Windsor downs Springfield on senior night

Windsor strengthened its hold on the top spot in VPA Division 3 Tuesday evening, riding a 17-point burst to a 58-31 senior night victory over Springfield.

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2017-03-01 / Sports Windsor downs Springfield on senior night View full-size Windsor honored its seniors Tuesday evening. Left to right are, front row, Erica Gray and Yvette Gray; back row, Kaycee Herschel, Anika Abrahamsen, Ashleay Wilcox and Kylee Williams. — TIM TAYLOR By TIM TAYLOR WINDSOR — Windsor strengthened its hold on the top spot in VPA Division 3 Tuesday evening, riding a 17-point burst to a 58-31 senior night victory over Springfield. The Yellow Jackets started five of their six seniors on the special occasion, but once they switched to their normal line-up they turned a tight affair into a one-sided contest. “It's really good to have everybody play,” Windsor coach Bruce Mackay. “The seniors got a lot of minutes. “There was about 10-12 minutes we played extremely well. We passed the ball around well. We finished. Ashley Wilcox made some great passes. When we play like that, distribute the ball, play unselfish, we're pretty good.” Mackay made the change to his regular lineup just past the midway point of the first period with the Jacks ahead 6-4. Once freshman standout Olivia Rockwood got acclimated she made an impact. “We brought three starters that normally start in at that time and it was good to see that they could come off the bench and generate that offense right off, which was good for us,” said Mackay. “But then again, Olivia and Ashleay, and Anika (Abrahamsen) and Kaycee (Herschel) down low. I thought all the seniors did a nice job tonight. Yvette (Gray) hit some threes. It's a good team win.” Rockwood scored her first basket of the game at 1:41. Moments later, she put back a teammate's miss and it was 10-4. Senior point guard Ashley Wilcox would make it a 10-point gap before quarter's end, first on a nice spin move in the lane, then off a pass following an Angelina Bigwood steal for a 14-4 lead. Bigwood, another freshman threat for the Jacks, would make it 16-4 early in the second on a steal and layup. The next time the Cosmos brought the ball up she would create another theft and dish the ball to Rockwood for an 18-4 cushion. A Wilcox free throw and Wilcox pass to Rockwood for a bucket made it 21-4. That 17-0 run proved costly to the younger, more inexperienced Cosmos. “That's a big deal against a team as good as Windsor,” said Springfield coach Joe Costello. “And I don't want to suggest that I'm taking anything away from Windsor. They're the number one team in Division 3 for a reason. They put good product on the floor every night and they've got a lot of really good basketball players, but the group I watched play for me tonight was not the team I've coached all year. “As far as execution goes, as far as energy goes, we just didn't show up and when you play a team as strong as Windsor and you don't show up they're going to run you out of the gym, and they did that to us tonight. I think the score is closer than the game is actually played.” Springfield would finally get on the scoreboard on a pair of Cassidy Otis free throws, breaking an 8-minute-plus drought, but Windsor came right back with back-to-back baskets by Rockwood and a Gray 3-pointer to push the lead to 28-6. The Cosmos' Hailey Perham and Rockwood would trade free throws, then Perham fired off a buzzer-beater from well beyond the arc, trimming the score to 30-11 at the half. Unfortunately, it was one of the few highlights of the evening for Springfield, which just couldn't seem to find its “A” game. The third-quarter seemed to slide into a slow-motion rhythm from both teams, but Windsor continued to increase its lead and took a 41-19 cushion into the final period. Gray highlighted the final frame with a pair of treys, her second and third of the night, and Wilcox added four more points, including a pair of free throws. She went 6-for-7 on the night at the charity stripe. Senior Kylee Williams, whose playing time has been limited due to injury, would add three points to a large crowd approval rating. The Cosmo's Hannah Crosby, who had been quiet since the first quarter, knocked down a trio of field goals in the final period. She finished with eight points while Perham and Otis shared team honors with 10 points each. Rockwood pumped out a game-high 19 points, Wilcox contributed 16 and Gray chipped in with 11 more. Nine of the 12 Yellow Jackets players scored as they improved to 16-3 on the season. Windsor, winner of four straight, closes out the regular season Thursday at Fair Haven, which is ranked third in D-2. The Slaters (15-4) had their four-game streak snapped Tuesday by Mill River, but have won nine of the past 11 games. “We've got some things to work on,” Mackay said. “We worked on that 2-2-1 tonight. I think it bothered them a little bit. We've got to square that up a bit, have everybody know their responsibility. I think we're solid defensively and offensively, we run our offense. Instead of taking the first option we usually get fairly good looks and it always helps when you have a couple payers that can put the ball in the hole.” Springfield (3-15) will look to snap an 8-game slump at Hartford (7-12) Thursday. The Cosmos also have a game left at Woodstock (7-10) on Saturday.