Northwest Catholic Overcomes Nerves, Cruises To Championship

UNCASVILLE, CT — Northwest Catholic of West Hartford Head Coach Allison Connors had a simple explanation for why her team struggled badly in the first half.

She said it was nerves, something not surprising given her squad was still a group of teenagers playing under the lights of the big casino in Uncasville.

But in the end, Connors' Lions ground out a resounding win over Bridgeport's Kolbe Cathedral Cougars, 74-65, Saturday for the CIAC Class S state championship at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

She said her team shook off the jitters at halftime after being down by 9 and, simply, started to play the type of basketball that took them to the finals.

"I kept saying play smart and play confident," Connors said.

"We just needed to take a deep breath," Connors said, smiling amid the postgame celebration.

She also credited a gutsy, pesky underdog Kolbe Cathedral for a performance few expected at the tournament's onset.

Ranked 16th in the tournament field with a 10-10 regular season record, Kolbe pulled away in the first half for a halftime lead, 33-24.

It was nearly the "Miracle on the Hardwood."

"We knew we had a matchup coming in," Connors said of her team's matchup against the heavy underdog Kolbe.

But Northwest Catholic came out of the locker room fast and furious, rallying to take a 9-point lead after three quarters after being down 9 at the half.

They never looked back.

The Lions were led by two freshman, Abby Casper, who had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Maeve Staunton, who had 24 points and 10 assists at the point.

Junior Maeve Rushin chipped in 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds, surely pleasing her hall-of-fame mother, who happens to be former University of Connecticut legend and ESPN commentator Rebecca Lobo.

Kolbe was led by juniors Skylar Miller and Amaris Timmons, who each had 19 points, with Timmons pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.

Going into Saturday's game, the two underdogs probably wouldn't have been gamblers' picks to win a state title in the casino.

But 10-10 Kolbe, seeded 16th, and 12-8 Northwest Catholic, a 10 seed, each slogged their way to the finals with four-game tournament winning streaks.

By the second quarter, Kolbe stretched the lead into double digits, led by Timmons and Miller.

But Kolbe's 12-point lead in the second quarter was the high mark for the gutsy Cougars.

A calmer, more effective Northwest Catholic ran their offense, made plays and caught Kolbe and glided to a double-digit lead of their own, ultimately settling for a 9-point championship title that was the school's first state championship since 1999.

After the game, the team was celebrating like it was 1999.

For all game statistics from the CIAC, click on this link.