Winter sports by the numbers
Sports fans love numbers. Whether it’s statistics, a career milestone, or something out of the ordinary, numbers can tell stories, recognize accomplishments, and even add to the enjoyment of the games. Each week during the 2023-24 high school sports season, GameTimeCT takes you inside the numbers surrounding the teams, players and coaches across the state. They’ll be informative, they may open your eyes, and on occasion some may even make you laugh. So get ready for tipoff with GameTimeCT’s first by the numbers for the winter season.
If you have any stats, milestones or numbers you think we could use in the future, please email it to dave.stewart@hearstmediact.com.
2 Career scoring milestones reached in consecutive games for the Conard girls basketball team. Emily Knowles scored her 1,000th point in the Red Wolves' 42-18 win over South Windsor on Jan. 22, and then Callie Cosgrove reached that same mark in a 61-47 win against Berlin four days later. Conard is 14-1 and third in Class L.
2 Girls basketball teams entering the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll this week. No. 9 Stamford (11-3) and No. 10 Glastonbury (10-2), and Newtown and Ridgefield have dropped out.
2 Unbeaten teams remaining in boys basketball, both in Division I, with Notre Dame-West-Haven 14-0, and Kolbe Cathedral 12-0. Ellington (12-1) suffered its first loss when it fell to Rockville 54-48 on Friday, but still leads Div. IV at 12-1.
3 Points separating the top three teams in the second annual Queen of the Mat girls wrestling tournament at Foran-Milford on Sunday. Platt won the championship with 76 points, New Britain was runner-up with 74, and East Haven was third with 73.
4 Undefeated teams remaining in girls basketball. Two are in Class LL, where St. Joseph (14-0) is in first place, and Sacred Heart Academy (13-0) is second. Holy Cross (15-0) and East Hampton (14-0) lead Class L and M respectively.
6 Conferences represented in the latest GameTimeCT boys basketball poll. That group is led by CCC,
which features three teams in No. 1 East Catholic, No. 5 Windsor and No. 8 Northwest Catholic. The SWC and FCIAC each have two teams in the top 10, with one apiece from the SCC, NVL and ECC.
8 Consecutive wins for the Cheshire boys ice hockey team, which has the longest current winning streak in the state. The Rams (11-1), who are in Div. II, have not lost since a 5-2 defeat against the East Haven co-op on Dec. 30. Both Simsbury in Div. I and Watertown/Pomperaug in Div. II are unbeaten in eight games with seven wins and one tie apiece.
8 Of 12 games played against out-ofstate opponents for Notre DameWest Haven boys ice hockey team. The Knights, who are 7-3-2 overall, are 4-0 against Connecticut teams, with wins over New Canaan, Fairfield Prep, Darien and Notre DameFairfield.
10 Basketball teams with one loss — seven for the boys and three for the girls.
11 Consecutive victories for the East Catholic girls ice hockey co-op, the longest current streak in the state. The Storm's last loss was 3-1 to Stamford/Westhill/Staples on Dec. 23. Recent wins include 6-0 over Bishop Guertin (NH) at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton, Mass., on Wednesday, and a 7-0 over West Haven/SHA on Saturday. East Catholic (13-3) is third in the state rankings.
12 Shutouts in 16 games for the New Canaan girls ice hockey team. The Rams (15-1) are second in the CHSGHA standings behind Darien, and defeated fourth-place Stamford/Westhill/Staples 2-0 last Wednesday.
They've allowed just five goals this season.
25 Average margin of victory during the past four games for the Trumbull boys basketball team, the lone new entry into this week's GameTimeCT Top 10. The Eagles, who lead the Div. II standings, are 11-1 overall, with their lone loss being by four points to Fairfield Warde.
72 Points scored by the St. Paul girls basketball team, which was pushed to double overtime in a 72-67 win over Seymour on Saturday. Audrey Tice had 25 for St. Paul, and Jillian Keough had 27 for Seymour.
100 Career victories for Norwalk wrestler Phoenix Gardella, who went 3-0 while winning the 132pound weight class at the Gary Tigers Ridgefield Challenge on Saturday. Gardella won his three matches via pinfall.
200 Career coaching victories for Jason Shea of the Notre Dame-West Haven boys basketball team. Shea reached the milestone in the Knights' 91-29 victory over Shelton on Saturday.
224.5 Points scored by the Shelton wrestling team, which won the Brookfield Invitational on Saturday. New Canaan was second with 181. The Gaels had two weight-class champs: Ike Blomberg at 126 pounds, and Patrick Dabrowski at 215.
284 Points scored by the Xavier wrestling team, which won the Methuen Invitational in Mass., on Saturday. Salem (NH) was second with 210. The Falcons had four individual champs: Raekwon Shabazz (113), Anthony Basile (138), Kyle Levesque (144) and Charles Weidman (215).
1,000 Career points, a milestone which was reached by at least seven basketball players during the past 10 days. That includes Northwest Catholic's Gianni Mirabello, Newtown's Makai Coleman and East Hampton's Brady Lynch in boys basketball, and SHA's Lauren Thompson, Somers' Eliana Wood, and Conard's Emily Knowles and Callie Cosgrove.
1,204 Career points for Granby Memorial's Alyssa Bordonaro, who became the schools' all-time leader when she scored 21 in a 56-37 victopry over Terryville.