By MICHAEL LETENDRE
STAFF WRITER
WATERTOWN – The St. Paul Catholic girls basketball team continued to win into the month of February with tournament time right around the corner.
On Tuesday, Feb. 5, the Falcons continued that winning play, defeating Watertown on the road by a 58-48 final.
St. Paul Catholic improved to 17-2 overall while Watertown fell to 11-7.
The Falcons are 17-0 in Naugatuck Valley League play and will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NVL Tournament.
In terms of state tournament standings, Housatonic Regional lost on Monday, Feb. 4 at New Fairfield 46-34 and another defeat would move the Falcons up a spot in the Class S standings – with the Falcons hanging in at No. 3 currently – thanks to East Hampton’s 30-26 loss to Woodstock Academy.
Watertown (11-7) never got into its offense until late in the fray; and by that time, there was a double-digit lead for St. Paul Catholic on the scoreboard.
It was a 30-point effort by Janessa Gonzalez as she scored over half of her team’s points while Jade Udoh pitched in 11 points over another victorious effort.
Also for the Falcons, Emma Cretella added eight points – hitting two three-pointers along the way – while Morgan Kolb scored five.
The Indians’ Jordyn Forte dropped in a team-high 23 points, spurring a 36-point second half that was too little, too late.
That’s because over the first two quarters, St. Paul Catholic limited Watertown to just six points in each the first and second frames.
The Falcons nabbed a 14-6 lead after one completed quarter and off another six-point tilt, the visitors increased the edge to 32-12 by the half.
Watertown put together a 20-point third period but still trailed 42-28 with one stanza to play.
And St. Paul Catholic held on in the end to win it by 10, 58-48.
To comment on this story or to contact staff writer Michael Letendre, email him at MLetendre@BristolObserver.com.