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Weston eighth-grade girls basketball coach James Ferguson saw his team struggle to score during several games this season. In Sunday's C Division championship of the Fairfield County Basketball League at Danbury High School, a long second half dry spell proved to be the difference.
Waterbury nipped Weston, 29-24, as Ferguson's team scored just seven points in the second half. Weston played a terrific defensive game and had good shots in the second half. It just couldn't get them to fall.
"We couldn't score,'' Ferguson said. "I can't say it any differently. I don't think it was their pressure as much as it was a lack of execution on our part. That made the game a little more difficult for us."
Weston (13-8) led 17-12 at halftime. Waterbury took the lead with 15 seconds to go in the third quarter, but Weston trailed by just 22-21 after a basket by Madison Murray with 5:27 remaining. Weston did not sore again, however, until Kristin Caolo sank a basket with 1:30 remaining to make it 29-23. A free throw by Caroline Maretz with 1:20 left made it 29-24, and Weston came down the floor two times with opportunities to make it a one possession game. Weston came up empty on both trips.
Alexa Werner scored 13 points for Weston. She scored eight in the first quarter to help her team get off to a good start. Weston played hard throughout the second half and matched Waterbury's aggressiveness on the boards. Despite its offensive inconsistency, Weston's girls put up a spirited fight the entire game.
"That's what I told them afterward,'' Ferguson said. "This is a game that you can take and grow from. They played hard, and I was proud of them."
Weston went 8-4 during the league's regular season and reached the championship game by defeated Easton and St. Mark's of Stratford. It entered Sunday's game having won nine of its last 11.
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