinction of being the sole member of the current Daniel Hand High School girls basketball team who was alive the day the Tigers won their only CIAC girls basketball state tournament.

Today, the entire Hand roster of players and coaching staff can be called champions, as the Tigers came back for a 50-45 victory over top-seeded Holy Cross in the Class L finals Sunday afternoon at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

"I didn't have to do much," Hand coach Tim Tredwell said. "We had six days to prepare, so we made sure we had fresh legs on the floor and made a couple of tweaks here and there. These kids know what they're doing, everybody understands and appreciates their role and they worked their butts off to be the best at it. It was a special group."

Hand trailed 33-28 at halftime, missing several easy layup opportunities. On the first play of the second half, the Tigers missed yet another layup chance, but from that point on, they turned on the jets.

"They're kids, it's a huge arena and you kind of expect some nerves to start," Tredwell said. "The hope was that it wouldn't get into their own heads, that they wouldn't worry about it, and these kids believed."

The Tigers recovered from that early miscue after intermission, outscoring the Crusaders 13-7 in the third quarter to assume a one-point lead heading into the final eight minutes. The defense took over, holding Holy Cross without a point for nearly half of the final period.

Emma Sullivan and Gabby Egidio each scored 12 points for the Tigers, while Halle Freund grabbed seven defensive rebounds. Idalis Miranda led Holy Cross with nine points.

Photo credits: Tim Jensen