Kaynor Tech repeats as CTC girls basketball champions thanks to explosive 4th-quarter run
· Yahoo Sports
MIDDLETOWN - Kaynor Tech's frustration turned into elation over the final four minutes of the CTC girls basketball championship game Wednesday night.
After 3½ quarters of doing everything but score, the second-seeded Panthers found just enough offense off its defense down the stretch to win their second consecutive conference title with a 40-30 win over No. 4 Prince Tech at Mercy High School.
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Kaynor Tech outscored Prince Tech 15-0 in the game's final 4:36 behind senior captain Shaniya Dunbar, who came up with two key steals and several clutch buckets in the decisive run. She scored 10 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter when the Panthers took their first lead of the game.
"It feels unbelievable," Dunbar said. "I really don't know how to feel. I just feel like I've been here forever. To hand it off like this, it's just amazing. There's nobody better than my team or my coach."
The Panthers (18-5) scored more points in the game's final four minutes than they had in the entire first half. Kaynor trailed Prince 20-12 at halftime.
Kaynor, however, held Prince Tech to just 10 points in the second half, four in the fourth quarter. And as much as Prince Tech struggled to put the ball in the basket all night, so did the Panthers until their pressure defense led to easy layups late.
The teams combined to shoot 28% from the field in the first half and were 5-of-32 from behind the 3-point arc. The cold shooting continued in the second half, as both teams struggled to find any consistent offense.
Prince Tech remained in front 26-19 heading into the fourth quarter.
Mireidys Cruz scored 11 of her team-high 13 points to lead Prince Tech.
"Yeah, it was a frustrating first three (quarters)," Kaynor head coach Rob Wallace said. "I think we were 2-of-19 in the first half from behind the arc. We were settling for 3s. We had to get to the hoop and make free throws."
"You can't teach defense and you can't teach rebounding. It's heart," Wallace continued.
Kaynor Tech didn't take its first lead until just over three minutes remained in the game, when a Dunbar steal and layup gave the Panthers a 31-30 advantage.
London Fulton's rebound and basket of a Dunbar miss, followed by two Fulton free throws extended Kaynor's lead to 35-30 with 1:51 to play. Fulton finished with nine points, but Wallace called his sophomore the game's MVP because of her rebounding in the game's final minutes.
With the game still in question, Dunbar took a charge, which led to a Bella Giampetruzzi basket and 37-30 lead with 1:05 to play. After another free throw by Fulton, Dunbar followed with a driving hoop to seal the win with 21 seconds to play.
"We just pulled through and won it together," Dunbar said. "We did what we needed to do to win this game. That's what got us this win."
Playing in what she hopes will be the first of several CTC title games, Giampetruzzi (eight points) felt the frustration over the first three-plus quarters more than any Panther. The freshman phenom was averaging over 26 points a game coming into the CTC tournament, but did not hit a shot until more than halfway through the fourth quarter.
She also picked up her third foul late in the second quarter, which forced her to the bench and compounded Kaynor's offensive woes.
Giampetruzzi, however, was instrumental in the Panthers' comeback. She hit her first basket with 3:03 to play to bring Kaynor within 30-29. She and Dunbar also created havoc on top of the Panthers' full-court pressure defense.
Both teams will be hosting Division IV first-round games Saturday at noon. No. 6 Kaynor takes on Windsor Locks, and No. 4 Prince Tech faces Rockville.
Player of the Game
Shaniya Dunbar, Kaynor Tech:The senior captain capped off her CTC career with back-to-back tournament titles, scoring a game-high 21 points. She also led the Panthers' defense down the stretch with key steals that led to easy baskets during a 15-0 run to end the game.
Quotable
"I've very proud of the way we played tonight. We never gave up. I don't want to sound cocky, but we stole this (CTC championship) this year. Next year, we are going to be young, but we are going to be good." - Kaynor coach Rob Wallace.
Kaynor Tech 40, Prince Tech 30
PRINCE TECH 9 11 6 4-30
KAYNOR TECH 7 5 7 21-40
Prince Tech: Mireidys Cruz 3 2 -12 13, Kailyn Grate 1 0 0-0 2, Ava Smith 1 0 0-0 2, Xophie Wilson 1 0 2-4 4, Scarlett Rodriguez 2 1 0-0 7, Almyah Bloomfield 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 9 3 3-6 30.
Kaynor Tech: Shaniya Dunbar 7 2 1-2 21, Bella Giampetruzzi 2 0 4-4 8, Landon Fulton 3 0 3-4 9, Camilia Martinez 1 0 0-2 2. Totals:
13 2 8-12 40.
3-point field goals:Prince Tech-Cruz 2, Rodriguez; Kaynor Tech-Dunbar 2.
Team records:
Prince Tech 20-4, Kaynor Tech 18-5.
This article originally published at Kaynor Tech repeats as CTC girls basketball champions thanks to explosive 4th-quarter run.