The two-week sprint to a state championship begins now.
Conference tournaments have wrapped up, and have created quite a bit of shuffling throughout our rankings. Three conference champions have risen to the top and will be top contenders in the Division 1 state tournament. Those three were our top three in the preseason, in the same order as they are now.
Our top-ranked Division 2 team slots in at number five, and four teams from that bracket are featured in the rankings.
The five state championship games will take place on March 21 and 22 at Mohegan Sun Arena, and the road to Uncasville is guaranteed to provide fireworks. Here are our rankings heading into the state tournaments.
1. Northwest Catholic (23-1)
Previous rank: 1
Next game: Div. 1 Round of 16 vs. No. 16 Conard, March 9, 6 p.m.
Northwest Catholic has won three consecutive state championships across three different divisions over the last three seasons. The one thing the Lions hadn’t accomplished was a Central Connecticut Conference title. That changed on Monday night, as top-seeded Northwest Catholic thrashed 2-seed Rocky Hill, 72-34, in the CCC championship game for its first conference title since 2010. Senior point guard Maeve Staunton, a UConn soccer commit, led the way with 24 points. Lions all-time leading scorer Abby Casper, committed to Holy Cross, added 14 points. Northwest Catholic enters the Division 1 tournament as the No. 1 seed and will be the favorite to complete its four-peat bid.
2. Sacred Heart Academy (19-2)
Previous rank: 2
Next game: Div. 1 Round of 16 vs. No. 12 Newington, March 9, 6 p.m.
Sacred Heart Academy won its second straight Southern Connecticut Conference title on Monday, defeating 6-seed Sheehan, 34-27, at Quinnipiac’s M&T Bank Arena. The Sharks dispatched 16-seed Lyman Hall (62-32), 8-seed Hillhouse (50-39), and 5-seed West Haven (53-31) en route to the title game. Bentley-bound senior forward Maddy Burke took home SCC Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. Burke, also named to the All-SCC First Team, scored 25 of SHA’s 53 points in the semifinal victory over West Haven. In the championship game victory, freshman Finley Gunning netted a team-high 10 points. All-SCC first-team junior forward Mila Harmon added nine points and eight rebounds. The Sharks are entering the Division 1 tournament as the No. 5 seed and will be the top contender to take down Northwest Catholic.
3. Greenwich (21-2)
Previous rank: 6
Next game: Div. 1 Round of 16 vs. No. 14 Glastonbury, March 9, 6 p.m.
Greenwich won its first FCIAC title since 1988 on Wednesday, defeating Staples, 65-49, in the championship game. Sophomore forward Zuri Faison scored a game-high 27 points and took home tournament MVP honors. Faison also netted game-highs in the semifinals (15 points in a 36-31 win over Fairfield Warde) and quarterfinals (20 points in a 49-37 win against St. Joseph). Senior guard Madi Utzinger added 22 points in the title game and made a team-high three 3-pointers. The Cardinals enter the Division 1 tournament as the No. 3 seed and will be a top contender.
3. Mercy (20-3)
Previous rank: 3
Next game: Division 1 First Round vs. No. 13 NFA, March 9, 6 p.m.
Mercy was on a 16-game winning streak before falling, 34-32, to Sheehan in the SCC semifinal, narrowly missing out on its first title game appearance in eight seasons. The Tigers dispatched Branford, 55-35, and Daniel Hand, 43-30, on their trip to the conference semifinal. Entering the state tournament, Mercy will be the No. 4 seed in Division 1, hosting NFA before a potential blockbuster quarterfinal against underseeded No. 5 Sacred Heart Academy. The Tigers were the only team from Connecticut to beat SHA this season. Head coach Tim Kohs, who earned his 600th career win this season, was named the SCC Coach of the Year. Senior forward Abi Weidman and sophomore wing Reagan Beeler were selected to the All-SCC First Team.
4. Staples (20-3)
Previous rank: 7
Next game: Division 2 First Round vs. No. 30 Lyman Hall, March 7, 12 p.m.
Staples had a chance for its first FCIAC championship since 1995, but fell behind early and could not mount a comeback, falling to Greenwich, 65-49. Junior Chloe Smith had a team-high 22 points, and senior Freya Harvey added 19. Staples topped Ridgefield, 52-36, and Stamford, 53-41, en route to the title game. In the quarters against Ridgefield, Harvey tallied 11 points and five assists. Senior Emma Asiel added 11 points, and Smith had nine points and seven rebounds. Harvey (16 points) and Smith (14) led the way in the semifinals. The Wreckers are the No. 3 seed in Division 2 and will face Lyman Hall in Saturday’s opening round.
5. Sheehan (19-5)
Previous rank: NR
Next game: Division 2 First Round vs. No. 24 Foran, March 7, 4 p.m.
Entering the SCC tournament as the No. 6 seed, Sheehan made an impressive run to the conference title game before falling to Sacred Heart Academy, 34-27, in the final. The Titans knocked off No. 11 Lauralton Hall (45-26) in the opening round before earning upset victories over 3-seed North Haven (37-34) and 2-seed Mercy (34-32). Megan Wresien, Sheehan’s all-time leading scorer, had a game-high 17 points against Mercy and nabbed a game-winning steal with three seconds to play. To get past the quarterfinal, the Titans had to flip the script on a 73-48 loss to North Haven suffered just nine days earlier. Sheehan enters the Division 2 tournament as just the No. 9 seed, but with the addition of senior point guard Jenna Wresien, who returned from a torn ACL on Feb. 6, the Titans have more firepower than they did for much of this season.
6. East Catholic (19-4)
Previous rank: 9
Next game: Div. 1 First Round vs. No. 11 Bristol Eastern, March 9, 6 p.m.
East Catholic advanced to the CCC semifinals with wins over 13-seed Avon, 51-29, and 12-seed Plainville, 79-35. In the semifinal against top-seeded Northwest Catholic, which is undefeated against in-state competition, the Eagles fell 57-48. That is Northwest Catholic’s slimmest margin of victory this season. In the opening round win over Avon, senior forward Urielle Abrokwa scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Sophomore guards Gia Fisher (15 points, seven rebounds, eight steals) and Morgan Bridgeforth (10 points, six assists, eight steals) added major contributions. Fellow sophomore guard Brianna Bagley scored 21 points in the quarterfinal win over Plainville, with Abrokwa (16), Fisher (13), and Bridgeforth (10) also reaching double figures. East Catholic will enter the Division 1 state tournament as the No. 6 seed.
7. Rocky Hill (22-2)
Previous rank: 4
Next game: Div. 2 Second Round vs. No. 16 Windsor/No. 17 New London, March 10, 6 p.m.
Rocky Hill reached the CCC championship game with wins over 15-seed Bristol Eastern (65-55), 7-seed Southington (48-32), and 3-seed Enfield (58-38) before getting blown out by Northwest Catholic in the final. Both of Rocky Hill’s losses this year have come against Northwest Catholic. Lucky for the Terriers, they will be the No. 1 seed in the Division 2 bracket and will not have to face the Lions again in their quest for a state championship. The senior duo of 1,000-point scorers, Kelsey LaMay (committed to Keene State) and Katie Harding (Western New England), will make Rocky Hill a formidable threat to any team in Division 2.
8. Trumbull (18-3)
Previous rank: 8
Next game: Div. 2 Second Round vs. No. 15 West Haven/No. 18 Newtown, March 10, 6 p.m.
Trumbull surprisingly lost in the quarterfinals of the FCIAC tournament, falling to Stamford, 42-31. After a 14-0 start, the Eagles are just 4-3 over their final seven games. Still, Trumbull has a direct bye to the second round of the Division 2 state tournament and will face the winner of West Haven and Newtown. The Eagles' defense has been elite all season, holding teams to under 50 points in all but one game this season. The offense, however, led by junior Carley Johnston, will have to find a rhythm in the postseason.
9. New Britain (18-3)
Previous rank: 5
Next game: Div. 1 First Round vs. No. 15 St. Paul Catholic, March 9, 6 p.m.
New Britain is entering the Division 1 state tournament on a two-game losing streak. The Hurricanes lost their regular-season finale to Southington, 59-53, and then shockingly fell in the opening round of the CCC tournament to 12-seed Plainville, 61-60. Plainville went just 13-9 and is the No. 17 seed in the Division 3 tournament. After an 18-2 regular season, New Britain has the benefit of being the No. 2 seed in the Division 1 tournament. However, the Hurricanes could run into trouble in the second round, with 7-seed Southington as the potential matchup.
