Saints stop Clippers in season finale

It was a game that most thought would decide the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division in girls basketball. New London had other ideas.
The Whalers’ win over Putnam on Saturday took some of the starch out of the Clippers’ showdown with St. Bernard on Monday night as the Saints had already clinched the Small.
It didn’t mean, however, that either team played any less intense.
Putnam’s style of play caused the Saints some consternation, but the Clippers’ lack of offensive punch cost them in the end as they lost to the Saints, 37-28.
“We’ve been playing pretty good lately and we’ve been running, but they didn’t let us do it — they’re tough to play,” St. Bernard coach Mike Nystrom said.
The Saints (15-5, 11-1 ECC Small) looked like they were going to win their ninth in a row relatively easily as they came out and lit up the board in the first quarter. Senior Casey Brigham scored 11 of her 19 points in that opening period to give the Saints a 14-7 lead.
“I was just really excited about Senior Night and we really just came together,” Brigham said. “The JV team all wore T-shirts saying ‘We love our seniors,’ so I was just really excited about the night and felt it walking out on to the court.”
The opposite was true in the second quarter for the Saints. They cooled off rapidly and missed all eight shots from the floor, four of them from 3-point land, and scored only one second quarter point. The Clippers came up with 10 to take a 17-15 lead into the half. Putnam’s Katelyn Tarr scored nine of those and finished with 21 of the Clippers’ 28 points.
“The other kids need to grow around her and it’s a learning process,” Putnam coach Willie Bousquet said. “We’re just not as multi-faceted as we were. I give them credit because the defense is just as tenacious as its been and that’s a good thing. We’re one of the only division teams to hold (St.Bernard) under 40 points twice.”
The problem for the Clippers offensively is the absence of point guard Kelsey Rybacki, who injured her knee in the first game of the year against St. Bernard and has not returned.
“We’re uncertain, the ACL is loose,” Bousquet said of Rybacki’s injured knee. His hope is that she can return in time for the state tournament.
“It’s definitely difficult; we miss her points, she’s a very good outside shooter,” Tarr said. “But we’ve been practicing a lot and are getting a little better at getting open for the ball.”
Tarr put Putnam up by four with a basket to open the third quarter, but it was the only field goal that Putnam got in the entire quarter. The Saints turned the tables to take a 25-20 lead into the final quarter as Brigham scored five of the Saints’ 10 third-quarter points.
St. Bernard extended that lead to nine early in the fourth quarter before five more Tarr points cut it to four. The Saints put it away when they scored the next seven points.
Emma Sternloff added nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds for St. Bernard, while Ashley Walenta tossed in seven.
“We’ve been playing well lately,” Nystrom said. “When we get rolling, we’re looking pretty good.”
St. Bernard’s first postseason test will come against Lyman at home on Thursday night in an ECC play-in game. Putnam plays at home against Waterford the same night.