Lady Jackets fall to Housatonic, 69-38

WINSTED — The Gilbert girls basketball squad lost to the Housatonic Mountaineers, 69-38, on Tuesday, Jan. 4, at home.

The Jackets offered a shaky start to the outing, losing the tip off and coughing up a bad turnover early. Gilbert suddenly caused a shift in momentum by hastening the pace and hitting each other with quick outlet passes and clean plays to set up scoring opportunities beneath the boards.

Gilbert forced a few turnovers of their own with solid defense and built a slight lead early in the first quarter. Housatonic responded by increasing their offensive efforts, particularly when battling for rebounds under the Jackets’ net.

The edge and speediness of the opening minutes seemed to fade for the Jackets as Housatonic continued to win battles for rebounds and generate second- and third-chance scoring opportunities. The Mountaineers cut Gilbert’s lead, and then surpassed it, leading 18-9 at the conclusion of the first quarter.

Housatonic’s defense began reading Gilbert’s offense and shut down their momentum with handfuls of blocks, swats, steals and turnovers through the early part of the second. Gilbert continued to struggle, finishing the numerous chances they were able to produce with decent possession and movement, while the Mountaineers built upon their lead with a superior offensive game.

The Jackets did continue to battle and managed to hold a 10-point gap between tying the Mountaineers through the majority of the latter half of the second. Through the final two quarters, however, Housatonic unleashed a torrent of scoring, taking the road victory 69-38.

Gilbert’s Shannon Tuozzo finished the night with 10 points while Kara Mochak had nine. The Yellowjackets remain winless at 0-6 while Housy improves to 6-2.