This is the second straight season - and fourth overall - that the Southern Connecticut Conference has two teams playing in the state finals.
In 2002-03, Guilford won the Class L title and Career won the Class M championship.

Hillhouse is making its second straight Class L championship game
appearance. It's the second time that the Academic have reached back-to-back
state final. They also reached the Class L final in 2004 and 2005, winning the championship both years.

Mercy is making its third Class LL championship appearance. The Tigers
won the 1996 title (67-54 over Bristol Central) and lost in the 2006 final
(67-53 to New Britain).

Since the league was formed in 1994-95, SCC teams have won 11 state
titles. Hillhouse has the most with five (2009, 2005, 2004, 2000 and
1998).

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.

Never much of a contest, Hillhouse cruised to its ninth leauge championship berth with a 66-38 win over Lyman Hall.
Andreana Thomas led Hillhouse with 27 points and seven assists. Bria Holmes added 16 points. Sophie St. Hilaire led Lyman Hall with 11 points.
Hillhouse jumped out to a 37-22 lead. The top-seeded Academics will face No. 7 Branford Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the title game.

A basket by Andreana Thomas at the buzzer of the third quarter gave Hillhouse a 51-32 lead.
Thomas and Bria Holmes have combined for 31 points so far for the Academics.

Janaya Bradley's layup put the finishing touches on a 37-22 lead for Hillhouse entering halftime.
Andreana Thomas leads Hillhouse with 11 points. Bria Holmes has nine points. Hillhouse is shooting 62 percent from the field.
Lindsay Karle has 10 points for Lyman Hall, which is shooting just 31 percent.

Branford just stormed the court after coming from behind and knocking off Mercy 45-40. Courtney Schissler led the Hornets with 33 points and eight rebounds.

Another pair of free throws from Courtney Schissler gives Branford its first lead - 33-31 - since the first quarter.

Courtney Schissler just drew a fourth foul on Amber Bepko. Bepko is still in the game. Schissler sank both free throws to knot the game at 31 with 5:40 left.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Mercy leads Branford 30-26.
Branford went on a 9-2 run in the period to cut into the Tigers lead.

Mercy coach Tim Kohs just called another timeout. Branford trails 26-19 with 3:23 left in the third quarter, but has opened the period with a 7-2 run and Molly Poryanda is on the free-throw line after drawing a third foul on Amber Bepko.

Also, Branford has not turned the ball over this quarter, after committing 14 turnovers in the first half.

The Hornets have pressed Mercy early here in the third quarter and have moved Courtney Schissler on point guard Sadie Edwards. Schissler had three fouls. Mercy leads 26-18.

Mercy coach Tim Kohs just called an early timeout in the third quarter.

Mallory Perry missed an easy layup in transition for the Tigers and Kendall Milles made Mercy pay with a 3-pointer from the right wing for the first basket of the period.

Mercy leads Branford 24-12 at the half.

The Tigers outscored Branford 10-2 in the second quarter. Courtney Schissler scored Branford's only basket of the period with 1:16 left to play in the half.

Amber Bepko leads the Tigers with 11 points. Sadie Edwards also has seven.

The Tigers are only shooting 30 percent, but are getting the job done defensively. Branford turned the ball over 14 times in the first half and shot just 25 percent.
Schissler leads the Hornets with eight points.

Mercy leads 19-10 midway through the second quarter. Branford is shooting just 25 percent from the field and has 10 turnovers.

Mercy leads 14-10 after the first quarter.

Branford is having trouble containing Mercy freshman Sadie Edwards. The guard has seven points. She netted a 3-pointer from the left corner, is getting ahead of the Branford defense in transition and picking apart the Hornets in the half-court game.

Branford coach Ted Kaczynski just called a timeout with 44.7 seconds left in the first quarter.
Mercy is on a 9-2 run. Sadie Edwards leads the Tigers with seven points. Amber Bepko also have five points for Mercy. Courtney Schissler has six points for Branford.

First Round
No. 5 Lyman Hall 58, No. 12 Foran 53
No. 6 Sheehan 50, No. 11 Sacred Heart Academy
No. 7 Branford 78, No. 10 Wilbur Cross 57
No. 8 Hamden 83, No. 9 Guilford 55

Quarterfinals
No. 1 Hillhouse 68, No. 8 Hamden 58
No. 5 Lyman Hall 65, No. 4 Law 53
No. 7 Branford 65, No. 2 Career 62
No. 3 Mercy 52, No. 6 Sheehan 48

It's about 30 minutes before No. 7 Branford and No. 3 Mercy tip off. The TD Bank Sports Center is still pretty empty. One notable face - former UConn standout and assistant Quinnipiac men's coach Scott Burrell - is in the stands.

Top-seeded Hillhouse will face No. 5 Lyman Hall in the second meeting, which is set to begin at 7:45 p.m.

Some notes about the first game...

Branford comes in at 18-4 and beat No. 10 Wilbur Cross and No. 2 Career to earn a berth in the semifinals. The Hornets have the area's top scorer in Courtney Schissler (22.3 ppg). Branford reached the championship in 2008, but lost to Career. The Hornets are making their ninth SCC playoff appearance.

Mercy comes in at 16-5. The Tigers beat No. 6 Sheehan to reach the semifinals. Amber Bepko leads the Tigers at 16.4 ppg. Mercy won the SCC title in 2007, beating Guilford. The Tigers are making their 14th SCC appearance. Mercy swept the season series against the Hornets, beating them twice during the regular season.

The Register's UConn women's beat writer Jim Fuller caught up with Symone Roberts this past weekend. Roberts was last year's Register All-State MVP and is now playing at Providence. See how Roberts is faring as a Friar here.

Also, don't forget to check back later. I will be blogging live from the SCC semifinals at the TD Bank Sports Center. No. 7 Branford will take on No. 3 Mercy at 6 p.m. and No. 5 Lyman Hall will face top-seeded Hillhouse at 7:45 p.m.

No. 3 Mercy held off No. 6 Sheehan for a 52-48 win.

Amber Bepko had a game-high 26 points for the Tigers before fouling out.

Bre Butler led a balanced Sheehan attack with 15 points.

The SCC Semifinal matchups for Monday at Quinnipiac's TD Bank Sports Center are as follows:

No. 7 Branford vs. No. 3 Mercy, 6 p.m.

No. 1 Hillhouse vs. No. 5 Lyman Hall, 7:45 p.m.