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Sports

T-Birds Fall Short

North Branford girls' basketball was unable to stop Portland, losing 42-33.

The North Branford girls' varsity basketball team hosted the Portland Highlanders before a packed house on Tuesday night at North Branford High School. Despite their efforts, a victory was not achievable. The loss marked the third straight for the struggling T-Birds.

Both teams started the game strong with Portland controlling the tip-off and striking first. A hard-fought first quarter ended with North Branford trailing by three, 11-8.

North Branford rebounded quickly, scoring the first points of the second quarter when an open Alyssa Barreto drove to the basket and connected for a layup. The T-Birds went into halftime leading by two, at 17-15.

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The third quarter saw several lead changes. North Branford again scored first, but Portland responded with a basket and an immediate steal that led to another two points for the Highlanders.  The quarter ended with Portland leading by four after a buzzer-beater failed to land in the net for the Thunderbirds.

A late effort on Portland's part ultimately sealed the loss for North Branford. The fourth quarter saw the Highlanders pull away, leading at the 4:11 mark by eight points and eventually winning by nine. The closest North Branford came during this stretch was when a foul shot by Tara Ricci cut the lead to five.

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Portland's Kelly Coleman was the leading scorer on the night, dropping 22 points against North Branford. Lindsey Dionne was Portland's second-leading scorer at nine points for the Highlanders.

According to North Branford head coach Chris Webster, the Thunderbirds have work to do.

"We had a pretty good first half. We did a pretty good job against Kelly (Coleman)," Webster said. "We made a lot of mistakes."

"All of the little things could have made a difference," Webster added. "Hopefully on Friday we can get our first win. We have some talent but we've got to work a lot harder and you can't have as many mistakes as we've had. Our shooting percentage is not very good. Hopefully we'll do better next time."

Portland assistant coach Diane Coleman was pleased with her team's defensive effort, but also discouraged at the Highlanders' inability to settle down due to the pressure facing Portland heading into the game—and rightfully so. Tuesday night's victory was career win number 500 for head coach Nick Chaconis.

"We knew the 500th win was at stake and we weren't as patient as we should have been but when push came to shove they executed," Diane Coleman said.

"They started getting the ball inside, forcing turnovers and it worked out alright, she added. "

North Branford's leading scorer was Jessica Sola. She had nine points on the night. Second in line were Ricci and Maggie Sullivan, each with seven points.

North Branford will look to record their first win on Friday night at home against Valley Regional.

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