We are 12-14 games deep into the high school girls basketball season in the NVL, and not much has changed at the top.
St. Paul (12-2) and Sacred Heart (11-2) are still the top teams in the NVL entering Wednesday night’s games. The Falcons beat the Hearts 52-45 in the only regular season meeting between the two teams on Jan. 2 in Bristol. For St. Paul, Jade Udoh and Janessa Gonzalez have been the driving forces, though the Falcons also get good contributions from Liv Heslin and Catherine Ciampi. For St. Paul, the 1-2 punch of Mikayla Mobley and Aamya Rivera have been tough to contain.
Creeping up the NVL ladder is Holy Cross (8-4). The Crusaders have gone 8-1 since starting the season with three straight losses. Holy Cross picked up a big 61-49 home win over Watertown on Friday, led by 17 points from Alyssa Hebb and 13 from Hannah Brown. The only loss in the last nine games for the Crusaders came against the Hearts on Jan. 11 at home.
All three of the teams mentioned above have qualified for state tournament play. Crosby (6-6) is two wins away from joining the group. The Bulldogs, being coached in the interim by Mike Sullivan, are led by standout Tiahna Pullium. WCA (5-8) and Kennedy (4-9) have some work to do to reach eight wins.
In the Mum City, Bristol Eastern (7-5) needs one more win for state tournament qualification. Like the Crusaders, the Lancers started the season 0-3. Eastern is 7-2 since, and that includes a solid road win over a good Plainville team.
