East Hampton Captures First State Girls Basketball Title In 4 Decades

UNCASVILLE, CT — In the Class M girls basketball championship game Saturday morning at the Mohegan Sun Arena, one team was bound to end a long drought without a state title. Valley Regional, the No. 3 seed, won its most recent of three state crowns in 1999, while top-seeded East Hampton won its lone championship in 1980.

A low-scoring but spirited affair saw the Bellringers leading for most of the first half, taking a1-point advantage into intermission, but the Warriors grabbed the advantage by a point after three quarters. A basket by East Hampton's Amber Murphy put her team in front 28-27 with 2:52 to play, and the Bellringers held on for a 31-29 victory.

Liana Salamone led the offense for East Hampton with 12 points, while Jacquelyn Russell contributed 10. Olivia Cunningham was the only Warrior in double figures, scoring 10 points.

East Hampton had won the prior two meetings this season against its Shoreline Conference rival: 74-50 on Dec. 20 and 44-39 on Feb. 3. The third meeting was much closer, with much less offensive firepower, but still provided a thrilling finish down to the final second which kicked off a full slate of boys and girls championship tilts this weekend at the home of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun.