Three out of four area teams won their girls first round state tournament games on Tuesday night.
No. 24 WCA had the win of the night in Class L, rallying for a 44-43 road win over No. 9 Bullard-Havens. The scoring of Michalyn Vaichus (eight points in fourth quarter), defense of Leila Lazaro, and inbound prowess of Shyra Fisher were all key in the comeback. The Spartans were down 30-25 entering the fourth quarter, but rallied for the win and their first appearance in the second round in program history. WCA (11-11) faces No. 8 Windsor (16-5) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Windsor.
No. 16 Crosby’s Class L stint lasted just one game. A basket from No. 17 Platt with 12 seconds left led to a 55-54 heartbreaking loss at The Palace. The Bulldogs were led by the scoring of Tiahna Pulliam. It was the final game for Crosby seniors Ana Lala, Gloria Vergeli, Erica Soares, Leyda Colon and Venus Calderon. The Bulldogs finished 13-9.
No. 2 Holy Cross dispatched No. 31 Joel Barlow by a score of 52-25 at The Pit. Devan Eason led the Crusaders with 12 points, and Hannah Brown added nine. Holy Cross used a 17-1 fourth quarter to blow the game wide open. The Crusaders (20-3) host No. 15 East Lyme (14-7) on Friday at 7 p.m.
No. 6 Sacred Heart won its Class S first round game over No. 27 Ellis Tech in blowout fashion by a score of 70-31. The Hearts were up 46-7 at halftime in a game where they were never challenged. Aamya Rivera scored 16 points, Jenna Madigan added 11, and Hayley Tucker chipped in nine. Sacred Heart (19-5) hosts No. 11 Old Lyme (15-6) on Friday at 7 p.m.
