10 plot lines here
5 players to watch here
Predictions here

Here's a quick breakdown of the four state tournaments. Check back Monday for a more in-depth look.
For a complete look at the brackets, click here.

CLASS LL

FCIAC finalist Trumbull earns the No. 1 seed here. Mercy will be No. 2 followed by No. 3 Manchester and No. 4 Holy Cross.

Well, the power has shifted from Class L to Class LL. In the top half, look for Trumbull to get knocked off as early as the second round by No. 17 NFA. No. 25 Cheshire is capable of knocking off No. 8 Ridgefield in the first round, too. No. 9 Career gets and should reach the semifinals again.

Good luck to all the teams in the bottom half because it is loaded. It's hard to see Mercy not making a lengthy run, but the potential is there for the Tigers to get upset. The Tigers squeezed by No. 15 East Catholic 52-49 in the regular season and those teams could meet in the second round, assuming East Catholic beats No. 18 Norwalk in the opening round.

There is also a possible SWC final rematch between No. 7 Newtown and No. 10 Lauralton Hall. Also in the bottom half is Manchester, No. 6 Glastonbury and No. 19 Wilbur Cross.

Right now the safe pick to win it all is Career, simply because the Panthers have the easiest road.  

CLASS L
Katie Mahoney and Bacon Academy draw the top seed. CCC power E.O. Smith is No. 2, Sarah Royals and Torrington get No. 3 and two-time defending champion Hillhouse is No. 4.

Class L is watered down this season and the Academics appear to be on another level than teams in this field. Keep an eye on No. 25 Lyman Hall. The Trojans played a really tough schedule this season and their 8-12 record is deceiving. Also, Felicia Ferraro should cause fits for No. 8 Berlin.

Also watch out for No. 21 Windsor, who played Manchester and Glastonbury tough this season. No. 10 Platt will go as far as Damika Martinez can carry it. At first glance, E.O. Smith and Torrington both look to have nice draws and should meet in the semifinals. If No. 22 Foran can upset No. 11 RHAM, the Lions could go as far as the quarterfinals.

The pick here is easy. Hillhouse wins its third straight state title.  

CLASS M
Lewis Mills gets the No. 1 seed here. Windham gets the second seed, Plainfield is No. 3 followed by Ellington at No. 4.

Look for many of the top seeds to go down before the semifinals, except for Windham. That also includes No. 5 St. Paul, which won the Class S tournament last year. Led by Hartford-bound Cherelle Moore, Kolbe Catherdral is the defending champion and seeded No. 8. It may be a down year for Cougars standards, but they are still capable of defending their title.

First round matchup to keep an eye on? No. 12 Trinity Catholic vs. No. 21 Weaver. Winner could knock off St. Paul and eventually reach the semifinals. Kristin Schatzlein and No. 6 Tolland should also make a deep run.
Right now the pick looks to be Kolbe Cathedral. It's tough to go against the Cougars.

CLASS S
Capital Prep earns the top seed. Cromwell is No. 2, Coginchaug is No. 3 and Portland is No. 4.

This class is dominated by Shoreline Conference powers and expect one of them to be the last team standing. Capital Prep should roll into the quarterfinals thanks to a helpful draw. No. 5 Thomaston vs. the winner of the first round game between No. 12 Wamogo and No. 21 Housatonic Regional is intriguing in what will be a matchup of Berkshire League powers. No. 7 East Granby may be a sleeper.

The early favorite here is Portland. It reached the final last year and has a favorable draw this time around.

Find the CCC tournament schedule here

Find the FCIAC tournament schedule here

Find the CSC tournament schedule here

QUARTERFINALS

Saturday at Holy Cross

No. 3 Woodland vs. No. 6 Seymour, noon

No. 2 Torrington vs. No. 7 Ansonia, 1:45 p.m.

No. 4 Saint Paul vs. No. 5 Sacred Heart, 3:30 p.m.

No. 1 Holy Cross vs. No. 8 Watertown, 5:15 p.m.

SEMIFINALS

Monday at Kennedy

CHAMPIONSHIP

Wednesday at Kennedy

QUARTERFINALS

Saturday

at Lauralton Hall

No. 4 Pomperaug vs. No. 5 Masuk, 5 p.m.

No. 1 Lauralton Hall vs. No. 8 Weston, 7 p.m.

at Newtown

No. 3 Kolbe Cathedral vs. No. 6 Brookfield, 5 p.m.

No. 2 Newtown vs. No. 7 Joel Barlow, 7 p.m.

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday at Bunnell, 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Thursday at Pomperaug, 7:30 p.m.

Play-in game

Thursday, 7 p.m.


No. 9 Hale-Ray at No. 8 Old Lyme

Quarterfinals

Saturday

No. 9 Hale-Ray/No. 8 Old Lyme winner at No. 1 Portland

No. 7 Old Saybrook at No. 2 Coginchaug

No. 6 Haddam-Killingworth at No. 3 Cromwell

No. 5 Morgan at No. 4 East Hampton

Semifinals

Tuesday at Coginchaug, 6 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

Championship
 
Feb. 25 at Coginchaug, 7 p.m.

Each Thursday the Register will take a look at a former area standout, who is now playing in college.

Player: Bianca Simmons
College: UMass-Lowell
Year: Sophomore
Height: 5-6
Position: Guard
High school: Mercy
Stats: 30.7 minutes per game, 16.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 97 assists,
For more on Simmons, click here.

First round

Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

No. 12 Hand at No. 5 Shelton: Both these teams played well down the stretch. It's worth noting Shelton closed the regular season out with a loss to Foran and Hand closed its regular season out with a win over Foran. There's always one upset and this may be it.

Prediction: Hand

No. 11 Lyman Hall at No. 6 Wilbur Cross: Felicia Ferraro and Olivia Sutherland are a tough tandem to defend. But the Governors’ Aaliyah Robinson and Tameia Bell can do it.

Prediction: Wilbur Cross

No. 10 Foran at No. 7 Guilford: The Lions needed a career game from Kelly Quinn to beat Guilford in overtime in the last meeting. Foran isn't as fortunate this time.

Prediction: Guilford

No. 9 Amity at No. 8 Cheshire: The Rams swept the season series and have a good mix inside and outside to pick apart Amity's zone.

Prediction: Cheshire

Friday, 6 p.m.

No. 13 Sheehan at No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy: Sheehan did beat the Pacers once this season. But the Titans are struggling right now and the Pacers have won seven of their last eight.

Prediction: Sacred Heart Academy

Quarterfinals

Saturday at West Haven

No. 8 Cheshire vs. No. 1 Mercy, noon: There aren’t many teams that can handle the Tigers pressure and athleticism, and the Rams are no exception.

Prediction: Mercy

No. 12 Hand vs. No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy, 1:45 p.m.: The Pacers are too deep and end the Tigers run.

Prediction: Sacred Heart Academy

No. 7 Guilford winner vs. No. 2 Hillhouse, 3:30 p.m.: The Academics beat the Indians by 49 points in both meetings this season. Enough said.

Prediction: Hillhouse

No. 6 Wilbur Cross winner vs. No. 3 Career, 5:15 p.m.: The Governors have had trouble with athletic teams this season and Career swept the season series.

Prediction: Career

Semifinals

Monday at TD Bank Sports Center, Hamden, 6 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

No. 2 Hillhouse vs. No. 3 Career: Hillhouse wears Career down inside and advance to their third straight SCC final.

Prediction: Hillhouse

No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy vs. No. 1 Mercy: The Tigers coast past the Pacers for the third time this season and into the conference championship.

Prediction: Mercy

Final

Tuesday at TD Bank Sports Center, Hamden, 7 p.m.

No. 2 Hillhouse vs. No. 1 Mercy: Tim Kohs is one of the best coaches in the state. But it's hard to bet against Andreana Thomas and Bria Holmes, not to mention the size advantage Hillhouse has inside.

Prediction: Hillhouse

SCC GIRLS’ BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT


First round

Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

No. 12 Hand at No. 5 Shelton

No. 11 Lyman Hall at No. 6 Wilbur Cross

No. 10 Foran at No. 7 Guilford

No. 9 Amity at No. 8 Cheshire

Friday, 6 p.m.

No. 13 Sheehan at No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy

Quarterfinals

Saturday at West Haven

No. 9 Amity/No. 8 Cheshire winner vs. No. 1 Mercy, noon

No. 12 Hand/No. 5 Shelton winner vs. No. 13 Sheehan/No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy winner, 1:45 p.m.

No. 10 Foran/No. 7 Guilford winner vs. No. 2 Hillhouse, 3:30 p.m.

No. 11 Lyman Hall/No. 6 Wilbur Cross winner vs. No. 3 Career, 5:15 p.m.

Semifinals

Monday at TD Bank Sports Center, Hamden, 6 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

Final

Tuesday at TD Bank Sports Center, Hamden, 7 p.m.

Torrington's Sarah Royals stunned previously unbeaten Holy Cross last week with this amazing shot.  

Masuk head coach Dave Strong, the state’s all-time winningest coach, won his 700th career game Thursday in the Panthers 21-18 win over Bunnell.

Also, Bacon Academy head coach Dave Shea won his 300th career game as a girls’ basketball coach in the Bobcats 40-29 win over Montville on Monday. Shea also reached 300 wins as a boys’ basketball coach.

Each Thursday the Register will take a look at a former area standout, who is now playing in college.

Player: Chantell Alford

College: Boston University

Year: Sophomore

Height: 5-8

Position: Guard

High school: Wilbur Cross

Stats: 31.8 minutes per game, ..404 3PT %, 17 blocks, 44 steals, 14.7 ppg

For more on Alford, click here.

Ashley Perez is one of the top juniors in the state and has Manchester looking like a Class L title contender this season. Check out some highlights of the high-scoring guard below...

With the regular season winding down and eight wins needed to clinch a state tournament berth, here are the area teams on the outside looking in.



SCC

Foran 7-8

Law 5-11

Hand 6-10

Lyman Hall 6-11

Hamden 6-11

West Haven 6-9

North Haven 5-12

SHORELINE

Haddam-Killingworth 7-8


SWC

Stratford 7-8

Notre Dame-Fairfield 7-9


CSC

O'Brien Tech 7-9

The Howling Wolves nearly came from behind to upset Old Lyme. Read the game story here.

Each Thursday the Register will take a look at a former area standout, who is now playing in college.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player:Ilicia Mathis

College: Hartford

Year: Junior

Height: 5-9

Position: Guard

High school: Career

Stats: 16.4 minutes per game, .362 3PT %,  19 assists, 11 steals, 6.8 ppg

For more on Mathis, click here.