By RICK WILSON
They were icons of their generation, two of the finest basketball players the area has produced. Thomaston High’s Amy Matthews, the kid with the black sneakers who never met a challenge on the court she couldn’t answer, and Wamogo’s Tracy Stolle, the blonde sharpshooter who became one with the bottom of the net.
On the night of Feb. 2, 1994, however, the basketball journey for both still had many courts to travel, their rapidly developing legacies still a work in progress.
Matthews, a senior and already a state champion and championship game MVP, was a month away from leading defending Class S champion Thomaston to a third straight state final and becoming the Golden Bears all-time leading girls scorer with 1,578 points (since surpassed by Casey Carengelo).
“It was like, yeah it’s great but let’s keep going,” said Stolle. “My feeling is let’s keep playing.”
She would go on to become one of Western Connecticut State University’s all-time greats, finishing second on the all-time scoring list with 1,565 points; earning a spot in the WCSU Hall of Fame; and being selected to the Little East Conference’s 25th Anniversary Team. Matthews followed that up with induction into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on the same night as some guy named Geno Auriemma was inducted.
Stolle, a junior, was on her way to becoming the greatest scorer in Wamogo history and second all-time leading scorer in the Berkshire League with 1,924 points. She was one year away from a perfect 27-0 season and the Class S state title to go with the MVP award. She would go on to attend the University of Hartford where she is still in the top 10 all-time for three-pointers attempted and made in a season and free throw percentage.
The future held much in store for the two stars. But everything they were and were to become was on display on this cold February night. They produced an epic confrontation at the Thomaston High gym the left fans awestruck and created a lasting memory.
AMY MATTHEWS IN HALL OF FAME
By the end of the night fans, coaches and players would experience this: a double overtime extravaganza with Matthews and Stolle scoring every point for the teams in the two extra periods. Stolle would pour in 35 points and go over the 1,000-point mark for her career.
Matthews would finish with 34 points, 11 rebounds. She would score Thomaston’s last 23 points of the game and hit the winning foul shots.
The twosome were tied together by their basketball brilliance, but there were a few other things going on this night. Stolle entered the game with 968 points, well within reach of 1,000 points on a single night for her. She was also dating John Matthews, Amy’s brother.
“It was an interesting dynamic,” admitted Matthews. “She was almost my sister-in-law. She would come over to the house and we would joke around. We were always competitive with one another, but friends. We would shoot around and had the utmost respect for one another.”
The game between Thomaston and Wamogo became a mesmerizing dual between Matthews and Stolle. With Stolle pouring in 27 points and Matthews 23, the game was deadlocked, 45-45, at the end of regulation.
“I just remember me and her going back and forth,” said Stolle. “Amy would go down and do something and I would go down the other end and do something. Amy and I knew who the competitor on the other team was that they had to beat. We knew with Thomaston it was Matthews. Amy and I could talk to junk to one another but we were friends off the court.”
Nothing was settled in the first overtime. Matthews had a baseline layup to give Thomaston a 49-46 lead and Stolle answered with a three-point bank shot with two defenders on her at the buzzer to force a second overtime.
“She would score and I would score and at some point I just kept thinking how do I take it to the next notch, we’ve got to get ahead,” said Matthews.
Stolle hit two free throws in the second overtime to go over the 1,000-point mark for her career and put Wamogo ahead, 51-49. She was given a standing ovation and presented with the game ball. However the game and the duel had overtaken the milestone.
“It was like, yeah it’s great but let’s keep going,” said Stolle. “My feeling is let’s keep playing.”
“For me, it was don’t stop the momentum of the game. Okay, great job, let’s keep going,” said Matthews.
Matthews came back to convert a three-point play for a 52-51 lead but in diving for a loose ball off a scramble with Stolle reinjured her right thigh, which she had hurt in practice. That had caused a stomach ailment to flare up. Matthews spent her senior season feeding herself with a nose tube due to being unable to digest food.
Matthews came out of the game only to return one possession later and the duel continued. Matthews added a driving a layup with 1:04 to go for a 54-51 Golden Bears’ lead. Stolle answered with two free throws with 49 seconds left to cut the deficit to a point.
Matthews then hit one-of-two free throws and after Wamogo couldn’t convert, Stolle fouled out with four seconds left when ironically she was forced to foul Matthews, who hit another four shot for the victory.
“I think Amy decided, this is my gym and you are not coming into my gym and getting a thousand points and winning the game,” said Stolle with an admiring chuckle. “It was upsetting (to lose).”
“Everybody knew at the end of the game two people were going to have the ball in their hands, Tracy and me,” said Matthews. “It was my gym, my senior year. We just had to win.”
Stolle and Matthews have remained friends over the years and shared some cotton candy recently. Stolle is a school teacher while Matthews works for Neurostrategies in Clinical Neurobehavioral Services.
They have always respected their accomplishments and rivalry and will always appreciate the night they created a classic 25 years ago.