Milford Mirror

Lions power past Daniel Hand (girls hoop)

Tuesday, 24 January 2012 14:46

The Foran High girls basketball team halted a two-game losing skid with a 65-50 victory over Daniel Hand of Madison on Friday night at Edna Fraser Gymnasium. Jasmine Rodriquez led the charge for the Lions with 18 points and 16 rebounds, as Foran improved to 5-8 (1-3 in the Southern Connecticut Conference Hammonasset Division).

Kelly Quinn chipped in with 15 points and sophomore point guard Teneya McLaughlin added eight points, 12 assists and six steals.

Prior to defeating Hand (7-6), the Lions dropped a 47-33 decision to visiting Hamden High on Jan. 17.

The Green Dragons (8-4) frontcourt featured three players 6-0 or taller — Sarah Shields, Morgan Rams and 6-3 Fairleigh Dickinson (N.J.) recruit Geraldin Cherubin.

The trio combined for 42 of Hamden’s 47 points.

Cherubin notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Rams had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Shields spearheaded the Hamden attack from the perimeter, scoring 12 points (three 3-pointers) and adding five rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

Rodriquez (10 points) was the only Lion in double figures, while McLaughlin had nine and Maggie Folsom eight.

Foran led 16-6 at the end of the first quarter, but managed to score just 17 points the rest of the way.

“It’s been the same thing all year,” Lions’ coach Scott Nails said. “Teams go in a zone on us and we can’t make the shots.”

A three-point play by Cherubin sparked a 14-4 Hamden run that tied the game at 20 at the half.

Shields then buried a 3-pointer, trimming the Foran lead to 16-12, before Rodriquez sank a foul shot.

Rams, a senior southpaw, then tallied on three consecutive putbacks, with Foran’s only points during the nearly four-minute stretch coming through Rodriquez on a layup and a free throw.

Cherubin then scored off on offensive rebound with 2:31 left in the second quarter, forging the halftime deadlock.

“They did a good job getting the ball to Cherubin and Rams,” Nails said.

Rodriquez scored a basket in the post to kick off the second half, followed by a putback by Quinn and a brace of free throws from Folsom to take a 26-22 lead.

Shields answered with a 3-pointer from the right corner, before McLaughlin hit a pull-up jumper in the lane.

Back-to-back baskets from Cherubin gave Hamden its first lead of the game, 29-28, with just over 2:41 left in the quarter.

McLaughlin then fed Folsom in the post for a layup that tied the game at 30.

Unfortunately for the locals, Hamden pulled away from there, as Shields canned a 3-pointer from the right wing and Rams tossed in a layup to make it five-point game heading into the final frame.

A free throw from Quinn narrowed the Lion gap to 37-33 with 5:42 remaining, but that was Foran’s final point of the game.

The Green Dragons closed the game out on a 10-0 run, capped by Shields’ three-point play. Hamden salted nearly four minutes off of the clock using a four-corners offense en route to its third straight victory.

After facing second-ranked Hillhouse (9-1) on Tuesday, the Lions travel to West Haven High (10-3) for a 7 p.m. SCC interdivision contest on Friday.

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