Coginchaug Presses HK Into Submission

For a few minutes Tuesday night, it seemed as if Haddam-Killingworth had the offensive weapons to threaten unbeaten Coginchaug.

Ultra-quick point guard Marissa Moncata had early success penetrating the lane and forward Tori Peterson used her size and muscle to push the Blue Devils around inside on the Cougars’ initial possessions. 

But, then the Blue Devils ratcheted up their defense which would ultimately prove to be the decisive factor in their 63-37 victory.

Coginchaug (7-0) began to employ half-court presses and traps to force the Cougars (5-2) into turnovers and keep them from executing their offense.

Furious pressure against the Cougars’ ball handlers allowed the Blue Devils to race to a 19-7 lead in the first quarter. The Cougars countered with a 2-3 zone, and initially the tactic forced the Blue Devils into perimeter misses, preventing them from setting up their press.

The Cougars used this strategy to cut the margin to 25-20 mid-way through the second quarter, and Blue Devils coach Rett Mancinelli was forced to call timeout to halt the run. 

However, when play resumed, Coginchaug cranked up its defensive intensity and this time H-K could not muster a response. The Cougars managed just 17 points the rest of the game, as the Blue Devils pushed their defense forward further and began to press full-court. 

What had been a tight contest became a lay-up drill for the Blue Devils. Point guard Samantha Mancinelli ran the fast-break, using her superior court vision to locate teammates for easy scores. 

Coginchaug held a commanding 18 point lead at halftime, and they would expand upon it in the third quarter as their outside shots began to find their target. Blue Devils shooters rained three-pointers from the wings, left wide-open by a demoralized Cougars defense. 

On the other side of the ball, the Blue Devils continued to make it difficult for the Cougars to even advance past mid-court. Their swarming press forced the Cougars to turn the ball over 31 times.

Coach Mancinelli acknowledged that the Blue Devils’ suffocating pressure and ability to generate points off turnovers was the key to the team's emphatic win. “Oh yeah, it’s all about our defense. We’re one of the smaller teams in the league, so we’ve got to be able to create offense off of our defense,” he said.

Lauren Esposito led an evenly-distributed Blue Devils attack with 12 points. Audrey Biesak contributed 11 points, and Morgan Kuehnle and Kim Romanoff each scored ten. Peterson paced the Cougars with an impressive 15 point, 11 rebound double-double. 

Coginchaug puts its undefeated record on the line again at Old Lyme on Friday at 7:30 p.m. H-K will try to break a two game losing streal when they host Westbrook on Friday at 7 p.m.