Lancers overwhelm Panthers to win title

BROOKFIELD — The No. 2 ranked Notre DameFairfield girls basketball team has been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll the last two seasons, but because of COVID-19 has not had state championships to play for.

Instead, top-seeded Notre Dame have rolled through the SWC and Friday night the Lancers put another exclamation point on a SWC title game, beating No. 2 seed Pomperaug 57-27 at Brookfield High School.

Last season, Notre Dame beat Newtown, also by 30, in the SWC final.

For the lone senior starter Mac Stone-Folmar, there was no other way to go out than draped in the SWC title banner.

“It feels amazing. There is no better way to finish the season, especially this year,” Stone-Folmar said. “This was a great way to go out.

This is literally the best ending. We took anything we could. We didn’t have states and this was the best we could do. It’s great to go out with a win. Especially for me. I’m done so this is a great way to end it.”

Pomperaug hung with the Lancers, trailing by five after one and 28-16 at the half, but Notre Dame turned up its full-court pressure in the third and led by 23 after three.

“The conversation at halftime was how we focused all year long on our defense,” Notre Dame coach Maria Conlon said. “We know Pomperaug is a great team and they would come out and press us a lot in the second half. Our objective was to take care of the ball and lock in on the defensive end.

“In a year like this, knowing you’re not going to play for a state championship, they could have gone through the motions this year and not cared, but these girls came to work every single day. I am extremely proud to be their coach and be a part of this program.”

Nique Mayo and Sarah Macary led the Lancers with 14 points apiece.

Pomperaug bookended the season with losses to Notre Dame but won 11 games in-a-row in between.

Friday night, the Panthers had difficulty scoring against the relentless Lancers’ defense.

“We couldn’t get a shot to fall. When we go three or four possessions without scoring against a team like that, it’s going to be hard,” Pomperaug coach Joe Fortier said. “We are a team that likes to play up-tempo and press but when we got into a double-digit deficit and had to do it against them, it spelled trouble. Tip your cap to them, they have scorers all over the court.”

Pomperaug junior Megan Reilly led the Panthers with 12 points.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Nique Mayo, Notre Dame. Mayo sparked the thirdquarter run with several steals which led to her team scoring transition baskets.

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“We brought energy and played together as a team,” Mayo said. “We have great chemistry and it worked.”