New London Wins Class LL Girls Basketball Title

UNCASVILLE, CT — Five basketball champions were crowned Saturday during the first day of action in the CIAC high school tournament finals at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Competitive play was the norm of the day, as four of the five games were decided by single digit margins.

Three title games are scheduled for Sunday: Bloomfield vs. Brookfield, Class M boys, 12:30 p.m.; Holy Cross vs. Daniel Hand, Class L girls, 3 p.m.; and Sacred Heart vs. Notre Dame-Fairfield, Class L boys, 5:30 p.m.

Here are brief recaps of Saturday's championship contests; click the header for the game box score.

S girls - Canton 60, Thomaston 51

• The teams met in the finals for the third straight year, with third-seeded Canton prevailing for the second straight time. Emily Briggs had 24 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Warriors, while freshman Abigail Charron scored 15 points and Belle Magna added 10. Julia Quinn had 23 points and Casey Carangelo scored 15 for fifth-seeded Thomaston.

S boys - Trinity Catholic 61, Westbrook 52

• Size was a huge factor in Trinity Catholic's victory, as the sixth-seeded Crusaders outscored Westbrook in the paint by a 36-16 margin. Dimitry Moise led the way with 20 points, Dutreil Contavio had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Peter Galgano contributed 11 points. Liam Bell took game scoring honors with 23 points for top-seeded Westbrook, while Cory Muckle added 15.

M girls - New Fairfield 41, Bacon Academy 38

• Fourth-seeded New Fairfield came back from an early six-point deficit to win its first title since Jennifer Rizzotti led the Rebels to back-to-back Class M championships in 1991 and 1992. Kristen Teklits provided most of the offense, pouring in 25 points and grabbing seven rebounds, while Sydney Gouveia hauled down eight rebounds. Jocelyn Luizzi had 13 points and 10 rebounds for No. 11 Bacon Academy.

LL girls - New London 42, Trumbull 36

• A nip-and-tuck battle from the outset saw third-seeded New London finally pull away in the fourth quarter to clinch its second state title in the last four years. India Pagan led the Whalers with 18 points and 11 rebounds, aided by 10 points and seven rebounds from Xaryia Melendez. Julia Keckler paced top-seeded Trumbull with 12 points, while Taylor Brown grabbed nine rebounds.

LL boys - Hillhouse 78, East Hartford 58

• A nearly full house saw defending champion and second-seeded Hillhouse jump to a double-digit lead in the opening quarter, eventually finishing with four scorers in double figures en route to a state record 24th championship. Joseph Kasperzyk and Davon Warner each had 19 points, while Christian Adams and Mekhi Warren had 13 apiece for the Academics. Kingsley Cockburn, Austin Nwafor and Justin Nwafor each had 11 points for No. 4 East Hartford.

Photo credit: Tim Jensen