The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Girls basketball 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. With the 2023-24 CIAC girls basketball postseason tipping off this week, 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 some may even make you laugh. So get ready for the playoffs with GameTimeCT’s girls basketball by the numbers.
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 Teams that have been ranked No. 1 in the GameTimeCT girls basketball poll this season: Hamden and Sacred Heart Academy. Hamden was the preseason No. 1, SHA took over for six weeks, and Hamden regained the top spot for the past two weeks.
3 No. 1 seeds who reached the state finals last year. Two earned championships, with Hamden winning Class LL and East Hampton winning Class M, while Pomperaug was runner-up in Class L, losing to third-seeded E.O. Smith in the final.
3 State champions from 2023 who are in Class LL this year. That group includes Hamden, which won Class LL last winter, along with E.O. Smith (Class L) and New London (Class MM).
3 Straight trips to the FCIAC finals for St. Joseph, which defeated New Canaan 43-31 for the conference championship on Thursday. The Cadets won the title in 2022 and were runners up last year.
5 Conferences with No. 1 seeds. That includes the SCC, NVL, NCCC, Shoreline and CRAL.
5 Straight tournaments
with at least one champion from the SCC, the longest such streak for any conference.
5 Years since an FCIAC girls basketball last won a state championship. The league had two titles in 2019, with unbeaten Norwalk winning Class LL and Trinity Catholic winning Class S.
6 Class LL teams ranked in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll for Feb. 20. That group is led by No. 1 Hamden and No. 2 Sacred Heart Academy. Class L has two, and Classes MM and M have one each.
7 New Canaan’s seed in the FCIAC tournament. The Rams defeated No. 2 Stamford and No. 3 Ridgefield to reach the conference final for the first time.
7 Years since there has been a repeat champion in girls basketball. The last team to win back-to-back titles was Canton, which
won Class S in 2016 and 2017.
8 Of the last nine NVL championships have been won by either St. Paul or Holy Cross. St. Paul defeated Holy Cross 43-38 in the championship game on Wednesday, the second straight year in which the Falcons have defeated the top-seeded Crusaders for the title.
10 Highest seed to win a state championship last winter. Tenth-seeded Northwest Catholic won the Class S title 74-65 over No. 16 Kolbe Cathedral, which was the highest seed to reach any of the five state finals. Northwest Catholic is now the second seed in Class MM, and Kolbe is the ninth seed in Class M.
10 State basketball champions to be crowned, five each for girls and boys, March 16 and 17 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.
11 FCIAC teams in the Class LL tournament field of 29. The FCIAC had 13 of its 16 teams qualify for the state tournaments, with New Canaan and Wilton in Class L.
11 Point differential in three tournament games for New Milford, which captured its second straight SWC crown on Thursday. The Green Wave defeated Immculate 60-57 in the quarterfinals, Kolbe Cathedral 51-43 in the semis, and New Fairfield 38-35 in the final.
11 Years since Ellington last won the NCCC championship before Thursday, when it defeated Suffield 42-37 in the final. The Knights won three straight from 2011-2013.
14 Consecutive wins for Hamden, the No. 1 ranked team in the GameTimeCT poll. The Green Dragons had lost two straight to Sacred Heart Academy and Springfield Central
(Mass.) in early January, but are unbeaten since, a run which includes two wins over second-ranked SHA. On Wednesday, Hamden defeated SHA 82-58 for the SCC crown on Wednesday. Hamden has won five of the last six league championships.
16 Straight victories for Ellington, the No. 1 seed in the CIAC Class MM tournament.
17 Years since Windsor had won a CCC girls basketball championship before beating Northwest Catholic 66-52 in the final on Thursday. The Warriors defeated three teams ranked in the top 10 on the way to the CCC crown.
21 Days between first round games and the final day of the state finals for girls basketball. The first four rounds, including quarterfinals and semis, will be played in 13 days, with one week off between the semis and finals. 24 Years since teams with the same nickname had squared off in a state girls basketball final before two sets of Panthers, E.O. Smith and Pomperaug, met in Class L last season. E.O. Smith won 58-46.
25 Teams from the CCC that have qualified for the state playoffs.
27 Teams which have appeared in the state finals in the past three postseasons. There have been 28 finalists since 2019, and the only team to appear twice is New London, which was Class LL runner-up in 2019 and Class MM champion in 2023.
35 Margin of victory for Innovation, which defeated Classical 66-31 for the in the CRAL tournament championship on Thursday.
43 Consecutive victories for East Hampton heading into the Shoreline Conference final against Morgan on Friday. The Bellringers (22-0), the state’s only undefeated team, are the No. 1 seed in the Class M tournament.
83 Combined regularseason victories for the five defending champions in girls basketball. That includes East Hampton (20-0), Hamden (17-3), New London (16-4), Northwest Catholic (16-4), and E.O. Smith (14-6).
85.7 Percentage of SWC teams which qualified for the CIAC tournaments, the highest mark of any conference. The SWC has 12 of 14 teams in the playoffs. The SCC, with 17 of 20 teams in, is a close second at 85%.
138 Teams which have qualified for the state playoffs. Class M has the largest field with 31 teams. Class LL and S have 29 each, followed by Class L with 25 and Class M with 24.
2,004 Points for Windsor’s Ayanna Franks, who became the 21st Connecticut player to surpass the 2,000-point milestone when she scored 13 in the CCC final on Thursday. The Warriors won 66-52 over Northwest Catholic.