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UNCASVILLE – The last time the Coventry girls basketball team won a state championship, not only were none of the players born yet, neither was their coach.
“What’s that, 37 years?” Coventry coach Kevin Clancy said. “I wasn’t born until 1990.”
Coventry, which last won a girls basketball title in 1988, defeated fourth-seeded Morgan, 49-38, for the Class S championship Sunday morning at Mohegan Sun.
“Last year our boys were here and my brother was on that team,” said freshman center Hailey Mayo, who had 18 points and 17 rebounds. “My coach kept saying this could be you next year and I didn’t think it would be real.”
Mayo, one of six freshmen on second-seeded Coventry (24-3), battled against Morgan sophomore center Emma Tuener, who put up eight points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
“She played some pretty good defense,” Mayo said. “I think the way we moved the ball in and out and moved as a team, we got buckets.”
Coventry junior Jianna Foran, who had 12 points, five assists and five steals, said of her center. “She can get the ball in the hoop any way she wants. As a freshman, stepping up like that is amazing.”
The freshmen didn’t seem to have early jitters Sunday. Coventry took a 13-4 lead after one quarter and led 23-18 at halftime and never trailed.
“These girls, when they stepped on the floor, didn’t look fazed at all,” Clancy said. “They did awesome. They rose to the occasion.
“They’re so confident in their ability and the team and the team is so supportive of each other. it’s one of those things, ‘We got this. This is our game.’”
Morgan (21-6) shot poorly in the first half (4 for 20) but stayed in the game from the free throw line (9 for 10). The Huskies got close a couple of…
Coventry celebrates its win over Morgan during CIAC Class S Girls’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
Members of the Coventry girls basketball team celebrate after defeating Morgan 49-38 for the CIAC Class S tournament championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Will Aldam/Hearst Connecticut Media
Coventry celebrates its win over Morgan during CIAC Class S Girls’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
Coventry’s Ava Topliff (4) celebrates with the CIAC…
Coventry celebrates its win over Morgan during CIAC Class S Girls’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
Members of the Coventry girls basketball team celebrate after defeating Morgan 49-38 for the CIAC Class S tournament championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Will Aldam/Hearst Connecticut Media
Coventry celebrates its win over Morgan during CIAC Class S Girls’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
Coventry’s Ava Topliff (4) celebrates with the CIAC…
UNCASVILLE – Ellington boys basketball coach Bob Freitas didn’t talk about it, the Knights’ season-long win streak.
The pressure built up all season. They had close games and managed to pull out wins. They won the NCCC championship, knocking off four-time defending champion SMSA. They were still unbeaten heading into the Division IV state championship game against Sheehan, the No. 23 seed, Sunday at Mohegan Sun.
So when Ellington had broken open a close game in the fourth quarter and sailed to its 27th win in 27 games, 55-39 over Sheehan, Freitas was handed the championship plaque. He held over his head as the Ellington fans cheered and cheered, and there was relief and joy, all mixed together.
It was Ellington’s first state championship in boys basketball since 1972.
“People talked about it and I didn’t – having no losses isn’t easy for a young group,” Freitas said. “I thought the kids were tremendous. When I got the trophy, I was just emotional. I want them to succeed.”
Sophomore Jack Curtis led top-seeded Ellington (27-0) with 19 points and four steals. Only one senior, Andrew Flickenschild, started for the Knights and he had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Dylan Killoran joined Flickenschild under the basket collecting rebounds (he had eight). Freshman Reese Nicol also had eight boards, to go along with nine points. Sophomore Ty Fieldhouse racked up eight rebounds.
“It was crazy,” Flickenschild said. “There’s nothing like it. I can’t compare it to anything I’ve ever done. It hasn’t settled in.”
The game was close throughout. Rey Rodriguez, who led Sheehan with 23 points and nine rebounds, threw down a dunk toward the end of the first half and Sheehan led 20-19, but Ellington retook the lead with a basket by Flickenschild and a free throw from Curtis, heading into the…
UNCASVILLE, CT — Approaching the end of the third quarter of Sunday’s CIAC Division IV boys basketball championship game at the Mohegan Sun Arena, it appeared the perfect season for Ellington High School was in jeopardy. Unheralded Sheehan, which barely qualified for the tournament with an 8-12 regular season record, had just grabbed a 32-30 lead following an old-fashioned three-point play by Rey Rodriguez.
By that point, the junior had poured in 17 points, so Ellington coach Bob Freitas changed defensive strategy a bit, placing more emphasis on stopping the Titans’ key weapon. The new plan worked, as Rodriguez was held to just two field goals and a pair of free throws over the game’s final 10 and a half minutes.
In the meantime, Ellington tied the game at 32-all, then took the lead for good with under a minute remaining in the quarter on a steal and layup by Jake Curtis. Carrying the momentum into the final period, the Knights ran off 12 straight points, while simultaneously keeping Sheehan off the scoreboard for a 7:14 stretch, en route to a 55-39 victory.
The championship was the first for Ellington since 1972, when Richard Nixon was in office and most of the current roster’s parents had not even been born yet.
Ellington accomplished its goal despite producing some underwhelming offensive statistics. The Knights did not convert a single three-point attempt, missing all 14 opportunities, and made just nine of 17 free throws, or 52.9 percent.
On the other hand, the top seed dominated on the boards, receiving plenty of second and third chances by gathering 45 rebounds, including 23 on the offensive glass. Andrew Flickenschild collected 13 rebounds to go along with 13 points, while Reese Nicol, Ty Fieldhouse and Dylan Killoran each grabbed 8 boards. Curtis took team…
Ellington celebrates its win over Sheehan in CIAC Div 4 Boys’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
The top-seeded Ellington boys basketball team defeated No. 23 Sheehan 55-39 to win the CIAC Division IV championship, its first since 1972, at the Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Sean Patrick Bowley / Hearst Connecticut Media
Ellington celebrates its win over Sheehan in CIAC Div 4 Boys’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
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Sheehan players celebrate after defeating East Catholic in the CIAC Class MM girls basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media
Sheehan players celebrate after defeating East Catholic in the CIAC Class MM girls basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media
Sheehan players pose for photos with the championship plaque after defeating East Catholic in the CIAC Class MM girls basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media
Members of the…
Ellington celebrates its win over Sheehan in CIAC Div 4 Boys’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media
The top-seeded Ellington boys basketball team defeated No. 23 Sheehan 55-39 to win the CIAC Division IV championship, its first since 1972, at the Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Sean Patrick Bowley / Hearst Connecticut Media
Ellington celebrates its win over Sheehan in CIAC Div 4 Boys’ Basketball Championship action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Sunday March 16, 2025.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut MediaContinue reading
UNCASVILLE – Sheehan girls basketball coach Mike Busillo kept looking at the scoreboard. The Class MM championship game against top-seeded East Catholic was winding down but the clock seemed to be moving very slowly.
“I just kept looking up there and we seemed to have more points,” Busillo said. “As long as that was the situation I felt good. We kind of hung on there by our fingernails.”
The third-seeded Titans watched a 22-point first half lead evaporate against top-seeded East Catholic but they hung on for a 56-51 victory, Sheehan’s first title since 1976.
East Catholic cut the lead to one, 42-41, early in the fourth quarter and then four, 52-48, with 1:47 left in the game.
But Sheehan junior Megan Wresien, who led the team with 22 points and eight rebounds, made four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
“You’re just telling the kids, ‘We’ve got to relax, we’ve played a lot of close games,’” Busillo said. “Basically, I’m lying through my teeth because we’re all nervous wrecks. Somehow, we held on. I don’t know how we did it.”
Megan’s twin sister Jenna scored 13 points for Sheehan. Urielle Abrokwa had 18 points and Morgan Bridgeforth had 16 points and five steals for East Catholic.
“It’s relief, pure joy,” Megan said. “Just being able to grind it out in the tough moments is awesome.
“It’s a game of runs, we made a run in the first half, they made one in the second half. We knew they were a really good team.”
Sheehan hit seven of 12 3-pointers in the first half and led 34-17 at halftime. The Titans’ biggest lead was 34-12 late in the second quarter.
But East Catholic started to play pressure defense and threw on a full-court press, forcing Sheehan turnovers. The Titans hung on but the lead…