Next Stop For Wreckers Girls Basketball: CIAC Tourney Semi-Final
The girls were overjoyed after they rallied to defeat a tough South Windsor opponent.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The Staples Lady Wreckers withstood a tough test from South Windsor at home, overcoming an early 8-0 deficit to regain control of the game. After South Windsor jumped out to that quick lead, Staples tightened its defense, and slowly shifted momentum in the second period. The Wreckers kept their composure under pressure and started hitting their shots, helping them recover from the early deficit.
Throughout the game, South Windsor relied on hot outside shooting to blunt every Staples surge, drilling eight 3-pointers that kept the scoreboard pressure on and forced Staples to play catch-up. Each time Staples closed the gap with a run, South Windsor answered with a timely long-range bucket that swinging momentum back in their favor.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The Wreckers relied on bench production from sophomore Maeve Best, senior Sadie Katzner and junior Riley Caney to create a spark later in the first quarter, providing energy to keep Staples focused. The Lady Wreckers picked up momentum in the second quarter as senior Freya Harvey hit consecutive buckets to push the offense, and the team closed the half with a narrow 20–19 lead.
The great year the girls are having is leading to great attendance, especially in tournament competition.
The game was very physical as both teams knew it was win or go home for the season and the aggressive defense was readily apparent throughout the entire contest with numerous whistles from the refs.
Staples Cheerleaders kept the fans energy up with their usual great moves.
At the half-time break the newly formed Staples Dance Team followed the Staples Cheerleaders with a brilliant hip-hop routine.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The pace of the second half picked up as the Wreckers forced multiple turnovers, shifting momentum and allowing Staples to seize control They found their rhythm on both offense and defense, outscoring South Windsor 22–16 in that span.
Freya Harvey led scoring 18 points, going 7-15 including 4 from beyond the arc and Jr. Chloe Smith scored 10 points, all in the second half including her 3-pointer and grabbed 5 rebounds.
Showing their usual relentless energy, finishiing with 15 steals and 16 offensive rebounds, paced by Riley Caney’s team-high nine boards, and used tenacious team defense to grind out a 42–35 victory.
The #3 Wreckers girls will face #10 Bristol Central on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at Bethel High School, 300 Whittlesey Drive at 6 p.m.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.