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Sports

Rams Out Scrap Blue Wave

New Canaan girls basketball overcomes Darien to advance in the CIAC Tournament.

When the referee tells you tuck your shirt, you know you might be in for a sloppy game. 

That was exactly how the New Canaan girls basketball game against Darien started out Monday night, but it ended in a great way for the Rams as they were able to pull out a 59-51 victory and move on to face Pomperaug in the second round of the CIAC Class L Tournament. New Canaan improved to 16-6 with the win.

"We were rushing things a little bit," head coach Kim Palmer said of the haphazard way her offense played early in the game.

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Luckily for the Rams the defense was there to pick up the slack, holding Darien to only two made field goals and 5 points in the opening quarter. Despite the sloppiness the Rams were able to score 14 in the first, and take a commanding early lead.

The key to that early lead was the play of sophomore point guard Sarah Mannelly. She pushed the ball with blazing speed at both ends of the court, compiling a stat line that Jason Kidd would envy. Mannelly finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.  

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"She's a game changer for us," Palmer said, " and when the ball's in her hands she makes things happen, and that's what she's been able to do all year for us."

The recipient of a couple of Mannelly's assists was senior guard Kacey Pippit, who's gotten to know Mannelly's style of play by teaming with her in a few different sports.

"We just have this eye contact thing where we always see each other on the floor," Pippit said of Mannelly. Sort of like being on the same wavelength.

Darien made the Rams work in the middle of the game, keeping pace with the New Canaan offense and making some big stops on defense during the second and third quarters. They were outscoring the Rams until the very end of the half, when New Canaan was able to get to the free throw line and finish the second quarter on a 7-0 run to make the score 35-21.

The Blue Wave came out after the intermission utilizing a full court press to try and cause some turnovers. They were also sure to keep constant pressure on the two Ram guards.  This worked well for Darien, as New Canaan seemed a little flustered and couldn't score for the first two minutes of the third quarter. The Wave kept it up, and outscored the Rams in the quarter to cut the lead to 44-33.

"We had rough patches in the second and third quarter, but we were able to pull it together," Pippit said.

Pull it together they did, as the Rams were able to distance themselves from Darien and get the lead up as high as 21 before putting in the subs. The dagger came at the end of a 6-2 run when Erin Fessler was able to nail a  beautiful baseline jumper off a feed from Pippit, ending any hope Darien had. 

"We lost to them at the beginning of the year, and the girls still remember that," Palmer said. "They had a lot of unfinished business in regard to playing Darien." 

It showed, as the Rams pulled away right from the start and never gave the Blue Wave a real shot. They'll need to keep this up to compete with their second round opponent—5th seeded Pomperaug—who dismantled Fairfield-Warde 62-36.

"Pomperaug is really big, so we'll be bringing in some of the freshman boys to help us practice and get ready for their size," Pippit said.

Palmer knows that despite how well they played Monday, taking down Pomperaug will be a tall order.

"There are definitely some things to work on in the next two days." 

The Rams play at Pomperaug Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m.

——

KEY STATS

New Canaan Leaders:

  • Points—Mannelly, 19
  • Assists—Pippit, 6        
  • Rebounds—Warlich, 9

Darien Leader:

  • Points—Buch, 26
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