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SHELTON — Mariah Mandulak put a capper on Senior Night, and why Shelton High won handily over visiting North Haven, when she passed to Asia Askew for the Gaelettes’ 11th assist in their 51-27 victory at the Vincent J. Murray Memorial Gym on Thursday night.
Senior co-captains Maggie Howard and Mackenzie Joyce, and classmate Mandaluk, were feted before the game that saw coach Joe Cavallaro’s club improve to 10-8 on the season.
“I’m proud of them,” Cavallaro said. “We have a fairly young group. What the seniors do in practice, and then during games, carries over. Tonight, we did a great job rebounding and contesting shots.
“We ran the court well and we passed the ball well. It all worked out for us and I’m happy we came together like this on Senior Night.”
Howard scored eight of her 15 points in the third period. Shelton held a 22-11 lead at the half and extended its advantage to 35-15 by holding the Indians to single-digit scoring for the third consecutive quarter.
Six players accounted for the 11 assists, led by junior point guard Leya Vohra with five.
North Haven ran its offense out of the high post, but active defense across the board, and superior play on the block from sophomore Clarissa Pierre and junior Reem Abdel-Hack made things difficult for the Indians.
Vohra and sophomore Devan Wildman each had two helpers in the second period, when Shelton got out in transition to fend off a late charge by the visitors.
North Haven attacked the rim late in the half, with Mia Antonino, Sarah Punzone and Olivia Stefanik delivering baskets.
Joyce opened the second half with a baseline jumper, then Pierre tallied twice, once inside and again on a putback bucket.
Vohra, Wildman and Keira O’Connor countered quickly off missed shots and North Haven took a timeout down 30-13 with 4:15 remaining in the canto.
Carly Fresher and Antonino buried three-pointers for the Indians in the final frame.
Howard knocked down a three-pointer, and after a basket by Wildman, added two more field goals for a 29-point advantage.
SHELTON 51, NORTH HAVEN 27
North Haven (7-12)
Mia Antonino 3 2-4 9, Sarah Puzone 2 0-0 4, Olivia Stefanik 2 0-0 4, Carly Fresher 1 0-2 3, Eveani Owkwosu 1 1-2 3, Julia Bogan 2 0-0 4
Totals: 11 3-11 27
Shelton (10-8)
Mackenzie Joyce 3 0-0 6, Maggie Howard 6 0-2 15, Keira O Connor 2 1-2 4, Clarissa Pierre 4 1-5 9, Devan Wildman 2 0-0 4, Leya Vohra 1 3-4 5, Asia Askew 1 0-0 2, Emily Sandin 1 1-2 3, Mariah Mandulak 1 0-0 2
Totals: 21 6-15 51
Scoring by Quarters
North Haven: 2- 9- 4-12 27
Shelton: 9-13-13-16 51