Fourth-Grade Maverick Girls Place Second In Hoopfest Invitational

Newtown’s fourth-grade girls’ basketball team, the Mavericks, closed out their season as runners up in the Milford Hoopfest Invitational basketball tournament last weekend. Competing in the division comprised of fourth and fifth grade teams, the Mavs sailed through the first game against Milford Fever 21-9 with strong performances from Kristen Cirone and Alison Kelleher.

In Game two, Guilford took an early lead and put up a strong fight. The Mavs fought back behind the point guard leadership of Kim “Smooth” Buttery and tremendous hustle of Lauren Adams, squeaking out a 15-11 victory.

Game three featured the comeback of the season for the Mavs against at strong fifth grade St Catherine’s squad. The Mavs struggled to get their offense going for the first three quarters. Down 12-2 at the beginning of the fourth, the Mavs rallied for a 16-15 win behind clutch shots from Carolina Stubbs and Nicki DaPra. Jenna Lavelle and Buttery delivered with key shots at the foul line, with a fearless drive to the hole by Alison Kelleher for another bucket.

With ten seconds left to play, and the Mavs down 15-14, Jackie Matthews dished a perfect pass to Tess Davenport for the final bucket and the win. In this double-elimination tournament, the Mavs faced St Catherine’s again the next morning, and came up just short with a 15-11 loss. In the championship game later that day, the Mavs gave their all with standout contributions from Sarah Widmann and Davenport, but ran out of gas and fell once again to St. Catherine’s in the final matchup. The Mavs left everything out on the floor, never giving up and playing their hearts out until the final buzzer.