It all happened so quickly, but Gabby Hurlbert still remembers the moment.
By JASON LEVY
There were 8.6 seconds left in the Class S girls basketball state championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena. Thomaston was the defending champion and clinging to a 52-50 lead over top-seeded Canton.
The No. 3 Golden Bears had seen their lead whittled to two from 52-44 over the last 2 1/2 minutes as Hurlbert went to the foul line for two shots, but missed them both.
“Those were two huge foul shots that I should have hit,” she said. “But at that time I knew we just had to get the stop and get the ball back before they could have a chance to shoot.”
Hurlbert shook off the misses and picked off a pass at midcourt in the closing seconds to seal the two-point victory and Thomaston’s second straight Class S crown.
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“I saw the ball and anticipated the steal like we were trying to do all year in our trap defense,” Hurlbert said. “It was a whirlwind. It was crazy how fast everything happened. When it did happen, I didn’t realize what was going on. Then I looked back and watched it, and I was like, ‘Wow that was crazy. I didn’t realize how it could have ended in such a bad way.’”
The 2015 state championship victory, which happened five years ago Saturday, marked the peak of a dominant run by the Golden Bears. Not only was it the second straight state championship, but it was the third of five straight trips to the Class S final and the first of three straight Thomaston-Canton clashes for the title.
“Having that experience on our side, even when we weren’t necessarily playing our best, I think we were a very gritty team,” Morgan Sanson said. “Defensively, we always pulled it together to get the job done. I think the experience of going three previous times to Mohegan helped a lot. We were a very competitive group, and I don’t think we were going to let that lead slip away from us.”
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The team was led by a loaded junior class that featured Hurlbert, Sanson, Nicole Schaefer and Charlotte Eberhardt. Sophomores Julia Quinn and Casey Carangelo were key contributors and seniors Sara LeVasseur and Kathryn Miner provided leadership that helped guide the younger players to success under head coach Bob McMahon.
Sanson led Thomaston (23-3) with 13 points to go with seven rebounds. Quinn had 12 points, Schaefer scored eight of her 11 points in the opening five minutes, Hurlbert finished with seven points and Carangelo had five points and 15 boards.
“To have a season like that with such a great team and a great coaching staff and for it to end like that, too, it was almost surreal,” Schaefer said. “It was the perfect ending to a great season. I couldn’t have wished for more. I look back on that year and know it was awesome.”
The four juniors grew up playing basketball and other sports together, starting in fourth grade at St. Thomas School. The years of experience helped them push each other to keep playing better.
“I’m under the assumption that all teams are good friends,” Schaefer said. “But if one of your best friends looks at you and says, ‘Get it together,’ you are like, ‘OK.’”
The Golden Bears were like family. In fact, two of them are literally family. Sanson and Hurlbert are cousins.
“Those (teammates) are my best friends,” Sanson said. “I think that team got along very well. We had good chemistry, which was very important for a deep run like that. I think the team just loved playing with each ot.her. To be able to go back-to-back was an awesome experience. It is something I think we are all very lucky to have gone through. I don’t think we will ever forget it.”
Sometimes the 2015 championship feels to the players like it happened a lifetime ago, other times like just yesterday. The memories will never go away.
“It feels longer than (five years),” Eberhardt said. “I feel like so much has happened since then. But at the same time I feel like every time I come home from Thomaston that comes back because that was such a big part of high school and growing up. As soon as I come back here, it feels like it hasn’t been long at all. But when I am away at college (St. Joseph in West Hartford), it feels like it has been forever.”
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