Defense Pushes Windsor Past Rocky Hill

Windsor picked up an important, 53-24 victory over Rocky Hill in its home opener Tuesday.

The Lady Warriors were propelled by a swarming defense, which recorded 12 steals, and heavily relied on fast break points to get the job done.

The loss was the first of the season for Rocky Hill, which already picked up two CCC victories this season on the road.

Windsor, playing without two of its key players in Ashley Santos and Grace Sansone, jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, but it was an 18-point second quarter that put the Lady Warriors up 21 heading into the locker room at the half.

Rock Hill was held to just 9 points in the first two quarters, which was largely thanks to what Windsor Coach Vinny Cianfarani calls the "havoc" his team must create to be successful.

"It's been a sentiment that we've been trying to get across to the kids throughout the course of the year, that we are going to score off of our defense, and we've been doing a good job in practice the last couple of days really working on playing some solid defense, because that's where our offense is going to come from," Cianfarani said.

In many instances, steals turned into fast-break points for the Warriors.

Amanda Lopez led Windsor in steals with four. She also led all scorers with 12 points.

The havoc created by Cianfarani's defense was most evident in the first half, after which Rocky Hill found itself in a hole it was unable to dig its way out of.

"We were trying to do the things that we're best at," said Rocky Hill Coach Peter Egan.

"What were not good at, being a young team, is handling pressure. We knew we were going to get [pressure]. I tried to tell them that. They didn't believe me until halftime," he  said.

The Terriers picked things up after halftime, as both teams scored nine points in the third quarter.

"Defensively we played well, and our best shooter was 0 for 8 from behind the arc. A couple of those — I'm not saying we win the game — but it's a lot closer," said Egan.

While Rocky Hill (2-1) tied Windsor in third-quarter scoring, its 21-point deficit remained at the start of the fourth, and it was too large a deficit to overcome.

Windsor outpaced Rocky Hill 14-6 in the final 8 minutes of play.

Windsor's Nyah Charles recorded 12 rebounds on the night, in addition to her 9 points.

Val Koblalka led Rocky Hill in scoring with 7 points.

Windsor (2-1) will head to Weaver on December 15 to face Capital Prep before returning home for a December 19 matchup with South Windsor.

Rocky Hill will continue its road trip on Mon., Dec. 19 when it heads to Bloomfield, and will hold its home opener on Thurs., Dec. 22 against Plainville.