GIRLS BASKETBALL | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Who is No. 1?
The final poll of the 202122 season had four teams receiving first-place votes as state champions Notre Dame-Fairfield, East Hartford, Holy Cross and Sacred Heart Academy each picked up first-place votes. Notre Dame, SHA and Holy Cross all got first-place votes to start the season this year with SHA claiming the top spot. That does not take into account any of the CCC and other SCC teams that could make run at the top spot this season. Those two conferences are widely considered to be the most competitive with four preseason top-10 teams (SHA, Hand, Hamden, Mercy) from the SCC and two (Southington, Simsbury) from the CCC. That does not even include West Haven, E.O. Smith, Enfield and Windsor who are not in the top 10, but are considered state title contenders by those in the know. Or teams outside those conferences like Ludlowe out of the FCIAC or New London in the ECC, both of whom have teams that could ascend. It should all make for an entertaining girls basketball season here in Connecticut.
Milking the clock
This is the last CIAC season with no shot clock. Next season will see a 35second shot clock implemented and teams may start adjusting how they play this season. Girls basketball has routinely seen some teams slow down games and milk the clock in an effort to keep games close, but under he new rules, that will all go away. What will increase is teams getting up quicker shots
and speeding up their offense. How teams respond is the question. While the shot clock is still a year away, expect changes to gameplans to happen now.
Repping the ECC
In 2011, Windham won the Class M championship. That was the last time an ECC team not named New London or Bacon Academy played for a state title. Now, New London and Bacon have both represented the conference well with Bacon reaching four finals in that span, winning Class L in 2012 and New London playing for four championships, winning twice with the last coming in 2017. New London was runner-up in Class LL in 2019 and Bacon was runner-up in Class M last season. NFA won the 2009 and 2010 Class LL titles but has not reached a final since.
Games to watch
St. Mary Academy-Bay View (Riverside, R.I.) vs.
Holy Cross, noon; Ponaganset High School (North Scituate, RI) vs. Hamden, Dec. 27, 6 p.m. (at Mohegan Sun): There will be two girls games and two boys games featuring teams from Connecticut and teams from Rhode Island. The two state girls representatives give fans a chance to see two top 10 teams in one place.
Brookfield at Bacon Academy, Jan. 7, 1:30 p.m.: Crossover game with two of GameTimeCT’S 25 Players to Watch in Brookfield’s Catherine Sollose and Bacon’s Marissa Nudd.
Southington at Enfield, Jan. 9, 6:45 p.m.:
There are those that believe Southington is the best team in the CCC this season. Among many tough contests for Southington is Enfield, which only lost one regular season game last year.
Pomperaug at Notre Dame-Fairfield, Jan. 12, 7 p.m.: Notre Dame has knocked Pomperaug out of the last two SWC tournaments and Pomperaug has not beaten the Lancers in the regular season since January 2016. Pomperaug has a strong returning roster while Notre Dame lost a ton to graduation. Could this be the year?
E.O. Smith at Simsbury, Jan. 24, 6:45 p.m.:
By all accounts, the CCC is going to be the toughest conference in the state and both of these teams should be firmly in the mix up top.
Ludlowe at Trumbull, Jan. 24, 7 p.m.:
Ludlowe is the preseason favorite in the FCIAC, but watch out for Trumbull which always plays tough defense and if it can figure out where to get points, could be dangerous.
Hand at Mercy, Jan. 26, 7 p.m.: In a crowded SCC field, both of these teams are good enough to break through and win the conference. This will be he second of two regularseason meetings between the schools.
Valley at East Hampton, Feb. 3, 6 p.m.:
Both teams lost in the CIAC Class M semifinals and both bring back the bulk of those teams. Both schools are in contention for both conference and state titles.
West Haven at Sacred Heart Academy, Feb. 13, 7 p.m.:
The SCC is loaded at the top of the league this year and there is a chance these two not only meet in the season finale but then again a week later in the SCC championship game.