BL champ Nonnewaug rolls over Housy

BY JASON LEVY
WINSTED — The Nonnewaug High girls basketball team is the current Berkshire League champion. Housatonic was the defending league and tournament champion.
Something had to give in the BL semifinals Tuesday night, and the current title holders did everything they could to show it’s not 2019 anymore.
Junior Ashley Hennessey scored 15 of her game-high 22 points in the first quarter as top-seeded Nonnewaug built a 16-point cushion after the first eight minutes and held on to defeat No. 5 Housatonic, 49-31, at Northwestern High.
“We came in hot,” Hennessey said. “We were moving the ball up the floor, finding open people with great passes and great ball movement. We just needed to continue to work hard on defense after some of our shots wouldn’t fall.”
Nonnewaug will face No. 2 Northwestern in the BL final at Northwestern High on Friday at 7 p.m.
Freshman Samantha Conti chipped in 10 points for the Chiefs (20-2). Sophomore Tori Dodge led the Mountaineers (13-9) with 11 points. Housatonic handed Nonnewaug it’s first loss of the season, 45-44, on Jan. 7.
“We worked really hard this season and it’s great to see it pay off in the tournament,” Nonnewaug senior Maddie Woodward said. “I think we really wanted to get out and make sure we got a lead. We ran up and down the court and shut them down on defense.”
The Chiefs rushed out to the big lead, but struggled offensively for stretches of the final three quarters. They were limited to six points in the second quarter and eight in the fourth.
“I think we became a little comfortable,” Woodward said. “Then we realized we needed to keep the energy up and make sure we kept pushing the ball.”
But it was still enough for the victory. Nonnewaug was able to pick up extra points from the foul line, going seven for 10 from the charity stripe while Housatonic converted three of its nine attempts.
“The game settled in, which happens,” Nonnewaug coach Adam Brutting said. “We scored 20 in the first quarter and shot very well. That’s hard to sustain for an entire game. Housatonic made a couple of adjustments and settled in also as a team. It evened things out.”