Connecticut Championship Game Previews: Boys And Girls Basketball

CONNECTICUT — State championship time has arrived for 20 high school basketball teams across Connecticut, as the CIAC tournaments conclude with 10 title contests this weekend at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Tickets for CIAC championship games are only available digitally, and may be purchased shortly at the GoFan website. There will be no paper tickets.

The complete schedule of games is as follows:

Saturday, March 15

• 10 a.m. - Class M girls - No. 1 Windham vs. No. 2 Bacon Academy
• 12:30 p.m. - Div. V boys - No. 1 Shepaug Valley vs. No. 3 Lyme-Old Lyme
• 3 p.m. - Div. III boys - No. 1 Bunnell vs. No. 7 Fitch
• 6:15 p.m. - Class L girls - No. 1 Northwest Catholic vs. No. 2 Bethel
• 8:15 p.m. - Div. I boys - No. 2 Notre Dame-West Haven vs. No. 5 St. Bernard

Sunday, March 16

• 10 a.m. - Class S girls - No. 2 Coventry vs. No. 4 Morgan
• 12:30 p.m. - Div. IV boys - No. 1 Ellington vs. No. 23 Sheehan
• 3 p.m. - Class MM girls - No. 1 East Catholic vs. No. 3 Sheehan
• 6:15 p.m. - Class LL girls - No. 2 Southington vs. No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy
• 8:15 p.m. - Div. II boys - No. 1 Manchester vs. No. 3 New London

Some interesting facts and tidbits about the upcoming finals:

• The Northwest Catholic girls will attempt to win their third straight state title, in a third different division. The Lions defeated Kolbe Cathedral 74-65 in the 2023 Class S finals, then topped Sheehan 43-37 for the Class M title last year.
• Sheehan of Wallingford is the only high school with teams in both the boys' and girls finals. The boys tip off at 12:30 p.m. Sunday against Ellington in the Div. IV finals, then the girls take the court at 3 p.m. for a Class MM showdown with East Catholic.
• Just two girls' matchups feature the top two seeds in the division: Northwest Catholic vs. Bethel (L), and Windham vs. Bacon Academy (M).
• In addition to the Northwest Catholic girls, defending champions seeking to repeat their 2024 success are the boys' teams from Notre Dame-West Haven, Bunnell and Lyme-Old Lyme. Squads looking for redemption after falling in the finals last year are girls from Sacred Heart Academy, Sheehan and Windham.
• Of the teams with at least one state title under their belt, only the Bunnell boys and East Catholic girls have never dropped a title contest. Each program is 2-0 in finals history.
• The Fitch boys and Bethel girls will be making their initial appearances in a state championship game. Of the other 18 teams, only the Shepaug Valley boys sport no titles, having lost in two previous finals.
• The New London boys' program has accumulated the most state championships of this year's finalists, earning the crown eight times in 12 appearances. Other schools with at least three titles are Southington girls (7-4), Northwest Catholic girls (5-6), St. Bernard boys (3-2) and Sacred Heart Academy girls (3-2).
• Manchester is looking to break the longest drought since its last state title, which came in 1938. Ellington boys last won it all in 1972, Sheehan girls in 1976 and Coventry girls in 1988.
• There will be Knights aplenty in various hues: Blue (Southington), Green (Notre Dame-West Haven) and Purple (Ellington).
• It will seemingly be raining cats and dogs all weekend. There will two sets of Wildcats (Bethel, Lyme-Old Lyme), as well as Lions (Northwest Catholic) and Bobcats (Bacon Academy). On the canine side, watch out for ferocious Bulldogs (Bunnell), Whippets (Windham) and Huskies (Morgan), while swooping in from above will be some Red Hawks (Manchester), Falcons (Fitch) and Eagles (East Catholic).

Here is complete information about each title contest, including championship game histories and links to team rosters and season records.

BOYS

Div. I
Saturday, 8:15 p.m.

No. 2 Notre Dame-West Haven Green Knights vs. No. 5 St. Bernard Saints

Regular season: NDWH 18-2; STB 16-3
The road to the finals:

• NDWH: first-round bye; d. Conard 79-34; d. Windsor 86-65; d. Notre Dame Prep 68-61
• STB: first-round bye; d. Fairfield Prep 97-41; d. Staples 67-56; d. East Catholic 68-58

Title game record: NDWH 1-4; STB 3-2
Last state championship: NDWH 2024; STB 2023
Rosters

Div. II
Sunday, 8:15 p.m.

No. 1 Manchester Red Hawks vs. No. 3 New London Whalers

Regular season: MAN 19-1; NL 17-3
The road to the finals:

• MAN: first-round bye; d. Greenwich 70-54; d. Platt 79-58; d. Trumbull 64-45
• NL: d. Wilby 84-44; d. Crosby 70-56; d. West Haven 46-44; d. Norwich Free Academy 57-43

Title game record: MAN 1-2; NL 8-4
Last state championship: MAN1938; NL 2011
Rosters

Div. III
Saturday, 3 p.m.

No. 1 Bunnell Bulldogs vs. No. 7 Fitch Falcons

Regular season: BUN 17-3; FIT 13-7
The road to the finals:

• BUN: first-round bye; d. Maloney 57-42; d. East Lyme 67-49; d. Bethel 60-37
• FIT: d. Amistadv65-52; d. East Haven 71-54; d. Fairfield Ludlowe 70-58; d. Brien McMahon 60-48

Title game record: BUN 2-0; FIT 0-0
Last state championship: BUN 2024; FIT none
Rosters

Div. IV
Sunday, 12:30 p.m.

No. 1 Ellington Knights vs. No. 23 Sheehan Titans

Regular season: ELL 20-0; SHE 8-12
The road to the finals:

• ELL: first-round bye; d. Bridgeport Central 50-49; d. Canton 66-47; d. Griswold 73-57
• SHE: d. Woodland Regional 79-66; d. Cromwell 57-56; d. Aerospace 74-62; d. New Fairfield 56-44

Title game record: ELL 2-3; SHE 1-1
Last state championship: ELL 1972; SHE 2010
Rosters

Div. V
Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

No. 1 Shepaug Valley Spartans vs. No. 3 Lyme-Old Lyme Wildcats

Regular season: SV 20-0; LOL 16-4
The road to the finals:

• SV: first-round bye; d. Haddam Killingworth 89-65; d. East Hampton 64-5; d. Thomaston 70-54
• LOL: first-round bye; d. Hartford Public 63-47; d. Coginchaug 56-49; d. Grasso Tech 77-71

Title game record: SV 0-2; LOL 1-1
Last state championship: SV none; LOL 2024
Rosters

GIRLS

Class LL
Sunday, 6:15 p.m.

No. 2 Southington Blue Knights vs. No. 4 Sacred Heart Academy Sharks

Regular season: SOU 19-1; SHA 18-2
The road to the finals:

• SOU: first-round bye; d. New Britain 70-43; d. Ridgefield 64-49; d. Greenwich 48-37
• SHA: first-round bye; d. Hamden 45-44; d. Conard 45-38; d. Mercy 59-39

Title game record: SOU 7-4; SHA 3-2
Last state championship: SOU 1993; SHA 2022
Rosters

Class L
Saturday, 6:15 p.m.

No. 1 Northwest Catholic Lions vs. No. 2 Bethel Wildcats

Regular season: NWC 19-1; BETH 17-3
The road to the finals:

• NWC: first-round bye; d. Fitch 71-50; d. Bristol Eastern 86-41; d. Notre Dame Prep 70-38
• BETH: first-round bye; d. Cheshire 58-41; d. St. Paul 54-36; d. Bristol Central 66-55

Title game record: NWC 5-6; BETH 0-0
Last state championship: NWC 2024; BETH none
Rosters

Class MM
Sunday, 3 p.m.

No. 1 East Catholic Eagles vs. No. 3 Sheehan Titans

Regular season: EC 18-2; SHE 15-5
The road to the finals:

• EC: first-round bye; d. Branford 77-45; d. Joel Barlow 69-59; d. Ellington 41-25
• SHE: first-round bye; d. Foran 37-29; d. Woodstock Academy 49-38; d. Rocky Hill 37-31

Title game record: EC 2-0; SHE 1-3
Last state championship: EC 2004; SHE 1976
Rosters

Class M
Saturday, 10 a.m.

No. 1 Windham Whippets vs. No. 2 Bacon Academy Bobcats

Regular season: WIN 19-1; BAC 18-2
The road to the finals:

• WIN: first-round bye; d. Haddam Killingworth 73-43; d. East Windsor/Bloomfield 67-30; d. Stonington 55-53 (OT)
• BAC: first-round bye; d. Wolcott 55-30; d. Wilcox Tech 64-30; d. Seymour 63-30

Title game record: WIN 2-1; BAC 2-5
Last state championship: WIN 2011; BAC 2012
Rosters

Class S
Sunday, 10 a.m.

No. 2 Coventry Patriots vs. No. 4 Morgan Huskies

Regular season: COV 17-3; MOR 16-4
The road to the finals:

• COV: first-round bye; d. Lyman Memorial 66-36; d. North Branford 76-53; d. East Granby 53-27
• MOR: first-round bye; d. Thomaston 42-27; d. Hale Ray 46-43; d. Somers 51-31

Title game record: COV 1-4; MOR 2-3
Last state championship: COV 1988; MOR 2000
Rosters