Courtney Schissler scored 26 points and Brittney Kenney added a career-high 22 points as No. 11 Branford beat No. 22 Guilford 75-61 in the opening round of the Class L tournament.

Audrey Biesak scored 15 points to lift No. 5 Coginchaug to a 60-41 win over No. 28 Stafford in the Class S tournament.

Live blogging from SCC championship at the TD Bank Sports Center coming up. No. 7 Branford will face top-seeded Hillhouse at 7 p.m.

Below is a pair of video interviews with Branford's Kendall Milles and Hillhouse's Janaya Bradley from last night's semifinal games.

Weaver at Glastonbury, 7 p.m.: Latiqua Patterson and Weaver look to avenge an earlier loss this season against Glastonbury.

Lyman Hall at Career, 7 p.m.: Behind 31 points from Lindsay Karle, the Trojans handed the Panthers a surprising loss earlier this year. But Lyman Hall will be without Karle for this game because of a shin injury. They will have senior Jen Ruys back though.

Mercy at Branford, 7 p.m.: The Hornets dropped their season opener to the Tigers. Sadie Edwards and Amber Bepko torched Branford for a combined 50 points in that meeting. If the Hornets can slow that potent duo, the outcome may be different this time.

Both teams are deep and talented. But Career just had a little more of both in its 61-53 win over the Branford.

Four Panthers scored in double figures, led by Nicole Bentley's 17 points off the bench.

Branford cut the Career lead to six points early in the fourth quarter, but that's as close as the Hornets would get.

"They executed better than us," Branford coach Ted Kaczynski said. "They were more patient than us on offense. We couldn't get close enough to put some pressure on them."

Speaking of pressure, Branford did do a superb job of handling Career's defensive pressure. That was a concern coming in. But the Hornets problem was after they did break down the defense, they had trouble finishing.

Courtney Schissler led Branford with 19 points and Brittany Kenney added 17 points. Kendall Milles chipped in with eight points.

The teams will meet again on Feb. 1. That will likely decide the SCC Oronoque Division race.

"We certainly showed we can play with them," Kaczynski said. "We just have to bring our A game."

Molly Poryanda was a formidable presence in the post and poured in 17 points in Branford's 62-50 win over Wilbur Cross Tuesday night.

The way Branford coach Ted Kaczynski illustrates what Courtney Schissler faces on a game-by-game basis, it’s difficult to understand how she is managing to lead the area in scoring.

Kaczynski rattles off schemes like box-and-one, double team and ball denial. Schissler is undoubtedly the focal point of opposing defenses.

As Kaczynski carries on, it becomes clear as to why Schissler remains effective.

“It’s her desire and aggressiveness,” he says about his Bryant-bound senior. “She makes the most of her opportunities and does what it takes to score.”

Kaczynski follows that up with some stats. Of course, there is her 23.2 points per game. The 5-foot-11 Schissler is also averaging 11 rebounds per game and gets a lot of points off putbacks.

When she gets the ball near the basket, she finishes. Schissler is shooting 57 percent from the field, not to mention 90 percent from the free-throw line.

She can shoot too, and will play on the wing at Bryant. But she hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity to showcase her jumper, since opposing defenses smother her when she touches the ball.

Schissler averaged 18.9 points and pulled down 11.1 rebounds last year, and was a Register All-Area selection. She continues to progress. Kaczynski says she is learning to move without the ball this year and he hopes the Hornets’ scoring will become more balanced, consequently opening more up for Schissler.

Regardless, she will likely still find ways to score.

“She’s a coach’s nightmare to prepare for,” West Haven coach Jim Eagan said of Schissler, who dropped 24 points earlier this season against the Westies. “She’s a complete player. She can post up and go outside and shoot the jumper. She has the whole package. She’s one of the best players I’ve gone up against in my 30 years.”