Hartlee Meier takes advantage of a pick during a loss to Middletown in the CCC tournament.
By BRIAN JENNINGS
STAFF WRITER
The Lady Knight basketball team needed a win in their final conference game to close out the regular season, and they got it. But scoring a season high of 82 points against their first-round opponent in the CCC tournament still wasn’t enough.
Still, a short trip to the conference tournament is better preparation for the upcoming Class LL brackets than any postseason scrimmage could provide.
The Knights entered the postseason on Thursday as the 15th seed and were quickly bounced out after suffering a 10-point loss, 92-82, at No. 2 Middletown in the first round of the conference tournament.
The Blue Dragons took a 29-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Knights scored 35 points in the second quarter to head into halftime with a one-point edge, 44-43. However, the Dragons outscored the Knights, 49-38, in the second half, holding the Knights to nine points in the third quarter.
The Dragons went 14-for-17 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. The Knights made 11 three-pointers in the game.
Maggie Meehan led the offense with 31 points on seven threes. Meier and Janette Wadolowski backed Meehan with 20 points apiece. Hartlee Meier finished with four threes and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
The semifinals are scheduled to take place at NW Catholic on Monday, Feb. 20. Matchups include the following: No. 4 Glastonbury (17-3) at No. 1 Enfield (19-1) and No. 3 Hall (17-3) at No. 2 Middletown (18-2). Pairings for the Class LL tournament are to be announced by the CIAC by noon on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Southington finished the regular season with an overall record of 12-8 (5-5 home, 7-3 away), going 7-7 in the CCC Central region and 4-4 in the CCC Central Blue division. The Knights tied for fourth in the CCC Central Blue division. Glastonbury and Hall shared the CCC Central Blue divisional title with regional records of 11-3, while Conard (16-4, 10-4) finished as runner-up. Farmington (13-7, 12-3) was the top team in the CCC Central region.
Regular season wrap-up
The Knights received a good warm-up for the postseason when they hosted Suffield at home on Monday, defeating the Wildcats, 68-54. Suffield is currently the top team in Class M.
The Knights led, 38-23, at halftime and put up 21 points in both the first and third quarters. As a team, the Knights finished the game with 10 three-pointers and went 8-for-11 from the foul line.
Wadolowski paced the offense with 26 points on a pair of threes and went 4-for-4 from the foul line. Meier backed Wadolowski with 16 points on five threes. Meehan contributed with 12 points on a pair of threes.
The following day, Southington closed out the regular season in West Hartford, where they clinched a spot in the conference tournament with a comfortable 65-32 win at NW Catholic.
The Knights led, 39-13, heading into halftime, scoring 26 points in the first quarter. Nine Southington players scored in the game. As a team, the Knights finished the game with 10 three-pointers.
Meier marshaled the offense with 15 points on a pair of threes and went 3-for-3 from the foul line, scoring 12 of her 15 points in the first quarter. Meehan backed Meier with 13 points on three threes. Brianna Harris contributed with 11 points on a pair of threes.
Forgione gets 200
Before the Suffield game on Monday, Southington athletic director, Greg Ferry, presented Southington coach Mike Forgione with a plaque commemorating his 200th varsity win. Forgione reached the milestone after the Knights earned a 45-33 victory at Simsbury on Feb. 3.
“It’s a lifetime of memories that I’ll take with me forever,” said Forgione. “I’ve been really fortunate to have really great kids that want to work hard and get better. They’re really the ones that have had all the success.”
Forgione has been coaching at the varsity level for 14 years, including seven years at Farmington and seven with Southington.
For this week’s box scores, click here: www.southingtonobserver.com/2017/02/21/weekly-scoreboard-for-the-feb-24-edition/. To contact sports writer Brian Jennings, email him at BJennings@SouthingtonObserver.com.