Tolland Girls Lose Heartbreaker to Windham in Overtime

At the beginning of the fourth quarter semifinal between Tolland and Windham on Monday, there was a noticable lull in what was otherwise an electric playoff atmosphere. With the Eagles holding a 47-29 fourth quarter lead, the chant that broke the silence wasn't a surprise.

"Sorry, Windham" was the repeated taunt from Tolland students, who had been jawing back and forth with the opposing crowd all night.

The problem was that the Windham girls on the court refused to accept the apology.

Led by the stellar efforts of seniors Haley Mather, Taylor McBride and Carlee Smith, Windham mounted a furious 30-12 fourth quarter run to force overtime and stun the Tolland faithful at Coventry High School.

Sparked by a clutch layup from Mather with 1:34 remaining, the Whippets then squeezed past the Eagles, 67-64, that put them ahead for good.  They now advance to the CIAC Class M finals at Mohegan Sun.

With the win, Windham improves to a perfect 9-0-0 record on neutral courts. For coach Ken Valliere, though, the 10th win will be the most important.

"We'll enjoy tonight and then get back after it tomorrow and prepare for [the championship], said Valliere. "We've been wanting to get to this game with these kids for four years now."

With a roster that boasts 11 seniors, Windham displayed strong experience against the young Tolland lineup. Much of that came from Smith, who powered the Whippets with nine points in the fourth, including 5 of the team's final 7 in regulation. Windham trailed by as much as 20 in the game.

Meanwhile, Tolland's star junior Kristen Schatzlein had a disappearing act during the Windham run, taking and missing just one shot in the final quarter. This came after Schatzlein entered the quarter with a strong 18 points and 19 rebounds. For Valliere, the shutdown was a product of Smith's defensive aggressiveness.

"If [Scatzlein] had kept the ball a little more, maybe she would've got to the foul line," said Valliere. "To ask Smith to guard her for 36 minutes and make shots for us and handle the ball for us - she never came out the whole game."

The melting point for Tolland might have come in the fourth, with 4:24 remaining and just a 10-point lead. Hampered by the strengthening Windham full court press, the Eagles completely missed junior Allie Gallo, open below the basket.

The mistake sent coach Rocco Sansone into a tirade, stomping his feet and yelling up the court. The entire gym could hear what he had to say.

"You got to get it over the floor," yelled Sansone.

The error was just one of many, as Windham seemed to capitalize on every missed opportunity that Tolland had to seal the win. The Eagles were in the double bonus for almost the entire fourth quarter and overtime, but only shot 4 for 10 at the free throw line down the stretch. For the game, Tolland shot just 48 percent from the stripe.

The opposing Windham crowd played off the Tolland free throw difficulties all night, chanting "pressure" every single time an Eagle went to the line at the end of the game.

Before Monday's nailbiter, Windham had coasted through tournament play with three straight 20-plus point victories. Tolland also won by double digits in the previous three games.

In the heartbreaking loss, Schatzlein finished with 21. Teammate Jenna Lovett battled foul trouble all night, but finished with 11. Mather led Windham with 20 points.

Elsewhere in semifinal action, Weaver went on to beat Lewis Mills 44-39. They will face Windham in the championship game this weekend.