Career coach Kevin Walton calls senior point guard Nicole Bentley a pass-first point guard. But it was Bentley’s scoring that lifted No. 5 Career over top-ranked Hillhouse 55-47 today at the Big City Vanguard Athletics Holiday Classic.


Bentley, who averages just 5.6 points per game, scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 15 for the Panthers. It may have been just a poor effort defensively by Hillhouse, as Bentley seemingly dribbled straight to the basket for an easy layup at times during the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, give Bentley credit for stepping up and leading the Panthers down the stretch.

Want to check out some games over the holiday break? Here's a list of the area holiday tournament schedules...

Mercy Classic

Monday

Wilbur Cross vs. East Catholic, 6 p.m.

Mercy vs. Lauralton Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday

Consolation game, 6 p.m.

Championship, 7 p.m.

LaVista Tournament

Monday

Foran at New Canaan, 3 p.m.

Wednesday

Foran at Darien

Shelton Holiday Tournament

Tuesday

Law vs. Norwalk, 6 p.m.

Shelton vs. Bunnell, 8 p.m.

Thursday

Consolation game, 6 p.m.

Championship game, 8 p.m.

Hand holiday tournament

Monday

Glastonbury vs. Lyman Hall, 5 p.m.

East Lyme vs. Hand, 7 p.m.

Wednesday

Consolation game, 5 p.m.

Championship game, 7 p.m.

Stratford PAL Holiday Classic

Thursday

Bullard Havens vs. Oxford, 6 p.m.

Stratford vs. Amistad Academy, 7:45 p.m.

Dec. 30

Amistad Academy vs. Oxford, 3:30 p.m.

Stratford vs. Bullard-Havens, 5:15 p.m.

East Hampton Tournament

Monday

Old Lyme vs. Lyman Memorial, 2 p.m.

East Hampton vs. Amistad Academy, 6 p.m.

Wednesday

Consolation game, 2 p.m.

Championship game, 6 p.m.

North Haven Holiday Tournament

Monday

Bullard Havens vs. Hyde, 5:15 p.m.

North Haven vs. Platt Tech, 7 p.m.

Tuesday

Consolation game, 5:15 p.m.

Championship game, 7 p.m.

Southington Holiday Tournament
Monday
Cheshire vs. Waterford, 5:30 p.m.
Southington vs. Maloney, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Consolation game, 5:30 p.m.
Championship game, 7 p.m.

The Connecticut Sun have named Sports and Medical Sciences Academy as its Sun Team of the Week for Dec. 13-19.

Toshina Jessamy made a shot from her knees as time expired to lift SMSA to a 52-50 upset win over Kolbe Cathedral on Dec. 13. The Tigers went on to beat Bulkeley 63-22, before falling to Notre Dame-Fairfield 58-52.

Mercy may lack size inside, but the Tigers are proving they have plenty of offensive firepower to make up for it.


Mercy scored 90 points in a win against Lyman Hall Monday night and have the area’s top offense, scoring 69.4 points per game. The Tigers have three players averaging double figures...

Amber Bepko, 17.8 ppg
Sadie Edwards 14.0 ppg
Maria Weselyj, 12.6 ppg

Also, Southington-transfer Jordyn Nappi has been a pleasant addition, scoring eight points per game.

Hamden Hall’s Dreisen Heath and Hopkins Ali Berman both scored their 1,000 career point this weekend.

Heath had 13 points, including her 1,000, in a loss to Governors Academy on Sunday. Berman dropped 28 points, including her 1,000, in a loss to Brooks on Saturday.

Mercy got a big lift from Maria Weselyj to lead the No. 5 Tigers to a 64-52 win over No. 2 Career today at Wilbur Cross.

The Tigers (3-1) needed a third scorer to complement Sadie Edwards and Amber Bepko, and Weselyj filled that role Saturday with a game-high 16 points. Bepko added 15 points, Edwards had 12 points and Southington transfer Jordyn Nappi had 13 points to give Mercy four players in double figures.

The difference proved to be in the fourth quarter, where the Tigers outscored the Panthers 18-7. Career coach Kevin Walton said the Tigers simply “wanted it more.”

Jasmine Claxton and Ashley Franklin each had 15 points for the Panthers (3-1).

Check out Friday's highlights here.

Check out this story on Wilbur Cross senior Atong Reyak, the niece of the late Manute Bol.

After recovering from tonsilitis, Elisa Plaza made her season debut Tuesday scoring eight points in Platt’s 62-37 win over Fermi.


It was a much-needed scoring boost for the Panthers, who were relying heavily on their Iona-bound senior Damika Martinez to carry their offense.
 
Through three games this season, Martinez is averaging 28.9 points per game. The Panthers are averaging 48 points per game as a team. Getting Plaza back should take some of the pressure off Martinez (not that she seems to need it) and give Platt a nice one-two punch.

Platt Tech’s 6-foot-4 sophomore Aaliyah Bohannon has quickly shown improvement from last season. Bohannon has been a force inside for the Panthers (2-1). Platt Tech coach Mike Schryver said the biggest difference this season has been her footwork.


After opening the season with a six-point effort in a loss to Stratford, she followed with 12 points in a win over Abbott Tech and finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds in a victory over Wilcox Tech Tuesday night.

Andreana Thomas drops 25 to lead Hillhouse over Mercy and the rest of Wednesday's highlights here.

Check out the Register's season preview here.