*Story Below

The Coginchaug Lady Blue Devils traveled to St. Bernard High School in Uncasville, Connecticut where they recently won the Class S State Championship in 2012. The Devils entered the game as the No. 21 seed, while St. Bernard was the No. 12 seed. The girls knew they had their work cut out for them, having to contain the Saints’ star shooter Caitlyn Dittman. This task would prove to be especially hard, as the girls were missing their center, Carly Lane, who will miss the remainder of the season with a concussion.
At the start of the first half, the Saints were on a hot streak, leading the Devils by as much as eight points in the first half; however, the girls were able to remain mentally tough in this game, chipped away at the lead, and were consistently down by no more than two to four points at any given time.
When the second half commenced, things began to get very riled up between both teams. Aggressive shoves came on both sides, as well as some harsh talking by the St. Bernard fans. This anger came in response to players such as Molly Shields and Jessi King playing more fiercely against Dittman, which greatly helped the Devils’ defensive efforts.
The Devils fought their way to a two-point lead nearing the end of the fourth quarter, and a last-second foul on Ashleigh Halligan allowed the team to extend their lead to 42-38. Though Dittman put in 29 of the team’s 38 points, it was not enough for the Saints to overcome the Devils. The Devils’ own Ashleigh Halligan and Ginny Benbow led the way for the Devils with 13 and 11 points respectively.
Looking further into the Class M bracket, the girls have potential to cause a number of upsets over the following weeks and make an impressive run to the sun. The girls will be seeking their second ever state title and first ever Class M title as they move on to face the No. 5 seed, Bethel, who the girls last played and lost to in a close matchup in the 2014-15 season.