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Girls Basketball Advance to NEPSAC Semifinals
The St. Luke’s girls basketball team advanced to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council tournament semifinal after a hard-fought 73-58 win against Groton School on Wednesday, March 2.
The Storm hosted the No. 7 seed inside a packed Carey Gymnasium, where they battled to keep their undefeated season intact.
The two teams traded blows in the first quarter, but St. Luke’s produced an 8-2 run in the last few minutes to lead 23-15. SLS maintained its eight-point advantage for much of the second quarter, but Groton continued to make things difficult for the Storm. The visitors chipped away at the Storm’s lead and tied the game 33-33 at halftime.
The third quarter started much the same until Luke’s exploded with a 13-2 blitz, which included three huge three-pointers from captain Caroline Lau ‘22.
The Storm held a 45-42 lead with 2:42 to play in the third quarter when Caroline Lau drained a long three-pointer. Fiona Mueller ‘25 followed with a great defensive steal and assist, setting up Mackenzie Nelson ‘23 for an easy layup. Lau hit her second three of the sequence, before another great defensive play by Mueller and Aidan Panian ‘23 led to a breakaway layup for Nelson. Caroline Lau then stole a long pass and, after dribbling forward, hit her third three-pointer to give St. Luke’s a 14-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was all about game management for St. Luke’s, and they did it admirably to secure a place in the NEPSAC semifinals against the Beavers.
Mackenzie Nelson scored a game-high 35 points, with Caroline Lau racking up 24 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Ava Sollene ‘23 added nine points for the Storm.
Head Coach Matt Ward was pleased to get through a tough quarter-final but knows Beaver Country Day School will be another big test: “Every team in the tournament is good. BCDS is well-coached, has championship experience, and a lot of really good players, but we will be ready.”
St. Luke’s beat the Beavers 58-48 in 2019 but lost to them 54-67 in 2020, so it promises to be another great matchup.
The winner of Saturday’s semifinal will play the winner of the Brooks School vs. Suffield Academy game in Sunday’s championship game. The NEPSAC final will be hosted by the higher seed.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
