WINSTED — After delays due to inclement weather, the Northwestern boys and girls basketball teams hosted Thomaston and Watertown respectively, in the opening round of the state tournament on March 3. The Highlander boys defeated the Thomaston Bears, 49-37, and the girls followed with a 39-29 win over the Watertown Indians.
Thomaston opened up the game by setting up their offense and very carefully moving around until finding the room to score the first points of the night. Northwestern was quick to strike back, then set up a tight defense that allowed them to build a slight lead early in the quarter. The Highlanders continued snagging rebounds, finishing their offensive drives, and cleaning up at the line to build a commanding 10-point lead, ending the first, 15-5.
The Bears attacked quickly in the second but Northwestern countered and maintained the lead. Thomaston’s offense picked up through the second while the Highlanders seemed to struggle to finish their offense. The Bears closed the gap further by drawing fouls in the offensive zone, then working at the line. Thomaston narrowed the lead before halftime, Northwestern 25, Thomaston 20.
The Highlanders found themselves under a great deal of pressure in the third. Thomaston kept up the offensive pressure and managed a highlight-worthy play with two passes from players sprawled out on the floor for a hard-fought two points. The Bears’ offense continued to improve and was aided by a reinvigorated defensive effort that allowed them to bring the game to just one point, Northwestern 34, Thomaston 33.
It remained a one-point game for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, with Northwestern holding the lead. And the Highlanders’ offense began to pick up, surging late in the quarter and building a significant lead. Thomaston, frustrated and desperate, found themselves on the end of too many fouls. The Highlanders took the victory at home 49-37.
Highlander Bobby Lippincott paced his team with 14 points, while Chris Laudati had 12, and Casey Bellott falling just behind Laudati with 11.
A few short hours later, the Highlander girls faced their first-round opponent, the Watertown Bears. Watertown kept Northwestern off balance while building a small advantage early in the first. The Bears began to falter, and took back-to-back backcourt violations that derailed their offensive momentum. Despite their late-quarter struggles, Watertown took an 8-6 lead in the first.
The second quarter started with neither team able to build a substantial advance over the other; instead they traded the lead back and forth through the early moments. Northwestern began driving hard on the offensive, grinding their way to the net and drawing fouls along the way. Highlander Morgan Jensen began to dissect and dismantle the Bears at the line, where her efforts provided Northwestern a 19-11 lead heading into the half.
The well-represented Watertown crowd became venomous through the third and into the fourth, as they watched their team take repeated fouls upon which the Highlanders did a marvelous job of capitalizing.
Northwestern kept the ball movement clean and at a rapid and disorienting pace that Watertown could not keep up with, which allowed them a 28-20 lead by the end of the third.
Watertown set up their offense in the fourth and kept the ball moving but could not manage a way to penetrate the Highlanders’ defense and score. Northwestern continued to build a tremendous lead with their success at the line, including a number of late quarter success foul shot efforts by Highlander Kat Woods. Northwestern held onto their lead to finish the game 39-29.
Northwestern’s Morgan Jensen lead scoring with 12 points, Kat Woods just shy of that achievement with 10, and Sarah Rafferty finished behind Woods with nine.
