Mohegan-Bound Panthers Defend Home Court as Stolstajner Eclipses 1000

Cromwell's Najla Cecunjanin fights for rebounding position with East Catholics #31 Cami Pasqualoni and #12 Tamisha Myers during the Panthers 51-40 quarterfinals victory last Thursday night

Winning any tournament game is a cause for celebration. Winning a tournament game at home and having a player reach the 1,000-career point milestone is a reason to party.

Cromwell girls’ basketball and Vanessa Stolstajner accomplished both last Thursday night as the Panthers upended East Catholic 51-40 and Stolstajner surpassed 1,000 career points during the Class M quarterfinals triumph at Jake Salafia Gymnasium.

“Winning the game obviously came first because if we didn’t win than I couldn’t even get it,” said Stolstajner, who scored her 1000th point on a free throw early in the fourth quarter, “I wasn’t counting in my head but when the crowd cheered, I knew. It’s a great feeling because it’s the last home game of the season and I never thought I could do it my junior year.”

Stolstajner scored a game-high 26 points, 20 coming in the second half, including a dozen in the decisive fourth quarter.

“I thought in the first half she was forcing things and in the second half she let the game come to her a little more,” said head coach Kelly Maher, “That’s when she’s at her best, when she lets things come to her instead of trying to do everything.”

Following a sloppy first half, both offenses heated up as Stolstajner and East Catholic freshman-phenom Lily Ferguson traded highlights during a back-and-forth third quarter.

Stolstajner had a personal 6-0 run early in the quarter before Ferguson had a LeBron-esque chase down block and canned back-to-back threes to provide the visitors a 24-22 lead with just over a minute to play in the frame.

A pair of free throws from Stolstajner and a three-pointer from Sadie Budzik regained the lead for the Panthers, who held a three-point advantage heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.  

Cromwell closed it out in the fourth thanks to superb foul shooting and an opportunistic defense, which is Maher’s bread and butter.

“We work on defense all the time. We talked about getting the stops and I thought down the stretch the kids were focused and did what they had to do. They were really working together to get those stops.”

After missing their first five free throws, the Panthers hit 27 of their final 33 from the charity stripe.

Stolstajner made her second home the foul line, hitting 18 of 19 after missing her first two.

Her milestone moment came when she drained a pair of freebies for points #1000 and #1001, putting the home team up 34-30.

Maher credited the turnaround to focus and Stolstajner was extra focused and aggressive from the opening possession of the second half.

“I’ve been trying to let the game come to me and the first half wasn’t the best, but in the second half I was making my free throws and we played with more urgency,” said Stolstajner, who also had three steals, “They were fouling, so we tried to be more aggressive and make sure not to let them shoot threes because that’s their game.”

Ferguson led East Catholic with 21 points, but Cromwell’s defensive rotation made it difficult for her to get good looks in the fourth quarter.

Budzik, who does a little of everything for the Panthers, played brilliantly on the defensive end until she was forced to leave with an injury after colliding with an Eagles player under the basket midway through the fourth.

“We go as Sadie goes, and I really thought she had a good game defensively,” added Maher, “I also thought that when Eliza [Weston] came in, she changed the game a lot.”

Weston came off the bench and scored all five of her points in the fourth quarter, while Nejla Cecunjanin scored all four of her points over the final eight minutes as well.

Senior Jessica DellaRatta helped seal the game down the stretch with key rebounds, finishing with 11 boards to go along with six points.

As a team the Panthers scored 24 in the final quarter, nearly doubling their output from the first three quarters combined.

“We wanted to win the Shoreline and we wanted to get further than we did last year,” said Maher, whose team defeated East Hampton 41-25 on Feb 22 to win their fourth straight conference championship, “This is a group of resilient kids. Whatever is thrown at them they find a way to respond and get the job done. I’m proud of them tonight.”

It was the Panthers first quarterfinals victory since 2016 and erased the memory of two straight second-round exits, both at home.

“We knew it was our last home game of the season. We were focused on making sure we played a solid game,” added Stolstajner, who is the team’s leading scorer after breaking out as a sophomore a year ago, “Getting varsity time my freshman year and then starting last year built my confidence. I know that the players trust me and my coaches trust me, so that helps a lot. Even though the first half didn’t go that well for me, my coaches were still encouraging me to take over.”

Her 1,000 career points is just the latest achievement for a player that Maher has seen sprout into a star.

“She’s more active in everything. She’s a better defender, she gets more rebounds, and set her teammates up more. She’s the main focal point so getting her teammates involved is important. She’s really picked up her game in that area.”

The Panthers are now Mohegan-bound to take on Sheehan in the Class M championship game this weekend after besting Kolbe Cathedral 51-47 in a highly-competitive semifinal at Maloney High School on Monday.

Stolstajner again led the way with 22 points and Cecunjanin added 17.

"It feels amazing, we've worked so hard. We've been working towards this since the beginning of the season. We start with small goals, but Mohegan was our goal in the end and now we're going," said Cecunjanin.

"It feels awesome, my brother was able to get there last year with his friends," added Budzik, whose brother, Noah, won a state title at Mohegan last March, "It just feels great to get there with my friends who I've been playing with my whole life. We just have to win one more game."

 
The Starting Five: Local Athletes of the Week

Hadden Gaunt- Wethersfield (Diving): Gaunt won the Class M diving competition held last Wednesday at Bulkeley High School. The Sophomore finished with a total score of 435.95, improving on a second-place finish in the class finals a year ago as a freshman. Over the next couple of seasons, the Eagles will have a terrific one-two punch on divers as Gaunt will be competing with sophomore teammate Brian Puglielli, who finished sixth at the class finals.

Tyler Wenzel- Middletown (Diving): Wenzel placed second with an overall score of 431.90 at the Class M diving finals. The senior has also been an accomplished Outdoor Track & Field performer for the Blue Dragons and is off to Marist College in New York next year where he will continue his diving career.

Joshua Loza- Rocky Hill (Wrestling): Loza placed third in the Class S finals, defeating Hermin Pomales from Windham in the 126 LB division. The senior wrapped up his high school career by competing in the State Open at Xavier High School.

Alex DiPaola- Newington (Hockey): DiPaola was flawless in goal as Newington co-op shutout Trinity Catholic, 9-0, in the first round of the Division III ice hockey tournament last Tuesday. The Indians went on to defeat Tri-Town 3-2 in round two, behind a goal and an assist from Andrew Graham.

Aaron Cholewa- WMRP (Hockey): Cholewa scored a pair of goals as the #9 Eagles upset top-seed Watertown/Pomperaug, 4-1, last Friday in the quarterfinals of the Division II tournament. The sophomore has been a consistent offensive force all season, including scoring a goal in the team’s first-round upset of #8 E.O. Smith.

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