BY PETER WALLACE
No. 26 Weaver (10-10) vs. No. 2 Housatonic (22-3)
When: Today, 7 p.m.
Where: Housatonic High, Falls Village
The teams
Weaver: The Beavers are led by 5-foot-9 freshman center Pashan Walker (24 points, 13 rebounds in a 68-56 second-round win over No. 10 Westbrook); 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Terra Fair (21 points against Westbrook); and 5-foot-5 guard Nade Jones (11 points vs. Westbrook). Losing three of their last four regular-season games knocked them out of the Central Connecticut Conference postseason tournament, but a season of playing against Class L and LL competition made them more than ready for the Class S tournament, demolishing No. 7 Lyman Memorial, 72-36, in the first round before soundly beating Westbrook.
Housatonic: The Mountaineers have three of the fastest guards in the Berkshire League in seniors Chloe Dakers (5-foot-3) and Amanda Jacquier (5-foot-8), and junior Emily Geyselaers (5-foot-7). Six-foot junior center Olivia Forstmann gives them staying power underneath, along with rotating forwards Caroline Hurlburt (5-8 sophomore) and Alison Holmes (5-9 junior). Housatonic tied for the BL regular-season title with Thomaston, last year’s Class S runner-up, after splitting home-and-away games with the Golden Bears. Thomaston came out on fire in the BL Tournament final for a 51-36 win, but the Mountaineers rebounded for sure-handed wins over No. 31 Somers (44-20) and No. 15 Old Lyme (57-34) in their first two Class S rounds.
Outlook: Both teams have first-year coaches in Housatonic’s Steve Dodge and Weaver’s Kamara Hall. Both teams love to run, priding themselves on defenses capable of creating much of their offenses off steals. Some of Housy’s home-court advantage is negated because the Beavers have been on the road all season while their school is under construction. Housatonic counters Weaver’s big two scoring threats with a balanced offense in which anyone can be the top scorer (Jacquier led with 15 against Old Lyme). In a fast-paced game, the team that can play most under control is likely to win. Weaver coach Hall cautioned that her team played a little too fast at times against Westbrook. Coach Dodge said, “We have to make the bunnies; then we’ll be alright.”
— Peter Wallace