Housatonic loses in quarterfinal

COVENTRY—The Housatonic Valley Regional High School girls basketball team was eliminated 40-25 by No. 3 Coventry High School in a quarterfinal game Tuesday, March 8.

In the first two rounds of the tournament,  and playing at home, HVRHS beat Vinal Technical High School 41-15 on Tuesday, March 1, and Windsor Locks High School 39-32 on Friday, March 4. For their matchup against Coventry, the Mountaineers could not rely on home-court advantage.

“We were very ready to go in the Windsor Locks game,” said senior Sydney Segalla. “In this game we started off with a lot of turnovers and bad shots. We just came out a lot differently than we usually do.”

The Mountaineers struggled from the start, both in scoring opportunities and with foul trouble. Senior  Tori Dodge, known for her scrappy defense and rebounding as well as her efforts on offense from behind the arc, picked up multiple fouls early and had to be moved to the bench.

The game then snowballed in favor of the Patriots, who kept the Mountaineers at bay with their consistent shooting. By the end of the half, the Mountaineers had scored only 5 points. By the end of the game, they finished with 25 points, the lowest all season.

“I think it was a little bit of inexperience on our side,” said head coach Steve Dodge. “I think the pressure got to some of us.”

Despite the loss in the semifinals, there were plenty of milestones in the Mountaineers’ season.

On Monday, Jan. 31, Segalla became the 11th athlete to make Housatonic’s 1,000 point club. Reaching a total of 1,183 points, she ranks fifth overall for points in program history. Both Segalla and Dodge received Berkshire League All-League honors, with Segalla making First Team All-League and Dodge earning a spot on the Second Team All-League. Also this season, coach Dodge reached his 100th victory, and now sits at 104 wins.

Along with Segalla and Dodge, Emma Crane, Josie Marks and Mackenzie Ongley are the rest of the seniors who have played their last basketball game as a Mountaineer.

“I’m very proud of us as a team. We worked hard,” said Segalla. “I’m happy with how it ended.”