CHS girls hoop team qualifies for D2 south playoffs

The Canton High girls basketball team is headed back to the Division 2 south playoffs after clinching a spot with their win last week against Stoughton. The lady Bulldogs also defeated Sharon to notch their 11th victory of the campaign — continuing a trend under head coach Jim Choquette of winning at least one more game than the previous season.

Sophomore Kayla Albert (Mike Barucci photo)

The team also showed a new twist to the offense, consistently making an extra pass to a teammate for more layups instead of settling for jump shots, but unfortunately the girls’ major weaknesses continue to be team defense and offensive rebounding.

Both came into play in the waning moments of Sunday morning’s away game at Milton, in which the Wildcats turned a key offensive rebound into the go-ahead basket with 1:38 remaining in the fourth quarter. Canton’s Kiara Cerruti managed to tie the game with two free throws, but Milton iced the game with a basket and two additional free throws, snapping the Bulldogs’ two-game winning streak.

In both of those previous wins — 56-34 versus Stoughton and 65-48 over Sharon — the Canton girls sharpened their offensive focus with more frequent passing, leading to many more assists and more players involved in the offense.

Against Sharon, Cerruti exploded for 25 points and grabbed four rebounds, while Fay Gallery added 12 points and five assists. Other key contributors included Maggie Connolly, who had eight steals and six points; Julia Hamilton, who tallied six points, six steals and four assists; and Sydney Gallery, who contributed six points and six rebounds.

In the Stoughton game, Cerruti again led the offense with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Sydney Gallery nearly had a double-double herself with 10 points and nine rebounds. Connolly finished with eight points and nine rebounds and Fay Gallery collected nine points and two assists. Also scoring points in the win were Erin Devine, Kayla Albert, Hamilton, and Lilah Milton.

In Sunday’s loss to Milton, Cerruti was again Canton’s leading scorer with 16 points and seven rebounds while Sydney Gallery had a strong all-around performance with nine points, six rebounds and seven assists. Lilah Milton added nine points off the bench and almost won the game at the end.

A disappointed Choquette said after Sunday’s game that the team was its own worst enemy. “We were not aggressive enough,” he said. “We had way too many turnovers, more in the first period than the entire last game.”

“Even with that, we had a chance to win and I guess it shows we can still play with those mistakes,” he added. “Rebounding is still a problem. We have tried everything, but a lot of rebounding success is attitude and having a nose for the ball. Maggie Connolly has that attitude and nose for the ball.”

In other team news, the CHS girls basketball program held its annual Play4Kay fundraising event during last week’s game against Stoughton and raised over $500. This marked the sixth season that the lady Bulldogs have hosted the fundraiser, which aids in the fight against women’s cancers in honor of legendary basketball coach Kay Yow.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Feb 16 2019. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.