New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Norwalk girls rally to win Class LL crown
CLASS LL GIRLS
UNCASVILLE — Topranked and top-seeded Norwalk rallied from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to stun second-seeded New London 55-53 on a lay-up by senior Naeva Rene in the closing seconds of the CIAC Class LL girls basketball championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday.
Junior guard Anaijah Morgan drove, drew the defender and delivered a bounce pass to the 6-foot-2 Rene, who went up for the layup. Rene also led the Bears with seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
Belinda Hunte led Norwalk with 15 points, four assists and five rebounds. Senior Ashley Wilson scored 12 points for the Bears, who won their first CIAC title since 2000 and completed their season undefeated at 28-0.
New London (25-4) scored the first 10 points of the game, and led 16-7 after the first quarter and 33-24 at halftime.
The Whalers were led by Xaryia Melendez, who had 16 points. Freshman J. Bland Fitzpatrick added 14 points, 10 of which came in the first quarter. Jayden Burns had 11.
DIVISION IV BOYS
Alexander Gibbens, a 6-foot-3 junior, scored 13 points to lead New Canaan to its first state title in boys basketball since 1962 with a 55-39 win over Granby in the CIAC Division IV state championship game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Matthew Brand added 12 points, Ryan McAleer 11 and Ben Sarda eight for New Canaan (20-5).
The Rams last appeared in the CIAC championship in 1989, falling to Danbury in the Class LL final 78-76.
Granby, the NCCC tournament champion, ends its season 23-4. The Bears led 15-9 after the first quarter, but the Rams outscored Granby 17-6 in the second quarter to build a 26-21 lead.
Rowan Heinze led Granby with 13 points and seven rebounds. James Shelansky added 10 and Elliyas Delaire seven.
CLASS S GIRLS
Senior Iyanna Lops scored 26 points and added nine rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead seventh-seeded Trinity Catholic to a 52-45 win over topseeded Canton Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Junior guard Caitlyn Scott added 12 points and six assists for Trinity, which trailed by eight after the first quarter, before a 23-4 run in the second set the pace for the rest of the game.
Trinity Catholic coach Mike Walsh, who came back from a vacation in Florida to take over the team after the resignation of Mike Martino, joins Dave Shea of Bacon Academy as coaches who have won both boys and girls state titles in basketball. Walsh won seven state titles with the Trinity boys program.
Trinity Catholic (20-4), which was 2-18 two years ago, has won four state titles. The Crusaders also won Class S titles in 2002, 2003 and 2006.
Junior guard Abigail Charron scored 15 points and added three assists and three steals for Canton (23-2), which won Class S state titles in 2016 and 2017. Sophomore guard Paige Brown added 10 points and Gabrielle Schinkel eight for Canton, which won its first NCCC tournament title since 2006 earlier this year.