Charlotte Eberhardt speaks at CIAC luncheon Wednesday. (Steven Lewis/RA)
By DENNIS BROWN
SOUTHINGTON — When the Thomaston High girls basketball team tips off on championship Saturday, seniors Gabrielle Hurlbert, Charlotte Eberhardt, Morgan Sanson, Nicole Schaefer, Danielle Genest and Sam Brostek will suit up in a Bears uniform for the final time in an attempt to win a third straight Class S state title.
“People say we can’t do it, a small school with only 51 graduates in the senior class. How could six of those 51 students make it this far as student-athletes?” Eberhardt said Wednesday at the CIAC’s girls basketball media luncheon.
“The answer is inside all of us. We’re back again, and I know I speak for all of us when I say that we wouldn’t want our season and six of our high school careers to end any other way (than victory).”
Thomaston, the ninth-smallest town in Connecticut in square miles (12.1), has a population of only around 8,000 people. With 106 girls in grades 9-12, Thomaston ranks 178th of 187 schools in the CIAC. Seven of the nine smaller schools are either magnet or parochial schools.
“I think the size of your school won’t make you any better of a team or make you any less of a team,” said Schaefer. “Just because we are a Class S team and we’re very small doesn’t mean we can’t hang with the (Class) LL schools.”
The Bears, the top seed n Class S at 26-1, proved that by defeating Southern Connecticut Conference champion Daniel Hand, 61-58, on Dec. 28 to go along with 21 Berkshire League games won by an average of 31 points.
They’re looking forward to a fourth straight trip to Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday at 10 a.m.
“I love the setting, the crowds there and I love the arena,” junior center Casey Carangelo, the team’s leading scorer (16.4 ppg.), said. “It’s just an awesome feeling to be there.”
“It’s a different feeling every time you win or come in second or just get the opportunity to make it to that level,” Eberhardt said.
“Each game has a special moment, and we all remember them in special ways,” said Hurlbert. “They are all great accomplishments for Thomaston and our team.”
So what explains the team’s incredible run? “One game at a time” and “together” are mottos, but they do, in fact, play a huge part in how the girls have kept their focus all season, especially in the state tournament.
“I think the chemistry on our team really helps us on the court,” said Carangelo. “We play together and we play every game like it’s our last.”
Waiting in the final is No. 3-seeded Canton (21-6), whom Thomaston knocked off, 52-50. The Bears know they’ll have plenty of support at the arena in their quest, just as they do at home games.
“People from town follow us all around the state to support us. Our student section makes every gym ‘the Cave,’” said Eberhardt.
“The whole town of Thomaston goes to the game,” Shaefer remarked. “It’s really nice knowing that our town supports us that much.”