Sacred Heart Academy sophomore point guard Shyla Osmond went down with a knee injury in the final minute of the Pacers 64-41 win Monday over Cheshire.
Osmond's father said it is not an ACL injury and there is nothing broken. She will undergo an MRI next week, once the swelling goes down. Osmond will not play in Sacred Heart's second-round game against top-seeded Danbury.

Who will make the Run to the Sun? Predictions here.

10 plot lines to follow throughout the state tournament.

A look at five players to watch.

The latest Register Top 10 poll heading into the tournament.

And the tournament pairings.

Here's a look at the latest Register Top 10 poll heading into the state tournament.

Here's a look at the NVL's all-league team...

Briana Bradford, Holy Cross (also top senior)

Aly Otis, Torrington, Senior

Christina Cretella, Seymour, Senior

Mikyla Jacobs, Sacred Heart, Sophomore

Angelica Ariola, Holy Cross, Senior

Melissa Tirella, Ansonia, Junior

Brittney Dumas, Barlow
Gabby Holness, Pomperaug
Riley Wurtz, Newtown
Jess Lynch, Newtown
Michelle Wu, Masuk
Jasmyne Folgle, Kolbe Cathedral
Shaquira Palmer, Bunnell
Olivia Levey, Lauralton Hall
Ellie Martin, Weston
Bianka Bell, Notre Dame-Fairfield

Updated conference tournament results for every league in the state.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the four state tournament fields. For a complete state tournament preview, check back Monday.

Class LL

Top four seeds: No. 1 Danbury, No. 2 Lauralton Hall, No. 3 Holy Cross and No. 4 Career

Initial thoughts: This field is as deep as ever. Some key injuries can have heavy implications on how this tournament plays out. Danbury’s Casey Smith, likely the top post player in the field, injured her leg Tuesday night. Unsure of the severity of the injury. St. Joseph took a major hit when top player Nancy Stablein went down with a torn ACL and Lauralton Hall is currently without two of its top players in Carly Fabbri and Nicola Matero. Outside of a quarterfinal matchup with No. 5 Hillhouse, Career has a favorable draw. Mercy will take on two FCIAC teams before facing likely either No. 15 East Catholic or Lauralton Hall in the quarterfinals. Best first-round game? No. 16 Sacred Heart Academy vs. No. 17 Cheshire and No. 12.

Sleepers: No. 9 Newtown, No. 15 East Catholic and No. 14 Glastonbury

Championship prediction: Tough call. For now, No. 5 Hillhouse wins its fourth straight state over No. 6 Manchester.

Class LL bracket

Class L

Top four seeds: No. 1 E.O. Smith, No. 2 Pomperaug, No. 3 Bacon Academy and No. 4 Berlin

Initial thoughts: This field is weak, especially compared to past years. E.O. Smith may have to beat three CCC opponents in order to reach the final. Talent-wise, the Panthers and Pomperaug are head and shoulders above the rest of this field. Intriguing matchup between No. 12 Hand and No. 21 Bunnell, which features two of the field’s top players in Kelsey Cuddy (Hand) and Shaniqua Palmer (Bunnell). No. 7 RHAM will only go as far as Sarah Veilleux can take it.

Sleepers: No. 13 Barlow, No. 12 Hand and No. 11 East Lyme.

Championship prediction: Have to go with No. 1 E.O. Smith over No. 2 Pomperaug.

Class L bracket

Class M

Top four seeds: No. 1 Weaver, No. 2 Tolland, No. 3 Ellington and No. 4 Nonnewaug

Initial thoughts: Weaver should cruise to the quarters. No. 29 Seymour will need to provide Christina Cretella with some help in order to knock off No. 4 Nonnewaug. Curious to see if Melissa Tirella and Tierney Lawlor are enough to lead No. 12 Ansonia over No. 21 Plainville. Great first-round matchups between No. 14 Trinity Catholic and No. 19 Kolbe Cathedral, and No. 6 Waterford and No. 27 Law.

Sleepers: No. 18 Notre Dame-Fairfield and No. 27 Law

Championship prediction: A battle of CCC powerhouses: No. 1 Weaver over No. 2 Tolland.    

Class M bracket

Class S

Top four seeds: No. 1 Coginchaug, No. 2 Capital Prep, No. 3 Thomaston and No. 4 Cheney Tech

Initial thoughts: Coginchaug caught a bad break with a likely second-round matchup with St. Bernard. Interesting opening-round game between No. 9 Hyde and No. 24 Coventry. Possible intriguing second-round matchup between No. 12 Morgan and No. 5 Wamogo. Capital Prep should coast to the semifinals. No. 14 Old Saybrook has the field’s top post player in Kayla McAvoy.  

Sleepers: No. 9 Hyde, No. 14 Old Saybrook and No. 22 Bloomfield.

Championship prediction: Sticking with my preseason pick here: No. 1 Coginchaug over No. 2 Capital Prep.

Class S bracket

Danbury has been selected as the Connecticut Sun High School Girls’ Basketball Team of the Week for the week of Feb. 13-19.

The Hatters beat Trumbull 43-40 and closed out a perfect regular season with a 52-42 win over New Canaan. They will face Trumbull in the FCIAC championship on Thursday.

All-Hammonasset

Bria Holmes, Hillhouse

Kelsey Cuddy, Hand

Kim Legen, Law

Colleene Smith, Hillhouse

Jasmin Rodriguez, Foran

Teneya McLaughlin, Foran

All-Quinnipiac

Natalie Bastian, Sacred Heart Academy

McKenzie Farquharson, West Haven

Jayva Johnson, West Haven

Jordyn Nappi, Mercy

Morgan Rams, Hamden

Maria Weselyj, Mercy

All-Housatonic

Missy Bailey, Cheshire

Sam Smith, Sheehan

Chloe Brinton, Amity

Kelsey Pendagast, Shelton

Maria Blois, Cheshire

Olivia Sutherland, Lyman Hall

All-Oronoque

Aaliyah Robinson, Wilbur Cross

Tanaya Atkinson, Career

Alyssa Alston, Career

Danielle Polvan, East Haven

Amanda Bradley, East Haven

Ashley Franklin, Career

SCC girls’ basketball championship
No. 2 Hillhouse (20-2)
vs. No. 1 Career (20-1)
‰WHEN: Today, 7 p.m.
‰WHERE: TD Bank Sports Center, Hamden
‰WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Hillhouse will need another strong performance from its role players, who were critical in the Academics win over Mercy in the semifinals. Expect the Panthers to pressure Hillhouse, and try to take Bria Holmes and Colleene Smith out of the game. Look for Hillhouse to use a zone and make the Panthers beat them from the outside. Keep an eye on the Academics size advantage inside.
‰CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: This is Hillhouse’s 11^th appearance and fourth straight in an SCC final. The Academics have won sixth SCC championships, including last year.  Career is making its fifth appearance. They have won the championship twice.
‰YOU SHOULD KNOW: Career beat Hillhouse in both meetings during the regular season: 60-52 on Dec. 29 and 59-42 on Feb. 1.
— Chris Hunn

Lauralton Hall is already without senior Nicola Matero, who is nursing a high ankle sprain.
Add to that, shooting guard Carly Fabbri. Fabbri went down with a leg injury in the fourth quarter of the Crusaders win over Bunnell Saturday. Coach Amanda Forcucci said she will undergo an MRI Tuesday. Fabbri missed last season with a torn ACL, though this injury is not the same leg.

Check out the latest Register Top 10 poll here.

A couple of upsets in the opening round of the SCC tournament.

A must-read feature on Norwalk center Emma Oyomba.

NVL girls' tournament preview.

Opening-round results from the ECC tournament.

Berlin looking for a deep postseason run.

High School Girls' Basketball: Where has the game gone?

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


Lindsay Karle, Albertus Magnus

High school: Lyman Hall

Year: Sophomore

Position: Guard

Height: 5-5

Stats: 30.0 mpg, 16.0 ppg, 2 apg, 1.6 spg

SCC GIRLS’ BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

First round

Wednesday

No. 10 Amity at No. 7 Sacred Heart Academy, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

No. 13 Foran at No. 4 West Haven

No. 12 Hamden at No. 5 Cheshire

No. 11 East Haven at No. 6 Hand

No. 9 Law at No. 8 Sheehan

Quarterfinals

Saturday at Sheehan

No. 9 Law/No. 8 Sheehan winner vs. No. 1 Career, noon

No. 13 Foran/No. 4 West Haven winner vs. No. 12 Hamden/No. 5 Cheshire winner, 1:45 p.m.

No. 10 Amity/No. 7 Sacred Heart Academy winner vs. No. 2 Hillhouse, 3:30 p.m.

No. 11 East Haven/No. 6 Hand winner vs. No. 3 Mercy, 5:15 p.m.

Semifinals

Monday at East Haven, 6 and 7:45 p.m.

Championship

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

SWC

Quarterfinals, Saturday

No. 5 Masuk vs. No. 4 Notre Dame-Fairfield at Lauralton Hall, 5 p.m.

No. 8 Bunnell at No. 1 Lauralton Hall, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Barlow vs. No. 3 Newtown at Pomperaug, 5 p.m.

No. 7 Kolbe Cathedral at No. 2 Pomperaug, 7 p.m.

Semifinals

Tuesday at Weston, 6 and 8 p.m.

Championship

Thursday at Masuk, 7:30 p.m.

Shoreline Conference

Quarterfinals, Saturday

No. 8 Hale Ray at No. 1 Coginchaug, TBA

No. 5 Hyde at No. 4 Morgan, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Haddam-Killingworth at No. 2 Cromwell, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Old Saybrook at No. 3 Portland, 6 p.m.

Semifinals

Tuesday at Valley Regional, 5 and 7:30 p.m.

Championship

Friday at Valley Regional, 7 p.m.

NVL

Quarterfinals

Saturday at Holy Cross

No. 6 Naugatuck vs. No. 3 Watertown, noon

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

No. 5 Wolcott vs. No. 4 Ansonia, 3:30 p.m.

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

Semifinals

Monday at Kennedy, 5 and 7 p.m.

Championship

Wednesday at Kennedy, tba

  

ECC
Play-in games
Thursday, Feb. 16
No. 11 Fitch at No. 6 East Lyme, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Stonington at No. 7 Ledyard, 4:30 p.m.
No. 9 Lyman Memorial at No. 8 St. Bernard, 6 p.m.
Quarterfinals at NFA, Saturday
No. 2 Waterford vs. winner of Ledyard-Stonington, noon
No. 3 Bacon Academy vs. winner of Fitch-East Lyme, 2 p.m.
No. 1 Plainfield vs. winner of Lyman Memorial-St. Bernard, 4 p.m.
No. 4 Montville vs. No. 5 NFA, 6 p.m.
Semifinals at Plainfield High, Feb. 22
Winner of Waterford-Ledyard/Stonington vs. winner of Bacon Academy-Fitch/East Lyme, 6 p.m.
Winner of Plainfield-Lyman Memorial/St. Bernard vs. winner of Montville-NFA
Finals at Plainfield, Feb. 24, 7 p.m.

NCCC
Quarterfinals Saturday
at Ellington
No. 4 Avon vs. No. 5 SMSA, 5 p.m.
No. 1 Ellington vs. No. 8 Coventry, 7 p.m.

at Suffield
No. 3 Granby vs. No. 6 Bolton
No. 2 Suffield vs. No. 7 Windsor Locks

Semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 21 at home of the highest remaining seed
Finals Thursday, Feb. 23 at a neutral site TBA

CCC can be found here.

Berkshire League here.

FCIAC here.

FIRST ROUND



Wednesday, February 15 – 6:30 p.m.

#10 Amity (11-9) at #7 Sacred Heart Academy (14-6)


Thursday, February 16 – 6:30 p.m.

#13 Foran (9-11) at #4 West Haven (16-4)

#12 Hamden (9-11) at #5 Cheshire (14-6)

#11 East Haven (11-9) at #6 Daniel Hand (13-7)

#9 Jonathan Law (10-10) at #8 Sheehan (11-8)



QUARTERFINALS – Saturday, February 18 @Sheehan HS – Wallingford


Game 1 – Sheehan/Jonathan Law winner vs. #1 Career (18-1) – 12 noon

Game 2 – West Haven/Foran winner vs. Cheshire/Hamden winner – 1:45 p.m.

Game 3 – Sacred Heart Academy/Amity winner vs. #2 Hillhouse (18-2) – 3:30 p.m.

Game 4 – Daniel Hand/East Haven winner vs. #3 Mercy (16-4) – 5:15 p.m.



SEMIFINALS – Monday, February 20 @East Haven HS

Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 6 p.m.

Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 7:45 p.m.



CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Tuesday, February 21 @TD Bank Sports Center – Quinnipiac University

Semifinal winners – 7 p.m.

Here’s a look at the area teams hoping to clinch a state tournament berth. Teams need eight wins to get in...


Shelton (7-12) at Hamden, tonight, 7 p.m.

Hale-Ray (7-12) vs. Putnam, tonight, 7 p.m.

O’Brien Tech (7-12) at Derby, tonight, 7 p.m.

East Hampton (6-12) vs. Morgan, tonight, 7:30 p.m. and at Valley Regional, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Latest poll can be found here.

See which coach won his 500th career game Thursday.

Meet two of the FCIAC's top players Danbury's Casey Smith and Trinity Catholic's Mackenzie Griffin.

Weaver gets a big addition with the postseason around the corner.

Bacon Academy won its first ECC Large Division title earlier this week.

Thulin returns for Torrington.

Hillhouse senior Bria Holmes has been selected as the first girl ever from Connecticut to play in the McDonald's All American Game. Read the story here.

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

Lauren Okafor, Providence

High school: Hopkins

Year: Sophomore

Position: Forward

Height: 6-3

Stats: 22.2 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 5.3 rpb, 24 blk

Cromwell has been selected as the Connecticut Sun High School Girls' Basketball Team of the Week for the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 3.

The Panthers beat Valley Regional 61-18 and followed with a 46-12 victory over East Hampton.

Career moves up to No. 2 in the latest poll.

Two surprises on Thursday: Old Lyme knocks off Hyde in overtime and Amity stalls Cheshire's run to a division title.

Capital Prep controls the glass in a win over Hall from earlier this week.

The latest Hoop Zone Show from the Republican American.

The Connecticut Post's area scoring leaders.

Waterford keeps rolling, captures ECC Medium Division crown.

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

Bianca Simmons, UMass-Lowell

High school: Mercy

Year: Junior

Position: Guard

Height: 5-6

Stats: 33.9 mpg, 17.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 67 assists