Casper’s younger sister Samantha scored all of her 15 points in the second half for the Lions (13-0). Shania Howard led Holy Cross (11-1) with 18 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Northwest won the Class MM championship last year and the Class S title two years ago. Holy Cross was the Class M champion in 2022 and the Class L runner-up last year.

Holy Cross led once, after Quinn Barry scored the first basket of the game, then Northwest took over and never trailed. The Lions led 13-6 after one quarter and 25-22 at halftime. Samantha Casper hit a 3-pointer and Abby back to back shots and Northwest led 32-24. Holy Cross cut the lead to 39-35 on a Mia Mattaboni fast break basket but Abby Casper had a putback and Maeve Staunton’s jumper closed out the quarter with Northwest leading 50-35. Staunton had 12 points for the Lions.

“This is huge,” Northwest Catholic coach Alison Connors said. “We needed this. You never know what’s going to happen at states – we got the whole package tonight, a long bus ride, a loud gym, not many people on our side. Holy Cross had a great showing, a great team. We needed the challenge to make sure we knew how to make the right plays at the right time.”

Northwest Catholic 64, Holy Cross 53

Northwest Catholic 13 12 25 14 – 64

Holy Cross 6 16 17 14 – 53

Northwest Catholic: Maeve Staunton 5 0 12, Lilyan Johnson 2 0 5, Zoey Canning 5 0 10, Samantha Casper 5 0 15, Abigail Casper 8 2 20, Lyla Diaz 1 0 2. Totals: 26 2 64.

Holy Cross: Shania Howard 5 8 18 Maddie Neibel 1 0 3, Julia Begvegnu 1 0 2, Isabella Lombardo 3 0 7, Amelia Mowad 1 0 2, Mia Mattabani 4 1 9, Cheyanne Little 1 0 2, Quinn Barry 5 0 10. Totals: 21 9 53.

Records: Northwest Catholic, 13-0; Holy Cross, 11-1.

“I was like, ‘Oh. My. Goodness,’” Innerarity said.

“I’ve never seen this in all my coaching years. I have two freshmen who are leading the team in scoring.”

They are both guards: Mireidys Cruz-DeJesus, who is averaging 15 points per game and Kailyn Grate (18 ppg) for Prince Tech (9-2).

“They are amazing,” Innerarity said. “It was a total surprise.”

Cruz-DeJesus is a 3-point specialist. Both can handle the ball. In a 60-33 win over Abbott Tech last Wednesday, Cruz-DeJesus had 26 points and Grate had 25.

The Falcons are beating teams they haven’t been able to beat in years. They beat Windham Tech in their first game, 51-28. Ellis Tech beat Prince three times last year; Prince Tech beat Ellis 46-43 on Jan. 7.

The freshmen, Innerarity said, are unselfish and play well together.

“They’re not trying to outdo each other and they’re not in competition with each other,” she said.

Last year, the Falcons were the 24th seed in Class MM and lost to Berlin 56-19 in the first round of the state tournament. This season, they’re ranked fourth in Class MM behind Tolland, Sheehan and East Catholic.

Top performances

Maddie Begnini, Mercy: Begnini hit nine 3-pointers and had 33 points as Mercy defeated Foran 61-38 Friday.

Yzabella Colon, Plainville: Colon scored 17 points in a 46-36 win over Hall Saturday and had 15 points in a 57-52 win over Innovation Wednesday.

Maddy Handrahan, Glastonbury: Handrahan had 24 points, six assists and six steals in a 47-44 overtime win over Acton-Boxboro (Mass.) at the Hoophall Classic and had 13 points, three assists and five steals in a 27-21 win over Simsbury Thursday and 18 points in a 68-32 win over Middletown Monday.

Aniya Jenkins, Windham: Jenkins, a senior, scored her 1,000th point and had 24 points in an 85-24 win over Montville Friday.

Kylie Lake, Old Saybrook: Lake had 24 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in Old Saybrook’s 57-51 win over Cromwell Friday.

Sybil Neary, Old Lyme: Neary had 20 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block in a 37-35 win over Montville Monday.

Megan Wresien, Sheehan: Wresien had three 3-pointers and 17 points on Tuesday against Sacred Heart but Sheehan lost in overtime.

Symber Sutton, Innovation: Sutton scored 31 points in a 67-35 win over Weaver Friday.

Sophie Tumulis, Stafford: Tumulis had 15 points and 14 rebounds, two steals and five blocks in a 40-38 win over Comp Sci Tuesday.

Bailey Winner, East Windsor/Bloomfield: Winner had 21 points in a 54-45 win over Canton.

Storylines

Conard senior Emily Knowles set or tied a slew of school records in Conard’s 68-45 win over Bristol Eastern Tuesday. Knowles scored 40 points, which broke her record from last year of 38 points) and tied the school record for 3-pointers (7), broke the record for points in a half (29) and tied the record for points in a quarter (19 in the first quarter).

Sheehan had its nine-game win streak broken when the Titans lost last Tuesday to Sacred Heart 48-45 in overtime. Megan Wreisen scored 17 points for Sheehan (10-2).

Windsor lost last year’s mid-season transfer from New Jersey, Kamaria Bowens (who helped Windsor’s run to the Class L quarterfinals) when Bowens moved to Bristol and is now playing for Bristol Central. But Windsor got revenge of sorts, beating Bristol Central, 67-60 in overtime Jan. 13.

Games to Watch

Plainville (8-3) at Tolland (8-1), Tuesday, 6:45 p.m.: Tolland’s only loss came to Glastonbury and the Eagles, the top-ranked team in Class MM, have won four straight games.

Ledyard (7-3) at Windham (8-1), Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Windham’s only loss came Jan. 9 to New London, 40-35, while Ledyard has won its last three games.

East Catholic (9-2) at St. Paul (5-2), Thursday, 7 p.m.: St. Paul, last year’s Class M champion, has won its last two games after losing to WCA, while East Catholic has won six straight.

Coventry (10-1) at Granby (7-3), Friday, 6 p.m.: Coventry dropped its first loss to Woodstock Academy 47-41 Jan. 13 but bounced back to beat East Granby and Stafford.

The Eagles were headed to play then-unbeaten Manchester Friday. The game was sold out.

“We knew they were going to be coming out hard and they did,” Manchester coach John Reiser said.

East Catholic scored 27 points in the first quarter. Kahil Bell, who had five 3-pointers in the first half, had 11 points for the Eagles in the quarter.

Manchester regrouped, like the Red Hawks did in a win over Windsor, but couldn’t make it all the way back and East Catholic handed them their first loss, 72-66.

“It was a great high school game,” East Catholic coach Luke Reilly said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence and they’re really tough at home.

“We had come off a tough loss the day before, we were down 1 with 15 seconds left and we were unable to convert. That added a little sting for us going into the game.”

Brayden Jones had 28 points and 16 rebounds for East Catholic (9-2) and Bell had 18. Chance Clark led Manchester with 25 points.

Manchester had a one-point lead with about a minute left in the game but couldn’t hold on.

“Chance Clark hit a 3, just like Windsor,” Reiser said. “But there was too mujch time. We were right there. They’re a good team. to get down and battle back against such good teams says a lot about us. You take what you can from those games.”

And there will be a rematch Jan. 27, this time at East Catholic.

“It came down to the last minute and I thought we did a good job controlling the game,” Reilly said. “We executed where we had to and got a few critical stops.

“We’re getting there. we were unable to close the game out in Springfield but we were able to the next night, so that’s a good sign.”

Top performances

Jeff Akoff, Bloomfield: Akoff scored 28 points in a 67-43 win over Conard Monday.

Richard Chandler, Aerospace: Chandler had 24 points in a 51-50 win over Granby Friday and 18 points in a 76-42 win over Capital Prep Thursday.

Andrew Czerwinski, Somers: Czerwinski had 17 of his 26 points in the first half in a 60-46 win over Wheeler Thursday.

Tommy Dinunzio, Lewis Mills: Dinunzio had 33 points and 15 rebounds to lead Lewis Mills over Northwestern 64-40 on Saturday and 28 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in 66-58 win over Conard Friday.

Jack Grasso, Windsor Locks: Grasso scored 28 points in a 65-46 victory over Bolton Thursday.

Brady Marsh, Windham Tech: Marsh scored 33 points and had six steals, five assists, three rebounds and two blocks in a 69-52 win over Hartford Public Thursday.

Camden Mazerolle, E.O. Smith: Mazarolle had 20 points and 16 rebounds in a 53-41 win over South Windsor Friday.

Elijah Moore, Xavier: Moore scored 27 points in a 62-45 win over Fairfield Prep Wednesday.

Alex Weaver, Windsor: Weaver scored 25 points, six assists and three steals in a 76-66 win over Northwest Catholic Friday.

Avant Williams, Classical: Williams had 24 points in a 74-58 win over Bulkeley Thursday and 18 points in a 78-37 win over Capital Prep Tuesday.

Storylines

Aerospace stayed unbeaten at 11-0 last week when the Jets beat Granby 51-50 behind 24 points from Richard Chandler. Aerospace, which advanced to the Division V quarterfinals last year, is the top-ranked team in Div. IV.

Manchester senior Derrick Sheets scored his 1,000th point in a 68-58 win over New Britain Tuesday and that was not the only day this month he lit up the scoreboard. Sheets had 19 points in the loss to East Catholic, hitting five 3-pointers and on Jan. 10, in a 91-70 win over Tolland, Sheets hit 10 3-pointers and had 39 points.

Games to watch

 Ellington (9-0) at Granby (7-3), Tuesday, 6:45 p.m.: Granby has dropped its last two games by close margins but this is usually a good NCCC game.

Innovation (8-1) at Comp Sci (9-2), Thursday, 5 p.m.: Innovation, last year’s Div. IV champion, has a seven-game win streak, while Comp Sci is 6-1 in its last seven games.

Glastonbury (10-1) at Hall (8-2), Friday, 6:45 p.m.: Glastonbury hasn’t lost since the Guardians dropped a game to Northwest Catholic Dec. 21.

East Catholic (9-2) at Northwest Catholic (9-2), Friday, 6:45 p.m.: East is in the middle of a tough stretch, with a game against perennial rival Northwest sandwiched in between two games against Manchester.

Less than two minutes into the game, an Andover defender turned his head and the 6-foot-6 Toure made a backdoor cut, floating to the rim as he caught a two-handed alley-oop pass for a slam.

After what ended up being a 51-37 win for Toure and the reigning CIAC Division I champs, Fazio shrugged, accepting the reality. That box on his prep sheet was never going to be checked off. Toure, No. 44 in ESPN’s 2026 rankings and No. 31 by 247Sports, is the top-ranked junior in Connecticut. He’s the top-ranked junior in all of New England, for that matter.

His coach at Notre Dame, Jason Shea, would take it a few steps further: “He’s one of the best 16-year-olds in the world, it is simple as that.”

There is evidence to back it up.

After leading the Green Knights to a 28-0 season and state championship in 2023-24, he wasn’t done. Over the summer, Toure, now 17, went to Turkey and represented Guinea – where both of his parents, mother Bountou and father Mamadou, are from – in the U17 FIBA World Cup. His uncle coached the team, which included some of his cousins who he saw and played with for the first time, and he starred.

Averaging 23 points over seven games, the born and raised New Haven product was the highest-scoring player in the tournament ahead of names like Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa, two of the top three players in the Class of 2025 – they, of course, played together on the loaded USA roster and won the whole thing.

In his final World Cup game, Toure scored 50 points against China on 21-for-27 shooting from the field, 6-for-11 from beyond the arc and just 2-for-2 from the free throw line. His college recruitment hit new heights after that performance.

So Fazio could live with the 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists his team allowed Thursday night in Springfield College’s Blake Arena. Notre Dame “showed them some Connecticut basketball,” Toure said, as it improved to 9-2. Toure was named MVP.

Andover didn’t have much of a chance with the Green Knights coming off a loss to Hillhouse on Monday, in front of UConn coaches Dan Hurley and Kimani Young. Later that night, Toure announced on social media that he received an offer from the Huskies.

“Coming from Connecticut, it’s a big accomplishment. Even though we lost that game I was still excited,” Toure said. “Two times, back-to-back national champs, that’s a big one right there.”

“Best team in the country wants you to play there and thinks you could help them win national championships,” Shea added. “If that doesn’t give you a little confidence, what’s gonna?”

Great first impression

Shea first heard of his star at accepted students night before Toure’s freshman year at Notre Dame. Toure’s father approached the coach and told him about his son and three other relatives who played for the Green Knights, two of them were captains.

“I was like, ‘Oh, that’s great.’ You don’t think too much of it,” Shea said.

That night, Mamadou Toure added Shea as a friend on Facebook.

“I saw a clip of him bouncing the ball off the ground and dunking it at the Nike site and I said, ‘Well that’s a pretty good find right there,'” Shea said. “The first time I actually met him in person was our summer workouts that June. I walked in the gym, obviously a great body but it was his personality that attracts you to him. He’s just so personable, he’s a great teammate and he’s carried that through. And he had a lot of work to do. What you’re seeing now is not who he was.”

Shea remembers telling Toure as a freshman: “You’re a Division I athlete, but you’re a Division III shooter.

“I’ve never told this to another player, but I told him, ‘You fix that form, you’re gonna play in the NBA someday,'” he said. “Everybody says ‘don’t put that on him,’ I don’t care. I know what I see, I know what I know, and you’re not gonna convince me otherwise.”

The UConn factor

Having the UConn coaches in the gym didn’t exactly help Notre Dame’s performance on Monday.

Everyone knew who they were watching, and Toure’s teammates felt just as much pressure to make sure he’d stand out.

“Our kids care about each other, so the way we played that game was very much like, ‘Man, I really hope this works out for you Abdou.’ We didn’t play aggressive, it was kind of like, ‘How can I get you the ball?’ And we weren’t getting him the ball in a good spot,” Shea said.

“I’m just happy for him and his family, but relieved, too, for our team. Because when (UConn) comes to a game now, they’re not evaluating, they’re recruiting. And there’s a big difference when guys are recruiting you versus evaluating you, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

When the Green Knights took to the court on Thursday, Toure only had one thing on his mind: “Just get buckets,” he said.

That, he did. Letting the game come to him, Toure made 8 of his 16 shots from the field, mixing some smooth pull-up midrange jumpers in throughout his dunk showcase. He went 10-for-13 from the free throw line and was 0-for-6 from beyond the arc – just an off night, Shea said. He’s shooting 44% for the year.

That 50-point game against China, when he made 6 of 11 from 3, is what Toure pinpoints as the moment his recruitment really picked up. He had received offers from 16 other Division I programs – heavyweights like Alabama and Arkansas, even Bobby Hurley at Arizona State – before UConn finally made the call.

Providence and Syracuse, two of the many programs that offered him that summer, were each represented in Blake Arena Thursday night.

“He’s dealt with everything great. He’s really humble, he has a humble family. They’re not caught up in things, there’s no ‘handling’ of him,” Shea said. “He takes phone calls, he’s respectful to coaches, coaches love to come to our gym and be around him and then they’re finding they like to be around our team. He is a great centerpiece for team culture and the guys who are recruiting him see that when they get in our environment. His ability to relate to players who he’s so much better than and make them feel important, there’s not a lot of guys who are ranked what he’s ranked that are like that.”

As UConn took its time through the process, Shea was constantly being asked whether the Huskies were “in” on his top prospect. He assured them, “I talk to Kimani Young at least once a week, they’re very interested. This is what it is. They’re at that level, they’re taking their time, they want to be sure.”

He’ll no longer have to answer whether UConn is involved. Now the questions have morphed into: “Should we get involved if UConn is involved? Should we expend resources and time and effort knowing that UConn is involved?”

The answer is yes. Toure is in no rush to pick his landing spot – “I can’t really say too much about where I’m gonna go right now, but I could see myself there. Maybe,” he said.

When that time comes, he’ll have plenty of options to choose from.

The 5-foot-5 senior won the Class LL state meet this past season with a time of 18:13, breaking the tape 22 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor and leading the Guardians to second place as a team. Strauss went unbeaten against in-state opponents in 2024. She also took 22nd at Foot Locker Nationals and finished third at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional, matching her personal-best with a time of 17:41.50 to earn First Team All-Region honors. She broke the tape at the 89th New England XC Championships, winning with a time of 17:46.00.

The decorated cross country athlete maintained an A average in the classroom, and will run at UConn in the fall.

She’s heading to UConn next year, but first she wanted to win another State Open title

“She was so dominant in every Connecticut race she ran this season,” Shannon Siragusa, head coach at Simsbury High School, said in a release. “Brooke ran with such confidence and intelligence. She controlled every meet—usually starting with the field and then making a move over the last third of the race and no one could match it. It was a joy to watch her compete.”

Strauss is also active in the community, volunteering locally with Camp Sunrise, a special needs camp for children.

She joins recent Gatorade Connecticut Girls Cross Country Players of the Year Katherine Bohlke (2023-24, Newington High School), Katie Marchand (2022-23, Trumbull High School), Rachel St. Germain (2021-22, Somers High School) and Kate Wiser (2020-21, Pomperaug High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

In Connecticut, this issue became a flashpoint as Andraya Yearwood of Cromwell High and Terry Miller of Bloomfield competed in CIAC girls track and field events between 2017-20. This touched off a fight in the courts that is still ongoing and the issue has been part of political campaigns since.

Appeals court reinstates CT female high school athletes suit seeking to bar transgender competition

“Republicans are pushing a bill for sheer political purposes to exert control over school athletics and single out trans kids without any regard for the damaging discrimination it would cause across the board,” said Rep John B. Larson (D-CT01), who opposed the bill. “It is not a real solution. These issues should be dealt with at the appropriate levels. Athletic governing bodies, state and local associations, and coaches are better equipped to make sure sports remain fair and safe for all players. The Congress and the federal government should not be making these decisions when they have little understanding of the potentially devastating consequences.”

Two Democrats joined the Republican majority in The House to pass the bill, 218-206, with one voting present.

“As a grandfather to six wonderful, capable granddaughters, this is important to me,” said Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), who backed the bill. “This bill would safeguard and uphold the integrity and safety of women’s sports and the true intention of Title IX by allowing all women the opportunity to achieve excellence in sports.”

Currently, Connecticut law allows transgender athletes to compete in sports teams that align with their gender identity. The CIAC declined to comment on the passage of the House bill.

“There are many concept bills being submitted prior to Friday’s legislative deadline and we will reserve comment until more detail is provided in a bill,” said Glenn M. Lungarini, CIAC executive director, in a statement.

Here are some things to know about the bill and where this is headed:

What would this bill do?

The House bill, known as the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, aims to amend Title IX, the federal law banning discrimination in schools based on sex, to recognize a person’s “sex” as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” According to the bill, schools allowing “a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls” could lose federal funding.

Yale transgender swimmer Iszac Henig drowns out the noise and is here to swim fast and have a good time

What happens next?

Aside from lawsuits, the passage of this bill is the first step in a new law taking effect. The Senate has a similar bill, but does not have a vote scheduled yet. The Republicans have a majority in the Senate. If a version of the bill is approved by both houses, it would go to the White House. Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated next week, has expressed strong support for such measures.

Is there a legal process?

Female athletes Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith and Ashley Nicoletti brought suit against the CIAC and multiple school boards for allowing Miller and Yearwood to compete. The suit was originally dismissed in 2021, but was later reinstated by a federal appeals court and arguments were heard in U.S. District Court in August.

“This case presents a direct conflict between two interests protected by Title IX: the interest in providing fair competition for biological females, which has long been recognized as a significant governmental interest under Title IX, and the interest in providing transgender girls with opportunities to participate in girls’ sports, which is now protected by a Connecticut state statute,” U.S. District Judge Robert N Chatigny said in ruling last November that the case could move forward.

Can it be overturned?

If the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act becomes law, it will likely be challenged on constitutional grounds in future lawsuits. It could be repealed by future congressional action.

How many are affected?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 3 percent of high school students identify as transgender. About half the states limit transgender athlete participation.

Senior guard David Smith is a big reason why.

“It’s not a secret that we’re only going to go as far as David Smith takes us,” Glastonbury coach Jim Vaughan said. “Other guys have stepped up, but we rely on him.”

Smith, who is 6-4, reached the 1,000-point milestone last year, believed to be the first in Glastonbury basketball history, and holds the boys school scoring record. He’s averaging 25 points per game. He had 36 in a 65-56 win over East Hartford last Wednesday and 24 in Glastonbury’s only loss, Dec. 21 to Northwest Catholic. He was the tournament MVP of the Artie Kohs Classic at Xavier Dec. 27.

“This year, he’s gotten stronger, he rebounds better, his decision-making is better,” Vaughan said. “But probably the two most important things: he’s a better leader and mentally understands the game and situations better and better by the day.”

Vaughan said that loss to Northwest Catholic instilled confidence in his team that the Guardians could play with higher level teams and said the East Hartford win was one of their better efforts.

“We were down in the second quarter then came back in the third then made the plays at the end,” he said. “We had been winning by some wider margins so it was nice to be in a close game to see how we would respond. I was thrilled with the way we responded.”

Top performances

Andrew Crayton, Haddam-Killingworth: Crayton had 27 points (including four 3-pointers), 11 rebounds, four steals and five assists in a 79-63 win over Old Saybrook Friday, had 25 points and seven rebounds in a Thursday loss to Shepaug Valley and 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals in a loss to Hale Ray Tuesday.

Tommy Dinunzio, Lewis Mills: Dinunzio had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 57-46 loss to Bloomfield Friday and 31 points in a 57-55 loss to Conard Monday.

Colby Dunnack, Windham Tech: Dunnack had 14 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and a block in a 71-66 win over Goodwin Tech Tuesday.

Eddie Fiske, Old Lyme: Fiske scored 20 points in a 53-50 win over Morgan Friday and 19 in a 75-60 win over East Hampton Monday.

Nyquawn Jefferson, Comp Sci: Jefferson scored 33 points in a 72-49 win over Capital Prep Friday.

Brady Marsh, Windham Tech: Marsh had 26 points, four rebounds and two assists in an 86-50 win over Wright Tech Friday night and 30 points and four rebounds, two assists and a block in a 71-66 win over Goodwin Tech Tuesday.

Cayden Smith, Bloomfield: Smith had 14 points and 12 assists, including the assist to Jeff Acoff on his game-winning layup in Bloomfield’s 64-63 win over Bristol Eastern Monday.

Derrick Sheets, Manchester: Sheets had 30 points, including eight 3-pointers, in a 101-43 win over E.O. Smith Monday.

Julian Surdyka, Aerospace: Surdyka scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds in a 70-55 win over Windsor Locks Friday.

Alex Weaver, Windsor: Weaver had 25 points, 11 assists and five steals in a 97-45 win over South Windsor Friday.

Storylines

Senior Joe Mugovero had 88 receptions for 1,297 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Manchester football team last fall. When football ended on Dec. 3 with a loss to Staples in the Class LL quarterfinals, Mugovero went to basketball practice not long after. Mugovero made some big plays in Manchester’s 95-94 win over Windsor Wednesday, including a drive at the end and an assist, which cut the lead to two. “He comes out the first day and he’s on,” Reiser said. “He didn’t missed a beat. He does the little things. He’s the receiver with the good hands.”… Windsor sophomore Missoni Brown suffered a concussion on a play in the third quarter in the loss to Manchester. He sat out Friday’s game against South Windsor.

Games to watch

Cromwell (5-2) at SMSA (7-0), Wednesday, 6:45 p.m.: SMSA will put its unbeaten record on the line with Cheney Tech Monday, and possibly Cromwell on Wednesday. Cromwell has two close losses, to North Branford and Coginchaug.

Windsor (5-3) at Northwest Catholic (7-1), Friday, 6:45 p.m.: Both teams have lost to Manchester; Windsor also has had a tough early schedule and has two losses to East Catholic.

East Catholic (7-1) at Manchester (10-0), Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Manchester has knocked off Northwest Catholic and Windsor, can it keep it going against East Catholic? East Catholic’s only loss came to St. Bernard, last year’s Division I runner-up.

Cheney Tech (5-2) at Windham Tech (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Cheney Tech, last year’s Division IV runner-up, has been playing a tough non-conference schedule but this week, Cheney will face a solid tech school opponent in Windham Tech.

This season, Coventry played Somers in the season opener and won 52-36.

“That was very nice,” Coventry coach Kevin Clancy said.

The Patriots (8-0) haven’t lost since. They had a big win over Ellington Friday, 50-32, a team Coventry hadn’t beaten in at least four years.

Coventry, which advanced to the Class S final in 2022 but lost to Thomaston, has no seniors. Three key juniors – guards Ava Vieira, Jianna Foran and Ava Topliff – who lead the team and a strong freshman class, which includes 6-foot-1 center Hailey Mayo. Reese Jeamel is a 5-10 freshman and Danielle Wheeler is the third freshman contributor.

“Those three are the leaders on the court that a very skilled freshman group looks to,” Clancy said. “They have taught the freshmen how we run our program, how hard we work. The freshman have bought into it. They mesh well.”

Coventry will have a tough week coming up, with Woodstock Academy (7-1) on Monday and East Granby (7-1) Tuesday.

Top performances

Maddie Benigni, Mercy: Benigni had 30 points in a 56-30 win over Hand Tuesday and 19 in a loss to Sheehan Thursday.

Kamaria Bowens, Bristol Central: Bowens had 29 points in an 82-67 loss to Northwest Catholic Tuesday.

Abby Casper, Northwest Catholic: Casper scored 28 points in a win over Bristol Central Tuesday.

Zola Cudjoe, St. Paul: Cudjoe had 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 59-36 win over Kennedy Friday and 18 points and 10 rebounds and seven steals in a 57-49 win over Ansonia Tuesday.

Jazzy Garcia, New Britain: Garcia scored 22 points as New Britain knocked off previously-unbeaten Plainville 77-51 Monday.

Kylie Lake, Old Saybrook: Lake had 24 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in a 66-52 win over North Branford Thursday and had 10 rebounds and 10 blocks and five points in a loss to Haddam-Killingworth Monday.

Katelyn Novak, Bacon Academy: Novak had a double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds) in Bacon’s 51-46 win over Ledyard Tuesday.

Skylynn Martell, International/Aerospace: Martell scored 17 points and had nine steals and eight rebounds in a 39-31 win over HMTCA Friday.

Emma Teuner, Morgan: Teuner scored 20 points in 75-26 win over Portland Tuesday.

Sophie Tumulis, Stafford: Tumulis had 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a 36-34 win over SMSA and 13 points in a 29-28 win over Bolton Tuesday.

Megan Wresien, Sheehan: Wresien led her team in scoring with 25 points, with five in overtime, as Sheehan beat Mercy 53-49 in overtime.

Storylines

Urielle Abrokwa had 24 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone Friday in an 84-44 win over RHAM. Abrokwa is only a junior. East Catholic is 7-2 and has won four straight.

Northwest Catholic knocked off Bristol Central 82-67 in a game of two of the top teams currently in the Class L rankings Tuesday. Northwest (10-0) is ranked No. 1 and Bristol Central (7-2) is No. 3. Abby Casper had 28 points and Maeve Staunton had 25 for the Lions.

Sheehan coach Mike Busillo hasn’t beaten SCC opponent Mercy that much over his 19-year career, but his team rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Tigers 53-49 in overtime Thursday. “I’ve lost to them, it seems like 100 times,” Busillo said. It doesn’t get easier – Sheehan will face Class LL runner-up Sacred Heart Tuesday.

Sophomore Zoee Robbins sealed Windham’s 42-38 win over Bacon Academy Saturday with a free throw with 3.8 seconds left, two days after Windham, last year’s Class M runner-up, had its first loss of the season to New London, 40-35. Bacon Academy and East Catholic are both 7-2 and Windham handed both teams one of their two losses.

Games to watch

Sacred Heart (8-1) at Sheehan (9-1), Tuesday, 6 p.m.: Sheehan has already knocked off Class LL champion Hamden and SCC nemesis Mercy and next up for the Titans is Sacred Heart, last year’s Class LL runner-up.

Coventry (8-0) at East Granby (7-1), Tuesday, 6:45 p.m.: Coventry will have a tough game Monday against Woodstock Academy, which lost its first game Saturday, then head over to East Granby for a big NCCC game the next day.

East Catholic (7-2) at Rocky Hill (6-2), Wednesday, 6:45 p.m.: These two CCC teams are right next to each other in the Class MM rankings – East Catholic is ninth and Rocky Hill is 10th.

But one of the sophomores is Jack Curtis, younger brother of Matt Curtis, who holds the scoring record at Northwest Catholic and is now playing at Fairfield University.

The freshman, Reese Nicol, scored 25 points Friday night in Ellington’s 65-50 win over Coventry, last year’s Division V runner-up.

Curtis, who started as a freshman last year, had 22 points for the Knights (7-0). Ty Fieldhouse, the other sophomore starter, also started as a freshman for the team that advanced to the Division IV quarterfinals, where the Knights fell to eventual runner-up Cheney Tech, 66-60, in overtime last year.

“We’re young and we’re still learning,” Ellington coach Bob Freitas said. “They’re really good basketball players. We’re just trying to gel. They’ll be fine. We’ll continue to get better and hopefully at the end of the year, we’ll be where we want to be.”

The game Friday night was close in the first half and Ellington led 25-21 at halftime. Coventry, also a young team which starts three sophomores, hit nine 3-pointers in the game.

But Ellington switched up its defense in the second half and started to get steals and turnovers. Nicol had 13 points in the quarter, many off fast breaks.

“They’re all capable of having those kinds of nights, it just depends on the matchups,” Freitas said. “It was a good matchup for us with Reese.”

Still, Coventry hung around and Nicol answered a 3 by Eric Jordan with his own 3-pointer to put the Knights up 42-39. Curtis opened the fourth quarter with a steal and a layup and Ellington was off and running.

Nicol had nine rebounds and two blocks. Curtis had seven rebounds, two steals and three assists.

“Our leaders last year set a good example for us and this year, I’ve been stepping up and being a leader myself,” Curtis said. “I learned a lot from them. We’re off to a great start.”

Like his brother, Curtis can finish tough shots.

“He’s aggressive for sure,” Nicol said. “He had some clutch steals. Always finds a way to get a bucket.”

Jack learned a lot from Matt, playing one-on-one in their driveway growing up.

“His change of pace and his ability to hit tough shots” were Jack’s main takeaways from those sessions. “Hitting crazy shots. Playing against him was great for me.”

Ellington 65, Coventry 50

Coventry 11 10 18 11 – 50

Ellington 13 12 25 22 – 65

Coventry: Kristian Bici 4 3 13, Eric Jordan 3 2 10, Keanan Staples 1 0 3, Mather Spear 2 0 4, Justin Aloisa 6 1 17, Matteo Albano 1 0 3. Totals: 17 7 50.

Ellington: Reese Nicol 11 2 25, Ty Fieldhouse 1 1 3, Dylan McKee 3 0 7, Jack Curtis 11 0 22, Dylan Killoran 2 0 4, Jack Weigand 2 0 4. Totals: 30 3 65.

Records: Coventry, 4-4; Ellington, 7-0.

Jenna’s twin sister Megan moved to the top of the key.

“The chemistry is really there,” Megan said. “We know where each other is, we’re able to trust each other.”

Jenna found Megan. Megan hit the 3-pointer, her fifth of the game, with 28 seconds left to put Sheehan ahead for good and the Titans rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat Mercy 53-49 in an SCC game Thursday night.

It was three times before Thursday, now it’s four.

“Any time you beat Mercy is great,” Busillo said. “They’re tough to beat. I know because I’ve lost to them it seems like 100 times. We beat them last year but before that, we’d only beaten them twice.”

Megan Wresien, a junior, led Sheehan (9-1) with 25 points. Maddie Benigni had 19 for Mercy (5-3), 13 in the first half. Sheehan threw a different defense at her in the second half, with Jenna Wresien as her main defender and Gabby Busillo helping.

“We tried to get the ball out of Benigni’s hands the best we could,” Busillo said.

But in the early going, it didn’t look great for Sheehan. Mercy’s defense forced a lot of turnovers and Benigni was hitting shots all over the place. Megan Wresien hit a 3 at the buzzer in the first quarter and Sheehan trailed 13-8.

Mercy led 26-15 at halftime and expanded the lead to 34-21 midway through the third quarter before Sheehan started a run. Megan Wresien had two 3-pointers, her second starting a 15-3 run. Jenna hit four free throws; Susie Hotaling hit four free throws and Megan hit two and had a basket off a steal to put Sheehan up 36-34 with 45 seconds left in the quarter.

Jenna Wreisen to her twin sister Megan for the 3 with a little over a minute left in OT that put Sheehan up for good over Mercy. Sheehan won 53-49. pic.twitter.com/HdUSsS8voU

— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) January 10, 2025

Mercy came back but Julia Cassesse’s 3-pointer with 7:40 left in the fourth tied the score at 39. Hotaling had a basket to put Sheehan up 45-43 at the end of the quarter but Abi Weidman of Mercy made two free throws with 49.1 seconds left to tie the score at 45 before the game went into overtime.

“We were down earlier in the season against Fairfield Warde and in the locker room, Coach Busillo was saying to keep our composure,” Megan Wresien said. “When we weren’t off to such a great start, it was all about being calm and being able to keep up with them.”

That was the first game of the season. It was the last game Sheehan lost. The Titans have won nine straight.

“The difference is playing more games, getting comfortable with each other, trusting each other more so we can hit those big shots later in the game,” Megan Wresien said.

Sheehan lost in the Class MM championship game last year to Northwest Catholic, 43-37, but the Titans graduated their leading scorer and point guard Liv Cassesse, whom Busillo called “one of the best players I’ve ever coached” last year, and now there is one senior and a whole bunch of juniors who are figuring out how to gel and Thursday, they did it.

“They’re tough kids,” Busillo said. “At Sheehan, the culture we talk about all the time is play really hard and be tough. We don’t always have players of their caliber – Megan and Susie and Jenna – but we always try to play tough. And hard. And if you don’t do that against Mercy, you’re in trouble.”

Sheehan 53, Mercy 49 (OT)

Mercy 13 13 11 8 4 – 49

Sheehan 8 7 21 9 8 – 53

Mercy: Maddie Benigni 6 5 19, Jasmine Bryant 1 0 2, Sadie Lawrie 2 0 5, Mercedes Artaiz 2 2 7, Abi Weidman 5 3 13, Reagan Beelez 1 0 3. Totals: 17 10 49.

Sheehan: Megan Wresien 7 6 25, Gabby Busillo 1 0 3, Susie Hotaling 4 6 14, Jenna Wresien 1 4 7, Julia Cassesse 1 1 4. Totals: 14 17 53.

Records: Mercy, 5-3; Sheehan, 9-1.