By KEVIN ROBERTS
WOLCOTT — The Wolcott and Watertown girls basketball teams were going in opposite directions entering their John Rossi Holiday Tournament game Thursday at Wolcott High School.
The Eagles led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, but the Indians battled until the game’s final buzzer. When that buzzer sounded, Wolcott had claimed a 60-53 victory. The Eagles (3-1) advanced to this evening’s final against Southington (3-1) while Watertown (0-3) will meet Capital Prep (2-1) in the consolation game.
Wolcott has won three straight games, and there have been several factors in the team’s success. The Eagles are powered by the little engine that could, 5-foot-2 junior guard and captain Emiah Soto. She was all over the place for Wolcott against Watertown, and that comes as no surprise.
“She’s the heart and soul of the team,” Eagles coach Marty DiTuccio said. “She comes to play every game, people feed off of her. She handles the ball like 95 % of the time. I have complete trust in her, and she just plays so hard. She doesn’t ask to be taken out of the game, she just plays and plays and plays. What more could you ask for.”
Soto’s junior backcourt mate Alison LeClerc, listed at 5-foot-3, led a balanced Wolcott attack with 10 points.
“I’ve been asking her to just get set and let the ball go instead of dribbling and getting to her spot,” DiTuccio said.
LeClerc did a good job just catching and shooting when open against Watertown. On the inside, junior forward Adriana Ferrucci battled all night in what was a physical game in the paint.
“(LeClerc) has been coming along, and Ferrucci has been doing so much better underneath, but it was a struggle tonight,” DiTuccio said.
Part of that struggle was self-inflicted as Wolcott committed turnovers and missed a multitude of layups. A big part of the equation was Watertown’s Paige Daigneault. The sophomore, who knocked down four 3-pointers in the first half, scored 17 of her game-high 29 points in the final two quarters by attacking the basket and knocking down her foul shots when she went to the line.
“That girl (Daigneault) was shooting the lights out of the basket, and she deserved what she got because she was making everything,” DiTuccio said.
Daigneault was one of three sophomores who started for coach Jason Hurdle on Thursday, along with Lilliana Spagnoletti and Marissa Forino. Watertown also started senior Mary Massaro and freshman Alana Johnson.
The Indians were down two starters, then lost Forino to fouls with 5.4 seconds left in the third quarter. Johnson went down with 3:15 to go in the game and had to be helped off the court. Fellow freshman Adriana Dandonoli left the game with a bloody nose. Watertown was young and already low in numbers before the injuries, so more young players had to learn in a sort of trial-by-fire mode. The Indians don’t currently have the numbers to play junior varsity games.
“We’re going to work hard,” Hurdle said. “We’ll learn as we go, and we’ll keep building. We’ll be alright.”
There’s no time to relax, however, as each team will play a second game in the Rossi tournament today.