A game between the St. Paul and Holy Cross girls basketball teams usually doesn’t lack intensity, and the same could be said of the lone regular season meeting between the teams on Monday in Bristol.
A vocal crowd gathered inside the Rev. Brian W. Monnerat Gymnasium for the matchup between the NVL archrivals, and it bore witness to a 53-50 Falcon victory against the Crusaders. After a win over Wolcott on Wednesday night, St. Paul has a record of 11-0 in the NVL and 11-2 overall. Holy Cross bounced back from the loss with a blowout win over WCA on Wednesday. The Crusaders are 9-1 in the NVL and 9-2 overall.
As for the Monday matinee, St. Paul got 13 points each from Janessa Gonzalez and Jade Udoh. The Falcons picked up big contributions from Olivia Heslin (10 points), Olivia Stump (9) and Kailyn Bielecki (7). Bielecki and Stump each hit a key 3-pointer in the final two minutes to help St. Paul earn the win.
For Holy Cross, Alyssa Hebb, Mya Zaccagnini and Cayla Howard each scored 12 points while Maeve Perrone added 10 points.
St. Paul and Holy Cross could see each other again in the NVL Tournament. As for the state tournament, the Falcons will be in Class L while the Crusaders are in Class M.
Photo caption: St. Paul’s Janessa Gonzalez drives against Holy Cross’ Cayla Howard during Monday’s game. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
Gallery
Here are my photos from Monday’s game.
