Sports
Career Tops Amity in Class LL First-Round Game
Panthers pull away in first half, hold off Spartans; Brinton scores team-high 11 points.
Career used a stifling defense and accurate outside shooting to pull away from Amity in the first half on its way to a 52-27 CIAC Class LL first-round game Tuesday night at Career Magnet High School in New Haven.
The Panthers took a 16-5 lead at the end of the first quarter and built a 30-7 margin at halftime behind four three-pointers, two by Nicole Anderson (12 points), inside scoring from Jasmine Claxton (12 points) and by forcing multiple Amity turnovers.
But Amity (11-11) came out aggressively in the third quarter and played Career (18-5) almost even, 22-20, in the second half.
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"We started off the game really good, first quarter we were right with them, and then we kind of had a cold streak," Amity head coach Michelle Martinik said. "Their defense was really great in the second quarter. They really put a hurt on our offense. But I was very happy with the way our kids fought. They came in here, they didn't give up the entire game and it was great to see."
The Spartans hit three threes in the second half, two by Chloe Brinton, who scored a team-high 11 points. Amity made an 8-2 run in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter but still trailed by 21 with 2:20 to play.
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"We said one thing coming in here; we wanted to fight every second, no matter if we're up 20, down 20," Martinik said. "We're so proud as a coaching staff how we came in here today, the first time we made the states in a couple of years the girls showed a lot of character today."
Despite the first-round exit, Martinik finished her first year at Amity with a .500 record and a Class LL berth. The last time Amity made the LL tournament was in 2007-08.
"It was very exciting. I couldn't have come into a better support group from the administration down," Martinik said. "Great coaching staff and the girls really accepted it well. Overall, we had a very successful season, lots of growth. Right now, I'm really excited and looking forward to what's to come.
"Our goal was to make the tournament. We really wanted to hit the postseason and we did it and we came out and we fought hard. (The girls) really accepting the program was great, working hard the whole three months. It's tough to do and every single day they came in and gave their hearts out."
