SOUTHBURY — The Notre Dame-Fairfield girls basketball team comes at opponents in waves with so many scoring threats, teams do not know which way to turn, at times.
The No. 1 team in the GametimeCT Girls Basketball Poll used a couple big runs, moved the ball well and got double-digit points from multiple players en route to a 69-60 win on the road at Pomperaug.
“We did a really good job of (moving the ball) tonight. We are getting better at that every single game,” Notre Dame coach Maria Conlon said. “I thought we did a good job of being patient tonight and being composed. The cool part about this team is that every night, somebody steps up and does something a little bit different. Yamani (McCollough) didn’t score 30 points tonight but she locked up number 35 (Madison Villa) in the second half on defense which was exactly what we needed.”
No. 1 Notre Dame-Fairfield rolled past Pomperaug 69-60 to remain unbeaten #ctgb pic.twitter.com/A4w1J7UHqz
— Will Aldam (@AldamWill) January 18, 2020
McCollough finished with 17 points with Aizhanique Mayo putting in a game-high 19 and Ciara Brown adding 10 points for the Lancers (8-0).
Pomperaug (6-3) hung with the top team in the state, trailing by just one point late in the second quarter before a leg injury knocked out senior guard Alex Rafferty.
The injury, which left Rafferty on the court for several minutes before being helped off, silenced the crowd and took the wind out of Pomperaug’s sails for a stretch.
Over the end of the second and beginning of the third, Notre Dame went on a 8-0 run, opening the lead to nine.
“You could hear a pin drop. Those type of injuries are horrible in sports,” Pomperaug coach Joe Fortier said. “I thought we played well and we hung with the No. 1 team in the state into the fourth quarter. I liked the way we fought. I was proud of them. We don’t have a big scorer but we play as one heart. We put up 60 points against the No. 1 team. Hopefully we will get good news (on Rafferty).”
Pomperaug was able to cut the Notre Dame lead to 54-48 midway through the fourth.
McCollough made sure it would get no closer, knocking down a corner 3-pointer on the next possession then getting a steal and layup, pushing the lead back to 11 very quickly.
Cara McGettigan had 17 points for the Panthers with Madison Villa adding 13 and Molly Flanagan scoring 11.
Halftime Highlights:
NDF 30, Pomperaug 27 #ctgb pic.twitter.com/Zl1dDLdtJb— Will Aldam (@AldamWill) January 18, 2020
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Aizhanique Mayo, Notre Dame. The sophomore guard was running the lanes in transition all night, getting layups and also doing damage with mid-range jumpers.
QUOTABLE
“We communicated, a lot and we were able to move on defense,” Mayo said. “We are able to move the ball around and get good looks.”
