Booth scores 1,000th point to lead Bellringers to fifth straight win

Senior forward Kelsey Booth reached a milestone with another virtuoso performance on a night when short-handed East Hampton needed it the most.

Booth surpassed the 1,000-point plateau by scoring 16 of her 22 points in the second half and the Bellringers held on for their fifth straight win, 41-36 on the road over Old Lyme in a Shoreline Conference contest Tuesday night.

Sarah Denihan had nine points for East Hampton (7-2), which played a second game in as many nights without two key starters. Kate Dash was injured during warmups and Ashley Chasse left early in the first quarter after taking a shot to the mouth.

It didn't matter because, like she's done all season, Booth came to the rescue. After the Wildcats cut an 11-point deficit to three with 22 seconds left, Booth sliced through the defense for a layup that sealed the win.

“I thought that was as good of a second half as she’s played all year,” East Hampton coach Shaun Russell said.

Booth, the three-time All Shoreline performer, broke open a tie game single-handedly in the third quarter.  She scored 10 straight points during a 16-5 run.

East Hampton outscored Old Lyme 18-7 in the third and led 36-25 heading into the final period. But the Wildcats (3-7) turned the tables and held East Hampton to just five points in the fourth quarter.

Russell said the Bellringers were their own worst enemy.

"We had open looks with kids who can make those shots," he said. "But at that point with an 11-point lead, we need to be running offense and running the clock. We can get those same shots three or four passes later."

Nikki Strizzi (12 points) pulled Old Lyme to within 39-36 with a steal and a layup with 22 seconds left, but Booth ran the clock down before slashing through the lane for a layup with four seconds to play.

“We ran a little isolation at the end for her,” Russell said. “Really what we were saying is, ‘Go ahead and foul her.' But they gave her a lane and she took it. 

"She made the smart decision. With that much time left we want something at the rim because they have to rebound it and go the distance, as opposed to a turnover at midcourt.”

It was a fitting way to end a night in which Booth earned her 1,000th career point on a layup with 1:26 left in the third.

“She’ll remember more than if we got beat,” Russell said. “Now she can remember it with a victory. A hard-fought victory. She played very well.”

Old Lyme coach Don Bugbee can attest to that.

“Kelsey’s an all-league player. Once she gets the ball inside it’s over," he said.

The Wildcats, who lost four starters from last year's team that finished 17-6, were tied with the Bellringers after two periods. But they fell apart in the third quarter.

“We had a two- or three-minute span in the third quarter where we let the game get away from us,” Bugbee said.