This will sound familiar to those familiar with NVL girls basketball. St. Paul and Holy Cross will play for the league’s tournament title.
This will not be the first time the teams have met with the trophy on the line, and it likely won’t be the last. The top-seeded Falcons needed a late rally to knock off No. 5 Naugatuck 55-51 in the second game of the Monday semifinal doubleheader at Kennedy High School. In the first game, the third-seeded Crusaders overcame a slow start and ran away from No. 7 Watertown, 48-32.
Janessa Gonzalez scored 24 points to lead St. Paul, 13 of which were in the fourth quarter. Jade Udoh had 10 points while Catherine Ciampi added eight points.
In the Holy Cross win, Cayla Howard led the way with 18 points while Hannah Brown added 12 points, according to The Hoop Zone report.
There will be plenty of All-NVL, all-city and all-division honorees on the floor on Wednesday night for the final (7 p.m. start). St. Paul is led by All-NVL standouts Gonzalez and Jade Udoh, along with All-Iron selection Emma Cretella. Holy Cross is paced by All-NVL and All-City performer Alyssa Hebb, along with All-Brass choice Allie Brown and All-City selection Hannah Brown.
St. Paul and Holy Cross last met in an NVL girls final in 2017, which the Falcons won. They also met in the 2014 final, which the Crusaders won.
St. Paul won the only regular season meeting between the teams, 57-54 on Dec. 11. That game was the season opener for both teams, and each side has come a long way since that game. This time, it’s for the NVL title.
