UConn fans, parents happy to be at tournament
Final 2021 result: Def. East Catholic 69-68 to win CCC Bracket 1 championship.
Bottom Line: The Rams defeated the fourth-ranked, secondranked and top-ranked teams in succession during the CCC tournament to finish in the top spot.
2. Sacred Heart (2)
14-0
500
Final 2021 result: Def. Naugatuck 57-50 to win NVL tournament.
Bottom Line: Hearts win 14th and final NVL title. School is scheduled to close at the end of the school year.
3. East Catholic
14-1
484
Final 2021 result: Lost to Bristol Central 69-68 (OT) in CCC Bracket 1 final.
3 1
Bottom Line: Valiant second-half comeback by the Eagles to force overtime, but they fell after a game-winning shot by Bristol Central center Donovan Clingan.
4. Northwest Catholic
13-1
430
2
Final 2021 result: Lost to Bristol Central 71-60 in CCC Bracket 1 semifinals.
Bottom Line: Matt Curtis finished with 18 points in the loss to Bristol Central.
5. Ridgefield
15-1
404
Final 2021 result: Def. Westhill 64-37 to win FCIAC title.
Bottom Line: Tigers claimed their third consecutive FCIAC title and fourth in the last five seasons in dominating fashion.
6. Notre Dame-Fairfield
11-1
392
7
8
Final 2021 result: Def. Kolbe Cathedral 70-62 to win the SWC championship.
Bottom Line: Lancers were able to survive their three best players having four fouls apiece to come from behind and beat Kolbe Cathedral for the SWC crown.
7. West Haven
12-1
340
Final 2021 result: Def. Notre Dame-West Haven 69-49 to win SCC Division I title.
NR
Bottom Line: A 33-8 run over the span of two quarters-plus helped West Haven win its first SCC championship.
8. Windsor
11-2
313 4
Final 2021 result: Lost to Bristol Central 73-59 in CCC Bracket 1 quarterfinals.
Bottom Line: Warriors’ only two losses are to Bristol Central and Northwest Catholic, both ranked ahead of them.
9. Prince Tech
15-0
256
10
SAN ANTONIO — Stephen Philbrick attended his first Final Four in 2001 in St. Louis. He wasn’t going to let this year be any different, pandemic and all.
“I haven’t missed one since,” said Philbrick, 69, who lives in Canton. “UConn’s missed a few, but I haven’t.”
And so there he was Saturday morning, standing in a line for security outside the Alamodome.
“My wife usually comes with me,” he said, “but it’s also Easter Sunday next week. We’ve got a bunch of friends that normally come down in a group, but this year they said, ‘We’re going to have to pass.’ I said, ‘I’ve got to be here, I’ve got to be here.’ ”
Philbrick was wearing a UConn T-shirt. So, too, were many of the 100 or so others waiting to get into the building in anticipation of the Sweet 16 matchup between the No. 1 Huskies and fifth-seeded Iowa.
Saturday was the first day fans were allowed to attend the women’s NCAA Tournament. Though the capacity had been capped at approximately 5,000 for the Alamodome, only 2,418 tickets ended up being distributed for UConn-Iowa, according to the NCAA. The first two rounds had been limited to friends and families, with each member of the teams’ 34-person traveling party allotted six tickets.
Win or lose, Philbrick plans to stay in Texas through the national championship game, scheduled for April 4. Having already received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, he’s not worried so much about the virus as he is about the Huskies’ chances of winning their 12th national championship.
“Lots of trepidation,” he said. “I’m always nervous before just about any game.”
Of course, it’s not just fans making the trip.
Bob Bueckers, UConn star Paige Bueckers’ father, flew into San Antonio around midnight Friday. He, too, will be sticking around for the entirety of the tournament.
“The soonest I could get down here was for the Sweet 16,” said Bueckers, who lives in Maryland and brought both his girlfriend and his son, Drew, 8. “If we don’t win, we’re just going to make a vacation out of it. If we win, we’re going to make an even better vacation out of it.”
Bueckers had attended two games earlier this season, wins over South Carolina (Feb. 8) and Seton Hall (Feb. 10) at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs. This trip, he said, brought some normalcy to a year that’s been anything but.
Freshman Saylor Poffenbarger’s parents and 8-year-old brother, Higgins, arrived in time for the Sweet 16 as well, as did Bueckers’ mother, Amy Fuller, and the families of juniors Evina Westbrook and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
“It’s fun to see a live sport event in person,” said Poffenbarger’s mom, Amy. “My first one (since the pandemic began) was a JV high school football game. It’s good to get out here, walk around the River Walk, and see how life is slowly getting back to what it used to be.”
“What we tried to do is create an environment that was first safe and second celebratory,” said Colleen Bridger, assistant city manager with oversight of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.
Fuller, who lives in Montana, is sharing an Airbnb with the Westbrooks.
“It’s a fantastic city for a tournament, that’s for sure,” Fuller said. “Nice weather, feels very safe. After the game Saturday, a group of us went out to eat. Everyone saw UConn gear, they were honking.”
Fuller has enjoyed the camaraderie with other parents.
“It would be really hard to come down here for as long as we have if we didn’t have other parents to hang out with in person,” she said. “Eva (Westbrook’s mom) is my people. I opened up the refrigerator, and it’s like we’re twins. They’re really fun to be around.”
They’ll be staying until April 5 — the day after the NCAA title game.
“The team’s goal is our goal, right?” Fuller said. “We’ll be here till Monday.”
dbonjour@ctpost.com; @DougBonjour