Windsor Girls Fall Short of State Tournament Upset

The Windsor High girls basketball team did everything it could to upset 12th-ranked Masuk High except take advantage of needed scoring opportunities in the first round of the Class L State Tournament Monday night.

The 21st-ranked Warriors missed a handful of fast-break chances and went 9-for-20 from the foul line while the host Panthers knocked down 18 of its 23 foul shots to secure a wire-to-wire 40-34 win at David Strong Gymnasium.

“They outscored us by nine at the free throw line and that was definitely the difference in the game,” said Windsor coach Vinnie Cianfarani. “I thought we had countless opportunities to cut  down their lead from five to three or two, and we just couldn't get over that hurdle. We made it up the mountain, but never over the top of the mountain.”

The gritty inside play of junior Grace Sansone (17 points, eight rebounds) and Windsor's aggressive back court defense of senior Natasia Franklin and juniors Keniece Walker and Alexus Williams kept the Warriors (11-10) within striking distance throughout most of the game.

Trailing 24-29 early in the fourth quarter, Windsor battled back with foul shots from Sansone and Franklin. A slick inside feed from Walker to Sansone sparked a 7-3 Warriors' scoring run highlighted by a baseline jumper from sophomore Sydnee Over and a hard-fought traditional three-point play by Sansone that cut the deficit to 34-33 with 1:42 remaining.

The Panthers (15-6) squelched the comeback at the foul line with perfect 4-for-4 shooting by Michelle Wu and Kelly Zazuri. Wu sealed the game with a steal and two more foul shots in the final five seconds.

It was Wu's shining moment on offense after being effectively targeted by Franklin, Walker and Williams throughout the game.

“I had a look at Masuk earlier in the year and I knew that Wu was going to their primary ball handler,” Cianfarani said. “I didn't think they had a secondary ball handler, so we did a really good job limiting her touches when she didn't have the ball and we did a pretty good job when she had it.”

Windsor's pesky guards shined in the defensive slugfest of the first quarter, holding Wu to no points and forcing her to turn the ball over. Sansone scored on a put-back basket and foul shot, and guard Adriana Aguilar buried a mid-range jumper coming around a solid pick by Over to attribute for all of the Warrior's scoring in the first quarter. Masuk stayed ahead with strong inside play by Brooke Butkovsky (13 points) for an 8-5 first-quarter lead.

Penetrating drives by Walker, and strong rebounding by Sansone and Over (five rebounds) put Masuk's big players, Butkovsky and Melissa Peet, in foul trouble for the second quarter, but Windsor couldn't take advantage as Masuk extended its lead to five points with the help of four straight missed foul shots by the Warriors. Williams (six points) helped Windsor through the poor shooting spell with a put-back basket and sharp baseline runner with 1:33 left in the half. Sansone closed out the quarter with two shots from the charity stripe to cut the Masuk lead to 18-13 at the half.

Both teams found their offensive groove in the third quarter, starting with a 3-pointer by Franklin. Masuk countered with baskets by Wu and Butkovsky to take a 28-20 advantage midway through the quarter. Windsor kept it close with strong offensive rebounds by Sansone to hold the Panther lead at five points going into the fourth.

“Sansone did a wonderful job. Without her, the game would have been a whole lot different,” Cianfarani said. “She scored 17 of our 34 points, so it was a job well done on her part.

Overall it was a pretty good performance by my team. We didn't shoot the ball well, but we only gave up 40 points and we kept ourselves in the game, so I'm happy in that sense.”