By Andy Hutchison

BETHEL–After defeating a trio of tough Division II foes, the No. 3 Staples girls basketball team’s run ended by No. 10 seed Bristol Central in a 67-62 setback in the state tourney semifinals at neutral site Bethel High on Tuesday. Bristol Central will face top seed Rocky Hill in Saturday’s title game at Mohegan Sun Arena beginning at 3:15 p.m.

In the semis, the teams were locked up in a close one throughout. It was 14-14 after one quarter and Bristol Central led 31-27 at halftime. Staples trailed 43-39 going to the fourth. There was no shortage of points in the final stanza but, unfortunately for the Wreckers, their 23 in the final period was matched by Bristol Central which put up 24 to fend off the Wreckers.

Chloe Smith was a scoring machine with 26 points of her own in as many minutes played. Smith also grabbed eight rebounds, had two steals, a block and an assist.

Riley Caney scored 17 to go along with four rebounds, a pair of steals and an assist. Freya Harvey had 10 points, four rebounds, four steals and an assist. Addie Talbott had three points, eight rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block. Emma Asiel added five points and Marley Belzer tacked on a free throw.

The Wreckers will have to wait for next season to return to the court but have a lot to be proud of this winter.

“It’s been an incredible year,” Talbott, a sophomore, said after the team’s 42-35 quarterfinal win over No. 11 South Windsor last Friday. Getting to know each other on and off the court led to the team’s winning ways, Talbott said.

A core of seniors — Harvey, Belzer, Asiel and Sadie Katzner — helped set the tone.

“We’ve been playing together since fifth grade so we’ve always had a lot of chemistry,” said Harvey, adding that the entire roster, including freshman who added a spark, had played a key role in the winning ways.

The Wreckers won 18 of 20 regular season games and had a blast along the way.

“It’s just been so much fun. We all have so much chemistry,” said Smith, a junior who stands to be among the returning leaders next campaign.

“It’s been amazing. The best part is to watch the girls find confidence within themselves and see what they’re capable of,” Coach Tommy Sparks added.

Andy Hutchison

^{_{Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories, since the 1990s. He is the sports editor at the Newtown Bee. He writes for the Monroe Sun. He was director of communications and radio color commentator for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (now Islanders) hockey team. He has won numerous writing awards, including regional and national first-place honors.}}