Three area NVL girls basketball teams will play in the semifinal round Monday at Kennedy following their wins on Saturday.
No. 1 Holy Cross, No. 2 St. Paul and No. 6 Kennedy won their quarterfinal games at Holy Cross High School. The Crusaders took down No. 8 Wolcott while the Falcons eliminated No. 7 Sacred Heart. The Eagles knocked off No. 3 Watertown. Those three teams join No. 4 Torrington, a winner over No. 5 Seymour.
In the CCC Tournament, Bristol Eastern was eliminated 59-34 by Hall in a 3 vs. 6 matchup in West Hartford.
Here’s more, starting with the NVL:
NVL
No. 1 Holy Cross 67, No. 8 Wolcott 48: The Crusaders were led into the semifinals by the law firm of Brown & Brown.
OK, they’re too young to be lawyers, but Hannah and Allie Brown did push Holy Cross on Saturday. Hannah scored 12 points while Allie added 11 in the win. Meah Austin also reached double figures with 10 points.
Raven Cody led Wolcott with 27 points.
What’s next?
Holy Cross — Longtime NVL rivals meet in the second semifinal Monday when the Crusaders play the Lady Raiders from Torrington. Holy Cross took the only regular season matchup, 60-56 in Torrington, but it took a major fourth quarter comeback to get the win.
Wolcott — The Eagles will hear officially what their Class M seed is Wednesday. As of now, Wolcott is the No. 24 seed in Class M and will travel to No. 9 Waterford of the Eastern Connecticut Conference for a first round game.
No. 2 St. Paul 45, No. 7 Sacred Heart 32: Janessa Gonzalez led the Falcons with 18 points while Brigid Johndrow provided her usual all-around game (6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals).
Treasure Coleman led Sacred Heart with 13 points.
What’s next?
St. Paul — Like the 2016 semifinals, the Falcons again face Kennedy. St. Paul won the lone regluar season meeting 50-37 on Jan. 11 in Bristol.
Sacred Heart — The Hearts are the No. 16 seed in Class S as of now and will host No. 17 Putnam of the Constitution State Conference in a first round matchup.
No. 6 Kennedy 44, No. 3 Watertown 38: Joyce Benton had a terrific all-around game, including 21 points, to pace the Eagles.
Raegon Shirling-Davis and Shyan Perez both had nine points.
What’s next?
Kennedy — The Eagles get a second chance against the Falcons after losing in the regular season.
NVL SEMIFINALS
Familiarity, much?
The Falcons and Eagles met in last year’s NVL semis, with Kennedy claiming the victory on its home floor. St. Paul and Kennedy know what to expect from each other, so fans should see another battle.
When it comes to familiar, you don’t get a bigger example in the NVL than the Crusaders and Lady Raiders. They know each other very well, and the teams have had some memorable battles over the years. They last met in the NVL tourney for the title in 2015, which was won by Torrington.
The games are at Kennedy High School. The first is St. Paul-Kennedy at 5 p.m., followed by Holy Cross-Torrington at 7.
Statistics were posted in a roundup on The Zone.
CCC TOURNAMENT
It was a tough morning for the Bristol Eastern girls, who lost 59-34 at Hall in West Hartford in a quarterfinal round game.
The Warriors jumped out to a 40-21 lead at the break and never looked back.
The Lancers reached the quarterfinal with a razor-thin 54-52 win over No. 14 South Windsor on Thursday at Bristol Eastern High School. Jillian LeBeau made the go-ahead hoop, then the Bobcats missed from halfcourt on a last-second shot. For more on that game, check out the Twitter account of Michael Letendre.
