Girls Basketball Give No. 2 a Run, Boys Prep for States; Swimmers to Face Perennial Power in SWC Championships

Girls Basketball — Class L Playoffs:

The Lady Bobcats made the long ride to Storrs to play No. 2 E.O. Smith (20-2) on Thursday in the second round of the Class L State Championship playoffs and put a major scare into a team that had only lost two games all season.

"It was a great game," Brookfield head coach Maura Keenan said.  "We played some amazing defense which really gave us a shot." 

Sophomore Julia DePoi, a budding star in the SWC, continued her torrid playoff scoring stretch by lighting up the scoreboard for a game-high 25 points as No. 15 Brookfield (15-9) dropped a tough 54-50 decision to end their season.

"Julia almost single-handedly kept us n the game," Keenan said.

The teams were locked up in fast paced first quarter, playing to a 17-17 tie to start the game after Brookfield had fallen behind by the score of 11-2 early. E.O. Smith shut down the Lady Bobcats in the second quarter and threatened to run away with the game as they took a 31-23 lead into halftime.

Brookfield came out of the locker room rejuvenated however and got right back in the game by outscoring E.O. Smith 14-9 in the third quarter to set up a tense fourth quarter that saw numerous lead chnages. The Lady Bobcats had a chance to re-take the lead late in a one-point game after going ahead by two points but had a lay-up blocked.  

E.O. Smith was able to hit just enough free-throws to hold off the hard charging Lady Bobcats and got a strong game from Maggie Sundberg, who scored 19 points as they held on for the four-point win.

DePoi burst onto the scene by scoring 21 points in the season opener for Brookfield, proving that she could be a legitimate scoring threat in the SWC. DePoi then proved she could be a big-time money player when the post-season rolled around. In the SWC tournament, she scored 16 points and 23 points in the team's two games. She then scored 15 points in the opening round state tournament game before going for her season high 25 in the second round.

"She had a tremendous post-season," Keenan said. "It was not surprising, she played well to start the year and came out strong once the playoffs started. She has a tremendous future in the program."

Senior frontcourt tandem of Jamie Bickelhaupt and Krista Melchione added 11 points and 14 rebounds in their final games, respectively.  

"Jamie had a big game, but she always does in the post-season for us, and Krista was a maniac on the boards," Keenan said.

Fellow seniors Kerry Fleming and Moe Vetter both had five points with each hitting three-pointers in the game.

"Moe hit a big three-pointer for us late," Keenan said of Vetter's performance in her last game. "Kerry came up strong for us in the second half of her senior season. She has always been a good shooter and the shots finally started to drop for her. She really became a nice option for us."

The team was unable to duplicate its magical run of a season ago when they made it all the way to the Class M State Championship game as the No. 1 seed. Brookfield did overcome the loss of the school's all-time leading scorer Brittany Martelle and defensive leader Jackie Brown in this year's successful campaign.

"There were a lot of tears after the game," Keenan said of coaching her seniors for the final time. The group all came into Brookfield's program together, as Keenan became the head coach when they were freshman. "We really grew together and pulled off some big wins."

Brookfield 17 6 14 13 — 50

E.O. Smith 17 14 9 14 — 54

BROOKFIELD: Kerry Fleming 2 0-0 5; Julia DePoi 10 3-5 25; Tara Schang 0 0-0 0; Courtney Morlock 0 0-0 0; Jaimie Bickelhaupt 4 3-4 11; Corrine Bogle 0 0-0 0; Maureen Vetter 2 0-1 5; Paulina Harron 1 0-0 2; Krista Melchione 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 20 6-10 50.

E.O. SMITH: Murphy Murad 2 1-2 6; Morgan Stewart 1 0-0 2; Alexa Manaskie 0 0-02 ; Maggie Sundberg 6 5-7 19; Taylor Vonasek 1 2-2 4; Holly Worski 4 3-4 12; Morgan Olander 3 2-2 9; . TOTALS: 18 13-19 54.

3-pointers: Fleming (B), Depoi (B) 2, Vetter (B), Murand (E.O.) Thunburd (E.O.) 2; Worski (E.O.); Olander (E.O.)

Boys Basketball:

The Bobcats have earned a No. 15 seed in the Class M State Championship tournament and a home game on Monday night at 6 against No. 18 Trinity Catholic (12-8). It is the first trip to States for Brookfield (13-7) since the 2007-08 season. The team has posted its first winning season since 2004-05.

Brookfield is coming off a tough four-point loss in the opening round of the SWC Playoffs to Kolbe Cathedral. That loss ended a seven-game winning streak as the Bobcats entered the post-season as one of the hottest teams in the state.

They will look to begin a new winning streak against a perennial powerhouse who is having a down season. The Crusaders have struggled on the defensive end this season, but have an explosive offense that the Bobcats will need to contain.

The boys are facing the same task as the Lady Bobcats, as they will need to knock off a two-loss No. 2 Nonnewaug team barring a major upset that could come at the hands of another SWC team. Joel Barlow is playing in the play-in game against Tolland and could get a chance to play Nonnewaug with a win.

The bottom half of the Class M bracket is loaded with SWC teams. Joining Brookfield is No. 10 Bethel, SWC Champion No. 3 Notre Dame-Fairfield and No. 26 Immaculate. If Bethel and Immaculate win they will face each other in the second round at Bethel with the winner facing Brookfield in the quarterfinals if the Bobcats can advance. Notre Dame could loom large in the semi-finals if the SWC shows its strength.

Boys Swimming & Diving — SWC Championship:

The defending Class M Champion Bobcats completed their regular season with a 13-1 record, going 10-1 in conference. They closed the season by defeating non-conference opponents Cheshire and Sacred Heart, needing to win the final relay event in a playoff-like atmosphere in the meet held at Kennedy High School in Waterbury.

The team had downed New Fairfield and Joel-Barlow/Immaculate in their two previous meets as they continued to tune up for a chance at two titles. In knocking off Joel Barlow/Immaculate, they had to get by a team coached by old friend, Brookfield girls swimming coach Brandt Nigro.

"Brandt is a bright young coach," Brookfield coach Brian Reiff said of Nigro, who he of course wishes well except for when they face each other. "He has some good high-end swimmers and knows how to prepare his kids to get the most out of them."

Brookfield might need some help from Nigro's squad to knock off four-time defending SWC Champion Pomperaug in the championship on Friday night at Masuk.  

"Other teams get to be in the meet," Reiff said of the event. "We both could get pushed down."

The Bobcats have enough top swimmers to put up big numbers in the pool, but the Panthers depth helps them score more points throughout the meet, which makes them tough to beat. Getting help from other teams in pushing Pomperaug's second tier swimmers down a peg is critical to Brookfield's chances of winning.

"On higher end we have quality swimmers, can those points offset their depth points," Reiff stated. "We have got to add high-end points throughout, that is what the meet will come down too."

The Bobcats will also need strong diving performances to keep them in range of Pomperaug for the second half of the meet.

"We have a goal to keep separation as close s possible," Reiff said of the mind-set and the need for the divers to maintain their level of the season-long strong performances. "That could be something to catapult us."

Brookfield gave Pomperaug its toughest meet of the year way back in January, showing that they would be ready to make a serious run for the title. In the head-to-head dual meet held at Pomperaug they lost a close 96-90 decision.

"We showed we can be in the same pool with them and contend," Reiff said of his team. "We just have to get our focus right on Friday night and swim with passion."