HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut high school apologized on Tuesday after its girls’ basketball team beat an overmatched opponent 92-4.
Sacred Heart Academy of Hamden (3-0) beat Lyman Hall-Wallingford (0-5) on Monday night. The Sharks led 29-0 after one quarter, 56-0 at halftime and 80-0 after three quarters.
“Sacred Heart Academy values the lessons taught and cultivated through athletic participation including ethical and responsible behavior, leadership and strength of character and respect for one’s opponents,” Sister Sheila O’Neill, Sacred Heart’s president, said in a statement Tuesday. “Last night’s girls’ basketball game vs. Lyman Hall High School does not align with our values or philosophies.”
There is no mercy rule in Connecticut high school basketball.
Lyman Hall coach Tom Lipka said Sacred Heart subjected his team to a press for most of the first half, then went into a tight man-to-man defense for the rest of the game.
“They fast-breaked the entire game right to the end,” he said in an email to The Hartford Courant. “They never went into a zone and continued to push the ball up the court and shoot 3s whenever they could. They showed no mercy throughout.”
O’Neill said her school has reached out to Lyman Hall, the Southern Connecticut Conference and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which oversees high school sports in the state. The school also is addressing the issue internally “to ensure that our athletic programs continue to encourage personal, physical and intellectual growth,” she said.
“Sacred Heart Academy Administration and Athletics are deeply remorseful for the manner through with the outcome of the game was achieved,” she wrote.
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