MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION
North Stonington — Zane Brewer had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the ninth-seeded Wheeler High School boys' basketball team in a 53-45 victory over No. 25 Sheehan in the second round of the Division IV state tournament Wednesday.
Kyle Kessler and Keith Zardies each had 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals and Deondre Bransford had seven points and eight rebounds for the Lions (19-6), who advanced to the quarterfinal round to meet No. 17 Foran at 7 p.m. Friday at Wheeler.
Wheeler held a slight edge at halftime (23-22) and after three quarters (34-32) before pulling away in the final moments. The Lions were the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II tournament champions.
Kade Marcantonio had 18 points to lead Sheehan.
Women’s lacrosse
• Laine Weber scored a career-high four goals and Caitlyn Coates had three goals and an assist for Coast Guard Academy in a 14-6 win over Johnson & Wales.
Abby McAllister also had three goals and Sarah Skurat had two assists for the Bears (4-1), who led 102 at halftime. Maici Mintchwarner made six saves in goal to earn the victory.
Men’s lacrosse
• Eric Key had two goals and an assist and Ian Feely scored twice for Coast Guard in a 13-7 loss to Maritime (N.Y.). Ryan Hunter had a goal and two assists and Mason LaForte a goal and an assist for the Bears (1-3). Parker Reilly had three goals and an assist for Maritime, which broke the game open with eight goals in the second quarter for a 10-3 lead.
Women’s water polo
• Gigi Sandull had six goals and two assists and Ainsley Cornwall had five goals as Conn College opened the season with a 19-3 win at Wheaton. It was the first game in program history for Wheaton. Sarah Franco had a goal, scoring just 13 seconds into the game for the Camels, and three assists and Maddie Baybeck and Grace Isola combined for 10 saves in goal. Conn led 10-3 at halftime.
• UConn women's basketball signees Morgan Cheli and Allie Ziebell earned Naismith All-America honors, with Cheli a first team pick and Ziebell being named an honorable mention selection.
Cheli and Ziebell were selected as McDonald's All-Americans in January. Both will suit up for the West Team. They were also tabbed to the 2024 Jordan Brand Classic Girls National Team this week.
Cheli and the No. 1-ranked Archbishop Mitty Monarchs are undefeated this season and won their fourthstraight NorCal Open championship Tuesday. The team will compete in the CIF Open Division state girls basketball final.
A 6-foot-2 guard from Los Altos, Calif., Cheli is the No. 18-ranked recruit in the 2024 class. She won gold with the U17 U.S. National Team at the 2022 FIBA U17 Women's World Cup. Cheli is averaging 15 points, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game in her senior season. She led Archbishop Mitty to the 2023 Nike Tournament of Champions title, which helped the program move to the No. 1-ranked high school in the nation.
Ziebell led Neenah High School to a win in the WIAA section final last weekend as the Rockets advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2009.
A 6-foot guard from Neenah, Wis., Ziebell is the No. 4-ranked recruit in the 2024 class. She won gold with the U19 U.S. National Team at the 2023 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup. Ziebell was the 2023 Gatorade Wisconsin Player of the Year. In November, she became Neenah's all-time leading scorer and currently ranks fourth in state history with 2,744 career points.