The 10 Connecticut high school girls basketball teams to focus on in the 2015 playoffs

The conference tournament season has already begun, with the CIAC state tournament beginning on Feb. 27. Here are 10 teams to focus on (records through Feb. 23):

Capital Prep (Hartford) - 19-1
Meet the soon-to-be two-time Class L champions. The only question is how thoroughly the Trailblazers will crush the rest of the field. They've beaten national powers Riverdale Baptist of Maryland (75-51) and South Medford of Oregon (82-50). They're unbeaten in state and won by an average of 51 points (their "closest" game was an 88-48 smashing of Class LL contender Mercy). Senior forward Kiah Gillespie (30.5 ppg, 16.4 rpg) has been named to the McDonald's All-American team and has committed to Maryland. Junior forward Desiree Elmore (23.1 ppg, 13.8 rpg, 5.2 apg) has already signed with Syracuse.

Farmington - 23-0
Capital Prep may be Class L's beast, but the Indians will be the top seed after the first unbeaten regular season in program history. Guard Hannah Friend (6-feet) has multiple Division I offers and has committed to the University of Delaware, and forward Sophie Borg is a handful inside. The Indians are also the top seed in the Central Connecticut Conference tournament and are on a collision course with fellow unbeaten South Windsor.

South Windsor - 26-0
The Bobcats recently gave the program its first unbeaten regular season. Now they want to become the program's first state champion. South Windsor has used a defensive style to go unbeaten and has been paced by the offense of guards Amy McConnell (Bentley) and Alex Goslin. The Bobcats lost in last year's LL final and will be the top seed this season. They've already beaten one of the division's other top contenders — Norwich Free Academy (48-42). South Windsor should also meet up with Farmington in the CCC final.



Mercy (Middletown) - 22-1
The Tigers have been crushing it. They've won by an average of 39 points with Hand giving them their closest game (56-42). They have an experienced lineup in guards Maura Fitzpatrick (a four-year starter who's signed with Marist), Kendra Landy and Destine Perry and 6-foot forward Sarah Gallo, too. Mercy fell a game short of playing in its fifth-straight LL final last season. It's going to take quite an effort to keep the Tigers from reaching the final this season.

Norwich Free Academy - 20-1
The Wildcats have been one of the state's most consistent winners and have the talent to win an eighth state title. What makes the Wildcats extra-scary is that they're young. Their top scores have been junior forward Cebria Outlow (17.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and sophomore guard Haley Conley (12.6 ppg). Senior center Olivia Lane (9.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg) was the tournament MVP when she paced NFA to its third-straight Eastern Connecticut Conference title last season, and senior guard Maya Bell averages three assists.

Morgan (Clinton) - 20-0
The Huskies played for the Class M title last season despite starting a young team. The core of that team returned and they'll be the division's top seed. Morgan proved its mettle when it knocked off Class S contender Notre Dame of Fairfield, 57-42, and finished the regular season unbeaten for the first time in program history. Sami Ashton (16.2 ppg) and Jen Dawson (13.7 ppg) are looking to get the Huskies their third state title.

Wilton - 20-1
The Warriors gave their fellow Class LL contenders something to think about when they ransacked Fairfield Warde, 72-50, and clinched both the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference regular season title and the top seed in the conference tourney. Not bad for a team that began the season with a loss to Fairfield Ludlow (45-42). Six-foot-3 senior center Erica Meyer is an intimidating presence (12.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3 bpg), and classmate Erin Cunningham has averaged a team-high 16.6 points with seven rebounds.

Warde (Fairfield) - 22-2
Yeah, the young Mustangs got run by Wilton last week, but they're still going to cause trouble in the LL tournament. Their only other loss was to Greenwich (49-47) as they've been one of the most dominant teams in arguably the state's best league this season. Junior Sarah Cotto and sophomore Shania Osborne each scored 12 in the Wilton loss.

New London - 18-2
The Whalers haven't slowed down after winning the program's first state title last season. The defending Class M champions will be one of the most experienced teams in the field as they return four starters — senior Deanna McCarvell (guard), juniors Charee Osborne (forward) and India Pagan (center), and sophomore Jada Lucas (guard). New London wouldn't mind another crack at NFA, which beat them both this season (53-42) and in last year's ECC final.



St. Joseph (Trumbull) - 16-9
It doesn't seem right to label the Cadets a "sleeper" in Class M because they've played as tough a schedule as anyone else in the division. Their losses were to the top LL schools in the mostly large-school FCIAC — Wilton, Warde, Greenwich (17-3), Ridgefield (17-3), Stamford (17-3) and Trumbull (15-5). That ought to toughen up St. Joseph for states. It's also beaten defending champion New London (51-38).