ANSONIA – The Ansonia Lady Tigers used a good first quarter and a strong fourth quarter on Tuesday to pull away from the visiting Fairlawn Jets for a 49-25 non-conference win.
The Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Jets battled back to grab a 7-6 advantage at the 3:24 mark.
Fairlawn employed a 1-3-1 half-court defense that gave Ansonia fits, but the Tigers found a soft spot in the middle that led to easy backside layups as they regained the lead and expanded it 18-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Bailey Stammen led the way in the opening frame with 8 points while Kassy Wentworth and Trinity Henderson each chipped in 4 each.
The play in the second quarter was a bit sloppy and rough, giving the Jets an opportunity to crawl back into the game. Fairlawn doubled up on the Tigers 10-5 to narrow the game at the half to 25-17.
The pace didn’t get any better after the break with the Tigers barely winning the third frame 7-6 and the game still close 30-23 heading into the final stanza.
It was all Ansonia in the final stanza as the Tigers got a lift from Stefani Garrett, who scored all 8 of her points to help lift the Tigers to a 49-25 victory.
“This was the first time we saw the floor since our break, and it showed,” Ansonia girls basketball coach Jim Bolin said.
“We got off to a slow start, made some adjustments and finished strong in the first quarter … but we just never maintained a good level of play,” Bolin said.
“I was really proud of the way we responded and finished in the fourth quarter. When we run our offense we generally execute it well, and it showed,” Bolin added.
The Tigers were led by senior Bailey Stammen with 17 points in the win.
Ansonia improved to 5-6 overall and 2-4 in the Cross County Conference. The Tigers will be back in action Thursday at the travel to Miami County to take on CCC foe Bethel.
Score by quarters:
Ansonia … 18…05…07…19 – 49
Fairlawn … 07…10…06…02 – 25
Box score
Ansonia
Stefani Garrett – 8, Kassy Wentworth – 7, Katie Werts – 6, Jailyn Thwaits – 4, Trinity Henderson – 7, Bailey Stammen 17 – Totals 1-19-9/16 – 49