Mercy returns to SCC final

MILFORD >> Keri Kernisan and the Mercy girls basketball team are no strangers to the finals of the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament. It comes as no surprise the senior was a key reason the Tigers returned to the league finals for the fifth straight season.

Behind 11 points from Kernisan and a strong first-half performance, the second-seeded Tigers ran past sixth-seeded Guilford 6234 Monday in the opening contest of an SCC semifinal doubleheader at Jonathan Law in Milford.

“That means a lot to us,” Kernisan said of the fifth straight finals appearance. “We have been there the last four years and they have been great games. We go into

these games with a good chance to be successful.”

Mercy (19-3), ranked fifth in the Register/GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, will face the Hand/Hamden winner in the finals at East Haven High Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. Mercy and Hand have met the last two seasons in the league finals, with Mercy winning in 2015, and Hand the defending league champion.

Trailing by three points in the first quarter, the Tigers went on a 15-0 run to take a 20-8 lead early in the second quarter. Sophomore Kameryn King hit a pair of 3-pointers in the run which turned the game around early.

“We did not play a good game the other day against Hillhouse,” Mercy coach Tim Kohs said. “Hillhouse did a good job, but we did not seem organized. We wanted to be patient tonight and take the right shots. In all of our runs, it seemed like we got all the shots we wanted, and they went in.”

After a 3-pointer by Guilford’s Amanda King snapped the run and got the Indians within nine points, the Tigers followed with a 13-0 run to take a commanding 33-11 lead. Junior Isabella Santoro was the catalyst in the combined 28-3 stretch with seven points, almost guaranteeing Mercy its fifth straight league finals appearance.

“I knew we had to hang with them early,” Guilford coach Bob Welsh said. “My guys are 16-7 and had a signature win Saturday against Career. Today, Mercy was hot as a pistol. They are a good team and are very well coached. They were hot tonight.”

King led Mercy with 13 points, while Santoro and Meghan DeVille each had 12 in the win for Mercy.

Amanda King led Guilford with 15 points.