Girls basketball roundup: Pomperaug, St. Paul, Housy reach quarterfinals

The Pomperaug High girls basketball team rallied in the second half to eliminate Branford from the Class L state tournament in the second round with a 60-44 victory Thursday night in Southbury.
No. 22 Branford (10-12) led, 29-27, at halftime after going on a 10-0 run in the second period. But the sixth-seeded Panthers (17-6) outscored the visitors, 20-10, in the third quarter and held them to just five points in the fourth.
“Our defense stepped up in the second half. This was all a credit to our defense and our energy,” said Pomperaug coach Joe Fortier. “We went with a smaller lineup and just pumped up our energy. Maddie Villa has been hurt for most of the year. She came off the bench and was all over the place for us.”
Maggie Lee had 18 points for Pomperaug while Molly Flanagan had 14 and Villa and Alex Rafferty both added nine. Sophia Araneo led Branford with 22 points.
The Panthers host No. 19 Daniel Hand in the quarterfinal round Monday.
St. Paul 73, Parish Hill 27: Jade Udoh scored a game-high 19 points for the Falcons in a Class S second-round state tournament victory. Janessa Gonzalez added 18 points. The No. 3-seeded Falcons host No. 11 Bloomfield on Monday at 7 p.m.
Housatonic 56, Aerospace 17: The Mountaineers dominated in a Class S second-round victory against Aerospace in Falls Village. Sydney Segalla led all scorers with 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, recording her seventh double-double of the season.
The No. 2-seeded Mountaineers host No. 7 Trinity Catholic on Monday at 7 p.m. Housy has allowed a total of 32 points in two state tournament games.
“We are excited to play and test our defense. We are looking forward to a good home game,” said coach Steve Dodge.
Trinity Catholic 56, Gilbert 33: Jill Wexler scored 13 points for the Yellowjackets in a Class S second-round loss in Stamford.
Marcie Moreira added 11 for Gilbert.
Iyanna Lops scored 33 points to lead the Crusaders, who will face their third BL opponent in the tournament when they visit No. 2 Housatonic on Monday.
Old Lyme 53, Shepaug 44: Lucy Puskas led the Spartans in the second round of the Class S state tournament with a team-high 15 points. Abbey Harty chipped in 12 points. The Spartans finished their season at 11-12.