New Canaan 5th grade Girls Basketball Loses Heartbreaker to Amity Force

The 5th grade girls basketball team played another tight game on Saturday but lost to Amity Force 23-20.  New Canaan came out with a strong balanced game for the first quarter.  Scoring by Emma Gibbens and Marlee Smith put them up 4-0, and strong defense by Brynn Harris and Eleanor Lapin kept the game tight, and New Canaan led 4-2 at the end of the first.   

Quinn McKiernan started the second quarter by draining 2 free throws after an Amity technical foul. The team played tough in the second quarter with good defense from Julia Bazata, Holly Knight and Chloe Reidy, but Amity was able to fight back, and the second half ended with New Canaan down 13-8.

New Canaan set the tone for the second half right at the beginning of the third quarter with a short jumper by Emma Gibbens.  However, Amity turned up the heat.  Baskets from Gibbens and Cameron Murphy were not enough, and New Canaan ended the third quarter down 17-14. 

The fourth quarter was neck and neck.  Baskets by Gibbens and McKiernan kept the game tight, and excellent defense and rebounding was giving fits to the Amity offense.  Both McKiernan and Lapin came through with steals at key moments, but at the end New Canaan could not come through with a win.