After a glorious Senior Night, Girls Basketball ends in a close matchup with U-32
March 20, 2021 | By Katie Martin 
Senior Emilee Semprebon takes a foul shot against Peoples on March 10. Photo by Sarah Milligan.
This story was updated on March 26.
March 17 was a particularly busy Wednesday night playoff night but Harwood Girls Basketball came up short in a tight matchup against U-32, ending their playoff run ahead of the Division II quarterfinals.
Eighth-seeded U-32 took on defending champs, undefeated first-place Fair Haven, 9-0, on March 20 with Fair Haven prevailing. Fair Haven went on to get past No. 4 Spaulding in the semifinal round on Tuesday, March 23. The other round at that level saw No. 2 North Country eliminate No. 6 Hartford.
Now the championship final game will be a matchup between No. 1 Fair Haven and No. 2 North Country at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 27.
March 17
U-32 42, Harwood 37
The Highlanders’ final game for the season as evenly matched as both teams were 5-5 on the season but U-32 was able to win by 15. Raiders high scorers included Payton Gariboldi who had nine points and six rebounds. Cara Richardson had seven; Ari Hawkins six; and Alaina Beauregaud, Olivia Hogan and Eliza Garland each tallied five points apiece.
Highlanders heavy hitters fought hard against the Raiders. Cierra McKay had 10 points; senior Ashley Proteau had seven; Emma Ravelin and Quinn Nelson scored six points as well to help out Harwood.
At the end of the first quarter Raiders had a short lead, 13-8, and by intermission, the Raiders deepened the lead to 25-17. Coming back after a quick re-group, Proteau scored a three pointer to open up the second half of the game. The Raiders managed only four more points in the third, the lead still in their hands at 29-24.
In the last quarter, Harwood’s Ravelin sunk two foul line shots with two-and-a-half minutes left on the clock. They bore down on the Raiders who had let the game slide to a close margin at 39-32. But time wasn’t on the Highlanders’ side. They were unable to get ahead of the Raiders, the final score 42-37, sending U-32 to the quarterfinal where the Fair Haven Slaters put an end to their championship hopes.
March 13
Harwood 58, Stowe 13
Harwood Girls Basketball hosted neighboring rival Stowe High School for senior night at Harwood’s Griffith Gymnasium where the team saluted seniors Emilee Semprebon, Sarah Bartolomei and Ashley Proteau and logged a storybook win heading into the playoffs.
Harwood started winning the jump ball and getting a quick shot on the Stowe basket before a quick redirection. Harwood passed around the circle but Stowe was able to get the ball back into their possession. Ashley Proteau scored the first two for Harwood on a steal and an unmarked Stowe player tied up the game less than a minute later.
Proteau added another two points with four minutes remaining on the clock in the first quarter; Stowe responded with another two. Semprebon scored two for the Highlanders. With just over two minutes to go, both teams swapped in their first subs of the game.
A foul by Bartolomei allowed Stowe to take two shots. They scored one bringing the score to 8-5. Proteau made a three-point shot with 10 seconds to go but the ball hit the rim keeping it at 8-5 at the end of the first quarter.
At the opening of the second quarter, Stowe started with the ball at half court and had a call for traveling called against them. Harwood got a chance to regroup and called a “Lawson” play -- a three-point shot out wide that was unsuccessful. Harwood took their first time out with 6:47 left in the quarter.
Harwood worked the ball around the Stowe circle and Abby Young scored a quick two points, followed by Proteau with another two. After a quick Stowe timeout, Abby Young was subbed out for Emma Ravelin. With the ball in Harwood’s offensive zone, a second foul was called against Stowe allowing Harwood to try for a three-pointer but that was unsuccessful. Quinn Nelson dribbled down the court to score another two points for the Highlanders.
Stowe got two shots when Ashley Proteau made Harwood’s third foul of the game. Stowe missed their two attempts, keeping the score 14-5. Emma Ravlin then sunk a two-point shot with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Raiders answered a minute later, followed quickly by another two from Semprebon. As Ravelin attempted to get the ball up the court, it got stuck among feet in close contact; Stowe picked it up and got two more points on the board. Quinn Nelson drew a foul for Harwood, making an easy first basket from the line, her second bouncing off the rim.
At the buzzer for the half, Harwood led 19-9.
The ball started in the third with Harwood who put up a quick four points. The Raiders next scored two, getting the score to 23-11 with six minutes remaining. A call for Harwood traveling got the ball into Stowe’s offensive zone. Harwood regained after it was knocked out of bounds. A Stowe foul gave Semprebon two foul shots, sinking both in the net for Harwood. Emma Ravelin on a steal moments later passed off leading to two more points and a Stowe timeout.
Proteau sunk a three-pointer, followed by a quick two points by the Raiders with just under three minutes to go. Both teams subbed in and Harwood called a timeout, the score 32-13. When play resumed, Harwood drew a foul, sinking one of their two attempts. Emma Ravelin added two more with just over a minute in the quarter.
Stowe had a shot hit the rim and after a quick back-and-forth up the court, Harwood drew another foul. This time Ravelin missed both shots from the line. In the last minute, Harwood ran the clock, passing around their offensive zone before sinking in a two-point shot. In the final seconds of the third, Jaye Fuller added one more shot, making it 39-13.
Stowe started with possession in the fourth. A foul against Stowe allowed Harwood to get the ball back upcourt for another two points; Bartolomei also knocked in two.
The Raiders subbed their entire crew with five minutes remaining; Harwood did the same a minute later. Quinn Nelson scored for Harwood and seconds later she got a breakaway and a shot, the ball dancing around the rim. Fuller grabbed the rebound and scored. With three minutes to go, Proteau was back in the game and drew a foul, missing her first shot. Stowe took a timeout followed by a flurry of action by the Highlanders who landed shot after shot. At the final buzzer, the Highlanders posted a big senior-night win, 58-13.
“It was nice to be able and go out and get this win for our seniors. At the start of the game, I think we came out a little sluggish out of the gate, but we came out in the second half and our team did what was expected of them, so we are happy with that,” Coach Tom Young said.
The tally had Proteau with 16 points; Cierra McKay and Emilee Semeprebon each had 8; Emma Ravelin scored 6; Quinn Nelson and Jaye Fuller each had 5; Jill Rundle and Abby Young logged 6 apiece; Sarah Bartolomei made 2.
After the game, the three seniors reflected on their time in the Harwood basketball program.
“I feel like every year we’ve gotten so much better, we all work hard to be a part of this program and it’s great to see the progression of this team and this program,” Proteau said.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better team to play with this season, it’s been a really fun year,” Semprebon added.
“It wasn’t the season we pictured, but I’m so glad to have been a part of this program for four years and I’ve had so much fun and met so many people,” Bartolomei said.
March 10
Peoples 39, Harwood 32
Harwood, 4-3 on the season traveled to Peoples Academy on March 10 for a close match where they came up short for a loss.
"We came into the season knowing it's a short season and our goal is to get ready for playoffs," Coach Tom Young said ahead of the match expecting Peoples to be tough. “We'll just do our best."
March 6
Harwood 51, Northfield 21
Harwood traveled to meet Northfield High School on March 6 and dominated to add a win following two losses. The Highlanders managed to control the game and play to their own level.
"We were happy to come out and dictate the pace," Coach Young said. "It was good to have a plan coming in and to see everybody execute it as a team. The guards had to put a lot of pressure on the outside for passing. Everybody pretty much played equal minutes today and they did a great job executing the plan the whole game. We've thrown some young kids into some new situations with Tanum [Nelson] being gone and I've been really impressed."
At the end of the first quarter, Harwood held an impressive lead of 18-4 and kept the momentum, ending the half 28-8.
Senior captain Ashley Proteau had 11 points overall in the game and seven steals against Northfield. Sophomore Cierra McKay was right behind her with10 points and four rebounds. Junior captain Emma Ravlin and senior Sarah Bartolomei (who had five rebounds) scored eight points each. Freshman Quinn Nelson added six points and five rebounds of her own. The team effort included Jaye Fuller chipping in with five rebounds and two points, and both Ayden Parrish and Abby Young got on the board for the Highlanders.
"Piper hit some incredible post shots," Young said. "She scored seven points in the first half and 13 in the second half. We tried to front her and play strong weak-side help on the lob. So I was really happy with the way our big bigs played down low, both offensively
and defensively. We had 20 points from our bigs, which was the most we've had all season. I credit Sarah and Quinn, Jaye, Abby and [Emilee Semprebon] for working hard against a really good post player."
Katie Martin works as a youth behavior interventionist and an assistant HU Girls Hockey coach. She’s also a member of the Waterbury Select Board.