Munsee

Since her career with the Coventry High girls basketball team started, Natalie Neal has dreamed of stepping onto the court at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The senior only has one game left in a Coventry uniform, but that game will make her dream come true.

The third-seeded Patriots (19-6) will play No. 1 Thomaston (21-4) in the Class S title game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“Coming in freshman year, going to the state championship was all I ever wanted,” Neal said. “This year, we finally go the chance to. So I’m more than excited to make it this far.”

It’s Coventry’s first title game since 2009 and fifth overall. The program’s only state crown came in 1988.

“Coming into this season, we knew we were a skilled team, and they’re a hard-working team and they’re a disciplined team,” coach Kevin Clancy said. “So the goal was definitely a state championship. They believed it, they wanted it and it’s just awesome that it’s been able to get to that point to get to the finals.”

The Patriots found consistent success throughout the regular season. But many of the players trace the team’s current momentum back to a 15-point loss to Canton in the quarterfinals of the NCCC tournament.

“Losing in the NCCC tournament was really fuel and motivation that we want to make it as far we can here,” junior Charlotte Jordan said.

Coventry’s state tournament began with a first-round bye. That was followed by wins over No. 19 Lyman Memorial (63-30), No. 6 Housatonic (40-25) and a nail-biting 39-36 win over No. 15 Immaculate in the semifinals.

“I’ve kind of been preaching to the team about what they’ve accomplished just by getting to this point,” Clancy said. “It’s so great because there are so many girls that play high school basketball for all…

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They are unbeaten. They are not untied through 32 minutes.

Carrying a 42-game winning streak into the CIAC Division II basketball championship against Northwest Catholic on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun, Donovan Clingan and Bristol Central certainly have left opponents tied in knots since last losing in the 2020 CCC quarterfinals.

Clingan is averaging 30 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks for a 27-0 team. He scored 51 on Windsor, which lost to East Catholic in the Division I semifinals. He scored 45 and grabbed 28 rebounds in the 73-66 victory against Northwest Catholic to win the CCC tournament.

When asked in a GameTimeCT survey for the best way to defend the 7-foot-2, 260-pound UConn-bound center, Conard’s Jared Leghorn and Seymour’s Joe Carrafiello full-court pressed for divine assistance.

“The first thing I would do is go to church the night before,” Carrafiello responded.

“Pray,” Leghorn wrote.

Hearst has a long reach, but not quite that long. So we reached out to Kevin Walton of Wilbur Cross and Joel Geriak of Wilton, two mortal coaches who took Bristol Central into overtime this season.

“Our plan going in was to try and keep him to 25 points,” Geriak said. “That alone tells you how good the kid is.”

The consensus among the 20 coaches in the survey is there are two ways to best deal with Clingan: 1. Double-team him, front and back, and be physical. 2. Up the tempo and play as fast as possible. Or both if you are fortunate enough to have the personnel. The objective is to take a physical toll.

After surviving Wilton, 54-52, in OT on Tuesday night, Bristol Central coach Tim Barrette declared…

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From the moment Bristol Central and Northwest Catholic elected not to petition to play in Division I this season, basketball fans knew the possibility of these two CCC powerhouses meeting in the Division II state championship was possible.

The two teams didn’t play during the regular season. But Bristol Central did defeat Northwest Catholic in the CCC tournament final just a couple of weeks ago.

Now the Rams and the Lions square off to decide Division II. Bristol Central is No. 1 in the GameTimeCT poll, riding a 42-game winning streak. Northwest Catholic is tied for second in the poll.

The two teams have been in those two spots for most of the season. So what will happen on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena?

We polled coaches across the state, with the understanding that there responses would be used for this story. We asked who would win and why.

Of the 20 responses received, it was split down the middle as to who would win. Here are their reasons responses:

Ronan O’Leary, WCA: Bristol Central “Donovan Clingan is too much of a force for (Northwest) Catholic to stop.”

Danny Oglesby, North Haven: Northwest Catholic. “They have the best guard play and more overall depth and size to handle Donovan.”

Craig Behun, O’Brien Tech: Bristol Central. “Prior to BC’s game against Wilton, I would have picked NWC to win, but I think the close call against Wilton will have the Rams focused and fired up.”

Tim Tallcouch, Newtown: Northwest Catholic. “Second chance at Bristol Central. Playing at this point I believe there is enough video out there to adjust.”

Jared Leghorn, Conard: Bristol…

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BOXSCORE

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Syracuse Crunch in a narrow, 1-0 decision at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Friday night.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (25-24-4-4) staged a goaltender’s duel, as both Louis Domingue and Max Lagacé were lights out from the opening puck drop. Domingue recorded 32 saves for the Penguins and was only foiled by a bad bounce off of one of his teammates in the third period.

Syracuse stormed out of the gates and put the Penguins on their heels early, but Domingue was dialed in. Domingue was credited with seven saves before the game was three minutes old.

Eventually, the Penguins settled in and tilted the ice with back-to-back power play opportunities. Anthony Angello hit the post during one of those man advantages, but the game remained knotted, 0-0.

Both teams remained perfect on the penalty kill through 40 minutes, keeping the deadlock intact going into the third. The Penguins almost scored on another power play in the third period, but this time, Mitch Reinke struck iron.

Gage Goncalves ultimately netted the game’s only goal when he centering pass redirected off a Penguin atop the crease and knuckled behind Domingue with 7:50 left in regulation.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton failed to score one of its signature extra-attacker goals and suffered the shutout loss at the hands of the former Penguin, Lagacé. The Crunch netminder recorded his first clean sheet of the season with 24 saves.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s homestand concludes tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 19, against the Utica Comets. Saturday is also the Penguins’ annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. Puck drop between the Penguins and Comets is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Individual game tickets for the Penguins’ remaining home games as well…

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