Lady Tomahawks making tournament noise

Glastonbury High School forward Sarah Bees gets a bucket off the bench in the March 4 game. Photos by Steve Smith.

The Glastonbury High School girls’ varsity hoops squad won the CCC tournament title, but the bigger prize is on their minds.

After beating Danbury, 75-51, in the second round of the state tournament's LL division on March 4, coach Brian Fleming said he was pleased with the way his team played both sides of the ball and shared the ball well.

“We wanted to just take what was given against their zone [defense],” he said. “Danbury has one star player, but like against anybody we play, I think we’ve got the better team.”

Fleming said the Tomahawks were able to keep up the pace, while the Lady Hatters got worn out in the second half.

The Tomahawks (now 20-2) are keeping their mind on their next opponent. They are currently preparing to face Manchester(20-1) on March 10 in the state quarterfinals. The rivals have met three times this year already – Manchester's only losses were to Glastonbury. The most recent match-up was in the CCC finals. This will be the first time Glastonbury has reached the quarterfinals since 2004.

Fleming said his players are excited, but keeping their cool.

“We treat games one at a time,” Fleming said. “We go possession by possession. They are focused, and definitely not satisfied with just winning the CCC. We’ve got our eyes on the big prize, as well. We’re never too high or too low. We’ll enjoy this win, and get back to business.”

The philosophy remains constant throughout tournament play.

“If it's not broken, we're not going to fix it. We're not going to come out and try any gimmicks,” Fleming said. “We're going to play man-to-man defense, pick you apart on offense, and get good shots. We try to create a fast pace. We'll just keep chugging along.”

Fleming said he couldn't be happier with how his team has risen to the occasion.

“Everybody's stepped it up in some way,” he said. “That's what I love about this team - it's just a complete team effort.”