By Michael Letendre

NEWINGTON – The Bristol Eastern girls basketball team wasn’t content just to show up for its first round CCC Tournament clash against top-ranked Newington on Thursday night.

And the No. 16 ranked Lancers frustrated the Nor’easters from the initial jump ball until the final horn.

Newington managed to come away with a 40-32 victory but had to fend off pesky Eastern (10-11) throughout the affair.

Six lead changes highlighted a back-and-forth first half and while a slick 15-2 second period spurt by Newington (17-3) put some distance between the squads, the home team never was able to shake Eastern until the end.

“They did a good job, especially in the first quarter and a half,” said Eastern coach Tony Floyd. “We did a really good job defensively. We got a little tired. We really don’t have a deep bench right now.”

The Kingstreeters defense held the Nor’easters to just 32-percent shooting from the field (16-of-50) while the program misfired on 19 of 22 3-point attempts.

The 40 points was the fewest Newington scored in a game during the month of February.

Eastern limited high-scoring Bela Cucuta to just 14 points, Selah Prignano tallied only nine while Ella Stair notched all six of her points over first quarter play.

“I thought the kids did a really great job today playing against” Newington said Floyd. “They’re a good team, there’s no doubt about it. I thought we did some very good things defensively. I was very pleased about the defense, making it tough for them to shoot the ball, getting some rebounds and taking them out of their offense a little bit and making them uncomfortable out there.”

Eastern freshman Autumn Udoh posted a team-high 14 points and 13 rebounds to go along with a couple steals, Vanessa Drury scored six of her nine points over first period play, Amanda Noel chipped in four points and a couple rebounds off the bench while Taigan Parent added a hoop, three rebounds and three assists.

Leah Roy nabbed two points and seven rebounds and Lauren Ayotte snared five rebounds as Eastern’s top-six players all kept the team afloat against the CCC’s top squad.

“Vanessa did a very good job settling the team down the team today and executing,” said Floyd. “ They all did. Taigan did a good job running the offense and playing defense on [Stair]. Leah did an excellent job [defensively] on their best player.”

“As a team, I thought they all did well out there [including] Lauren Ayotte and Autumn Udoh.”

It was a back-and-forth first quarter as Drury splashed in three hoops over the first 3:25 of the contest – leading to Eastern’s 6-5 edge.

The teams then exchanged 7-0 runs and on the Eastern front, Roy found Noel for a hoop, Drury did the same on an Udoh bucket – as did Parent – and when Drury cashed in a free throw with 4:53 to go before the half, the Lancers were in charge at 13-12.

But the Nor’easters ended the half on that 15-2 jaunt – with two Udoh free throws the only offense Eastern could muster over the run – as two big 3s by Brianna Gadarowski and Cucuta propelled the team to a 27-15 edge at the half. 

“I think we got a little tired and we lost a little focus on defense especially in the second quarter,” said Floyd. “I thought that hurt us in the middle of the second quarter. They made a little run at us.”

“We made some runs, but they kept us off from that point where could have cut that into single digits or a six-point game…to get it back within striking distance.”

Eastern’s defense limited Newington to just seven third period points while the Nor’easters did the same.

Drury ended the stanza with a hoop and Parent found Noel for a baseline jumper as Eastern still trailed by twelve (34-22) through three.

The Lancers chopped the deficit down to 10 early in the fourth frame via a Parent bucket but the team could never get over the hump.

A free throw by Udoh kept Eastern hanging around at 45-35 with 4:06 remaining in regulation but five straight points by Newington ended any comeback bid.

The Lancers finished the game with a 7-0 burst as Roy hit a lay-up while Udoh notched the final five points as Eastern – making a very good showing – fell by eight (40-32) to end its adventure in the CCC Tournament.

“This is a good arena to start the tournament because now the kids know what the atmosphere is,” said Floyd. “They’re not going to be nervous when we play [on Monday, February 28].”

Bristol Eastern Girls Basketball – CCC Tournament (First Round)

NEWINGTON 40, BRISTOL EASTERN 32

from Newington High School

Bristol Eastern (10-11)10 5 7 10 – 32

Newington (17-3) 12 15 7 6 – 40

BRISTOL EASTERN (32): Taigan Parent 1 1 3, Vanessa Drury 4 1 9, Leah Roy 1 0 2, Amanda Noel 2 0 4, Lauren Ayotte 0 0 0, Autumn Udoh 5 4 14, Jayle Evins-Mosley 0 0 0, Tavia Swain 0 0 0, Grace Browne 0 0 0. Totals: 13 6 32.

NEWINGTON (40):Ella Stair 3 0 6, Selah Prignano 4 1 9, Bela Cucuta 5 2 14, Brianna Gadarowski 1 0 3, Kendall Miller 1 2 4, Hope Romanello 1 0 2, Lia Pouliot 1 0 2. Totals: 16 5 40.

Three-point goals: Cucuta (N) 2, Gadarowski (N).

Records: Newington 17-3 overall; Bristol Eastern 10-11.

CCC Tournament – First Round Scores
No. 1 Newington 40, No. 16 Bristol Eastern 32
No. 2 E.O. Smith 66, No. 15 East Hartford 29
No. 3 Glastonbury 42, No. 14 Berlin 34
No. 4 Simsbury 57, No. 13 Rocky Hill 26
No. 5 Bristol Central 43, No. 12 Avon 28
No. 6 Conard 72, No. 11 South Windsor 45
No. 7 Windsor 56, No. 10 RHAM 27

No. 9 Enfield 55, No. 8 New Britain 33

CCC Tournament – Quarterfinal Round (from Plainville High School)

Enfield vs. Newington, 11 a.m.
Bristol Central (16-5) vs. Simsbury, 1 p.m.
Conard vs. Glastonbury, 5 p.m.
Windsor vs. Edwin O. Smith, 7 p.m.