FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield-Warde Mustangs moved to within one game of a perfect season with a 68-57 victory over fourth-seeded Wethersfield in the state Class L girls’ basketball semifinals Monday evening. If they are to finish off their undefeated winter, however, they’ll have to get past a team which has become something of a giant-killer during the past two weeks.
The Hillhouse Academics bumped off No. 2 Kolbe Cathedral and No. 3 Avon in back-to-back games, ending 47-game winning streaks for both teams, and reached the Class L championship game and a date with the Mustangs.
Warde, the top seed at 26-0, and Hillhouse, the No. 7 seed at 24-2, will square off for the state championship at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.
The game will be part of a wild hoops weekend as eight state championships will be decided on Friday and Saturday.
The weekend tips off on Friday with the Class LL final featuring No. 1 Norwich Free Academy facing No. 2 Career Magnet at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Warde-Hillhouse matchup.
On Saturday, No. 13 Coventry and No. 2 Old Lyme will play for the Class S girls’ title at 9 a.m., with No. 1 Bacon Academy and No. 3 Berlin squaring off in the Class M girls’ final at 1 p.m.
In boys basketball finals, the Class S championship game will feature No. 5 Hyde Leadership and No. 2 Cromwell at 11 a.m. In Class M, No. 1 Sacred Heart faces No. 2 Bloomfield at 4:30 p.m. In Class L, No. 25 Bulkeley will face No. 10 Torrington at 6:30 p.m., and in Class LL, No. 8 Crosby will face No. 2 Windsor at 8:30 p.m.
Warde versus Hillhouse will be the marquee matchup for the girls’ championships, as each team is on a roll entering the final.
Top-seeded Warde’s road to the final featured decisive wins over No. 17 Daniel Hand, 67-47, No. 8 East Lyme, 50-44 in the quarterfinals, and No. 4 Wethersfield, 68-57, in Monday’s semifinal at Pomperaug.
Against Wethersfield (22-2), senior guard Daphne Elliott racked up a game-high 39 points, including 28 in the second half, as Warde rolled to the win.
The score was close through the first three quarters, as the Mustangs led 19-17 after a low-scoring first half. A 20-18 third frame put Warde up 39-35 before Elliott and the Mustangs pulled away.
Sabrina Siciliano scored 13 points and Ally Schneider added 11 for the Mustangs, while Jaclyn English led Wethersfield with 19 points.
In the quarterfinals against East Lyme, Elliott fouled out late in the third quarter with the Mustangs up 36-28, but Warde held on for a six-point victory.
Siciliano picked up the slack and led the Mustangs with 15 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, Elliott had 13 points, while Emily Bengermino hit double digits with 10 points and Rachel Friedman had 11 rebounds.
Hillhouse ends two streaks
Hillhouse, which defeated No. 26 Guilford, 60-28, and No. 10 New Canaan, 70-56, in the first two rounds, faced a difficult quarterfinal opponent in Kolbe Cathedral (25-1), a team which was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the State at the time.
Sophomore point guard Adreana Thomas scored a game-best 27 points, while senior Daniesha Pierce hit for 23 and freshman Bria Holmes racked up 21.
The Academics led 15-11 after one quarter and 37-31 at halftime before the Kolbe Cougars rallied in the third quarter, taking a 52-49 after a 3-pointer by Ryann Simmons with a minute left. Hillhouse came back and a bucket from Thomas as time expired put the Academics up, 53-52, entering the fourth quarter.
The lead seesawed in the final eight minutes before Kamiya Burwell hit a layup to put the Cougars ahead 66-65 with just over two minutes to play.
After a missed free throw by Kolbe, Hillhouse’s Thomas came up with the rebound and scored at the other end for a 67-66 Academics’ lead.
Hillhouse then hit its free throws down the stretch, nailing 8-of-10 shots in the last minute and a half while the Cougars struggled. In all, the teams combined for 65 free throws, with Hillhouse hitting 25-of-39 and Kolbe hitting 14-of-26.
For Kolbe, Simmons led the offense with 18 points, while Ashley Prim scored 14 and Burwell scored 11. Simmons, junior Tiarrah Thompson and senior Brianna Barnes all fouled out.
Hillhouse faced Avon (25-1) at Xavier in Monday’s semifinals and like Kolbe, the Avon Falcons had won 47 consecutive games dating back to Dec. 27, 2007.
The Academics, however, had the early advantage and led most of the game before a flurry of eight 3-pointers brought the Falcons back in the second half.
A bucket by Avon’s Devon Boundy tied the game at 68-68 with a minute to play, but Thomas hit two free throws to get the lead back for Hillhouse. After a Falcons’ miss, the Academics put the game in the books from the free throw line.
Hillhouse was again led by Thomas, who scored 25 points, while Holmes hit for 24 and Pierce scored 13.
Lindsay Horbatuck, Avon’s all-time leading scorer, netted 25 points to lead the Falcons.
FCIAC, SWC boys fall short in States
None of the FCIAC or SWC powers reached the state finals, as the Stamford Black Knights, Bridgeport Central Hilltoppers and Kolbe Cathedral Cougars were all knocked off in the semifinals.
Trinity Catholic, the top seed in Class L and the No. 1 ranked team in Connecticut, was upset by Bulkeley in the quarterfinals, while Stratford, the No. 2 seed, was beaten by Torrington in the quarterfinals.
Bulkeley topples Trinity
The Bulkeley Bulldogs entered the Class L tournament as the No. 25 seed and were in the throes of a four-game losing streak, but the Cinderella slipper fit and the Dogs have run off four consecutive wins to reach the final.
Bulkeley (15-10) opened the tournament with wins over No. 8 Avon, 48-44, and No. 24 Bassick, 77-68, but the victory which will be best remembered should the Bulldogs win the title was a 67-62 upset of top-seeded Trinity Catholic in Monday’s quarterfinals.
The Crusaders (24-2), who reached last year’s final where they fell to Crosby, led 21-10 early on, but the bulldogs cut the deficit to 32-28 at halftime and went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter to go ahead 38-36.
Trinity responded by retaking the lead, 44-39, but a 14-2 run by Bulkeley in the fourth quarter put the Bulldogs ahead 62-52 en route to the win.
Deshawn Hamlet finished with 26 points for the Dogs, while Brandon Jones added 16, Evan St. Juste had 14 and Chaz Arnold had 10.
For Trinity, Tevin Baskin and Remy Pinson had 19 points apiece, while Eric Jean-Gullaume had 17.
Bulkeley defeated No. 5 Northwest Catholic 65-51 in Wednesday’s semifinals, making it four straight wins over higher-seeded opponents.
Crosby ends Stamford’s magic season
Defending champion Crosby received a 28-point effort from Anthony Ireland and defeated FCIAC champion Stamford Black Knights, 80-76, in the Class LL semifinals Tuesday at the New Haven Athletic Conference.
Stamford led 48-44 late in the third quarter, but Crosby went on an 18-4 run into the fourth quarter, taking a 62-52 lead which put the game out of reach.
Michael Manning had 16 points for Crosby, while Ricardo Cortez added 15 and Julio Vazquez scored 12.
Stamford star Chris Evans netted 24 points, Manoche Bosse scored 14, and Mark Ellis and Jethro Anilus scored 11 each.
Windsor tops Toppers in Class LL semis
Over in the other Class LL semifinal, another FCIAC team, No. 3 Bridgeport Central, was eliminated by second-seeded Windsor, 78-72, on Tuesday at Central Connecticut State University.
Windsor, which is 25-1 this year, suffered it’s only loss of the season when it fell to Bulkeley. Central ended the year with a 22-4 mark.
For Windsor, Tyrus Weaver led the scoring with 28 points, including five 3-pointers, while Steven Samuels added 16 and Adrian Satchell had 15.
For Central, Andrew Victoria scored 16 points and Jerry Washington plunked down 15.
Cromwell rolls over Kolbe
Second-seeded Cromwell received 24 points from Isaiah Safafia and 20 from Austin Foose during a 69-51 semifinal win over No. 11 Kolbe Cathedral in the Class S tournament.
Tyler Burkhart scored 14 for Cromwell, which is 25-1 this season.
Kolbe, which finished at 16-10, Dominique Langston scored 18 points, Max Boynton had 13 and Ronnie Underwood had nine.
Torrington stuns Stratford
The Red Devils of Stratford, the SWC’s regular-season champion, was eliminated from the Class L tournament with a 52-49 loss to Torrington in Monday’s quarterfinal round.
Jordan Williams racked up 20 points for No. 10 Torrington, which is 21-6 heading into the title tilt. Richie Moran added 10 points, and Martin Mitchell had nine, including the bucket which gave Torrington the lead for good with a minute remaining.
For No. 2 Stratford (22-2), Jason Charles led the scoring with 17 points, Brandon Sherrod had 14 and Russell Payton had eight.
Bloomfield bumps New Fairfield
The second-seeded Bloomfield Warhawks soared to a 70-49 win over No. 3 New Fairfield in the Class M semifinals on Tuesday.
For Bloomfield (22-2), Rashad Moore had 14 points, Jahmar Mitchell had 12 and Denzell Jones had 10.
For the Rebels (20-5), Ryan Harro had a game-best 16 points, while Kevin Joyal, Ryan Shollar and Jared Randle had six points each.
Bloomfield, the defending Class S champion, bolted out to an 18-10 advantage after one quarter and led 34-20 at halftime. A 24-14 third quarter made it 58-34 as the Warhwaks cruised to the victory.
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com
