New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Abuhatab, West Haven upset No. 5 Hand
MADISON — When it’s crunch time, the plan for the West Haven girls basketball team is to get the ball into the hands of Amani Abuhatab.
And Abuhatab came through big-time Friday night for the Blue Devils as she canned the game-winner, a 10-foot jumper from the left side with 3.1 seconds remaining as West Haven upset No. 5 Hand 60-59 in a Southern Connecticut Conference girls’ basketball contest.
“I just had to step up in a big moment,” said Abuhatab, who led all scorers with 26 points. “We were down one and to beat a good team I had to make the shot.”
“She’s the best player on the floor and with her, I have all the confidence in the world,” West Haven coach Jessica Moriarty said. “She’s proven to be one of the best players in the state and when you have that on your team, you want that kid to have the ball.”
Hand (9-3) had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Annie Goodrich’s long pass went off the left hand of Natalie Lucas just in front of the free throw line and West Haven’s Kassidy Carrano dove on the ball as time expired.
“With two bodies around her, she didn’t get a clean catch on it,” Hand coach Tim Tredwell said. “It’s something we’ve practiced a little bit, but clearly not enough. We had a chance. It just didn’t work out.”
It also threw West Haven (8-4) into the mix in what has been a wild three-team race for second place behind Hand, Mercy and Sacred Heart Academy in the SCC behind unbeaten and top-ranked Hamden.
“We sent a message we can compete with higher teams,” Abuhatab said. “Our whole team wanted it today.”
Moriarty said it was clearly the biggest win of the season to date for the Blue Devils.
“I think it’s a step in the right
direction,” Moriarty said. “Those four teams are all tremendous teams. This was a huge win tonight to prove we can play with those top teams.”
Tredwell said it’s a battle every night.
“This league is stacked,” Tredwell said. “You have to show up every single night. If you make the semifinals or through the semifinals in the SCC, you’ll accomplish something.”
Hand raced out to a quick 12-1 lead in under four minutes behind the shooting of Natalie Lucas, who had nine points in the first quarter.
“We just had to settle down,” Moriarty said. “We were erratic and were doing things that weren’t in the scouting report. We were doing the opposite.”
However, the Blue Devils slowly chipped away, taking the lead 22-21 on a bucket by Isabella Fiorillo with 2:36 to play until halftime.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Moriarty said. “They are going to go on theirs and we’ll go on ours. We’re just notorious for getting off to slow starts.”
A three-pointer by Aubrey Canth gave Hand the lead back, 26-24, with 51 seconds until the break. The Tigers held the lead
at 28-26 at intermission.
The lead went back and forth in the third quarter, but a trey by Ciara Harp with 48 seconds to go in the period gave West Haven the lead, 44-43. The Blue Devils extended it to 48-43 at the end of the quarter.
The lead changed hands six times in the final quarter with neither team taking more than a three-point lead.
But it came down to the final 10 seconds when Carson Miller hit a layup to give the Tigers a 59-58 lead before Abuhatab hit
the game-winner.
“West Haven is a really good team and they have one of the most dominant performers in the league, if not the state,” Tredwell said. “When they got it back to 0-0, it’s anyone’s game. We had a stagnant second quarter and after that it was a dogfight. They just ended up getting the last shot.”
WEST HAVEN 60, HAND 59
WEST HAVEN ......... 10 16 20 14 — 60 HAND ...................... 18 10 15 16 — 59 WEST HAVEN (8-4): Amani Abuhatab 12 2-4 26, Kassidy Carrano 5 0-0 11, Dealyce Howard 1 0-0 3, Isabella Fiorillo 3 0-1 7, Ciara Harp 2 2-2 7, Arianna Titus 3 0-0 6, Ella Morgan 0 0-0 0, Mya Flemming 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 4-7 60.
HAND (9-3): Maya Blomberg 1 2-2 4, Annie Goodrich 4 3-4 14, Natalie Lucas 7 1-1 16, Coco Rourke 5 0-0 10, Carson Miller 2 0-1 4, Aubrey Canth 2 0-0 5, Abbey Richard 3 0-1 6. Totals 24 6-9 59. Three-point goals: WH — Carrano 1, Howard 1, Fiorillo 1, Harp 1. Hand — Goodrich 3, Lucas 1, Canth 1.