West Haven rallies late, tops Sheehan

WEST HAVEN — Despite her team’s offensive struggles, West Haven senior Amani Abuhatab knew the Westies just needed to find a way in the final eight minutes. Regarded as one of the best players in the state, Abuhatab showed everyone why.

Scoring six of her team’s 10 fourth quarter points, including four consecutive points to break a tie with three minutes remaining in regulation, Abuhatab led the Westies to a 43-39 victory over Sheehan in a Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision contest Friday evening.

“We had to be mentally tough,” Abuhatab said. “We had to work well as a team. We were missing our shots and we had to adjust and step up in big moments to win the game.”

Not only did Abuhatab finish with a game-high 20 points, she was a force on the boards, finishing with 21 rebounds, including several early in the fourth quarter when the two teams were battling for the lead.

“Amani is obviously, in our opinion, the best player in the state,” West Haven coach Jessica Moriarty said of her senior star. “Obviously, she is the full package. She does it all. She didn’t play her best tonight and still scored 20 points. That says something in itself.

“She is a competitor and wants to win. She steps up in big moments, whether it is getting fouled or putting the ball in the basket. The game was tight. Our shots were off. We weren’t hitting. When the game is on the line, we want the ball in her hands.”

The victory was West Haven’s fourth in a row and eighth in nine games to help the Westies improve to 11-4 on the year. The win also capped a week of three more victories after a thrilling win over Hand a week earlier.

“We know Sheehan is a very good team so we had to really lock them up, contest all their shots, get over their screens, and box them out as they are really tall,“Abuhatab said.

For Sheehan, it was a game which saw a slow start, then a rally to take the lead (32-30) for the first time in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by freshman Jenna Wresien, before the offense again sputtered in the fourth quarter. The Titans hit on only two field goals in the final eight minutes, a bucket by Susan Hotaling to get within 39-37 with three minutes to go, and another by Olivia Cassesse with 10 seconds to go to get Sheehan within three.

“We just got out of sync,” Sheehan coach Mike Busillo said after his team fell to 11-3. “I thought we turned the ball over a few too many times. We missed a couple of makeable ones. We didn’t do a good job moving the ball and getting into our sets. Part of it was them. They played with a lot of good defensive intensity tonight.”

Abuhatab iced the game at the free throw line for the Westies with seven seconds remaining. The Westies only hit on three field goals in the final quarter, the first by Ella Morgan to even the game at 35, and the final two by Abuhatab.

Leading by three, Abuhatab increased the lead to four points with 39.5 seconds to go and the rest was up to the West Haven defense.

“Our defense has been excellent yesterday and today,” Moriarty said. “We had to obviously improve on communicating with screens and things like that, but, for the most part overall, we did a solid job defensively. They are a very good team. There were a lot of contested shots. We were able to jam them on the 3point line.”

The Westies got off to a quick start with a 10-2 lead as Abuhatab scored the first six points, followed by a basket by Dealyce Howard.

A 3-pointer by Sheehan’s Reilly Hunter got the Titans within 16-15, and another 3-pointer by Megan Wresien cut the West Haven lead to 20-18. The Westies answered with 3pointers by Noelle Lawrence and Isabella Fiorillo to take a 26-20 lead at the half.

“We had two tough games in a row, and I think our legs are definitely tired,” Moriarty said. “We are a talented team. Sometimes we overthink, instead of letting the game come to them.”

The Westies struggled offensively in the third quarter as they managed just two field goals, one apiece by Abuhatab and Kassidy Carrano, as Sheehan took a 35-33 lead on a bucket by Megan Wresien with two seconds left in the third quarter.

Ella Morgan had six points in the win for the Westies, while Lawrence added five. Hotaling led Sheehan with 12 points, while Megan Wresien added 10 in the loss.

PLAYER OF THE GAME Amani Abuhatab, West Haven:

Senior scored 20 points and pulled down 21 rebounds to help lead the Westies to their fourth straight win.

QUOTABLE

“I just did what had to be done. I had to step up in a big moment because we wanted to win this game.” — West Haven’s Amani Abuhatab

WEST HAVEN 43, SHEEHAN 39

Sheehan ..................... 5 15 15 4 — 39 West Haven .............. 10 16 7 10 — 43 Sheehan (11-3): Megan Wresien 3 1 1-4 10; Susie Hotaling 2 2 2-2 12; Reilly Hunter 1 1 0-0 5; Liv Cassesse 2 0 0-5 4; Jenna Wresien 1 1 0-1 5; Bella Perno 0 1 0-0 3. Total 9 6 3-12

West Haven (11-4): Amani Abuhatab 7 0 6-10 20; Kassidy Carrano 1 0 1-2 3; Dealyce Howard 1 0 0-0 2; Isabella Fiorillo 0 1 0-0 3; Ella Morgan 2 0 2-2 6; Ciara Harp 0 0 2-3 2; Arianna Titus 1 0 0-0 2; Noelle Lawrence 1 1 0-0 5. Total 13 2 11-17 43