Sheehan Wins First Girls Basketball State Crown In Nearly 50 Years

UNCASVILLE, CT — To paraphrase the late great singer Meat Loaf, "One out of two ain't bad." In the case of Sheehan High School players, coaches and fans, the "one" signifies a state championship in girls basketball, a first for the program since the Gerald Ford administration.

Of 20 teams qualifying for the 10 state championship games at Mohegan Sun Arena this weekend, just one school had entries on both the boys' and girls' side of the brackets: Sheehan. This gave Titans fans the rare opportunity to witness both programs compete for titles back to back.

The boys took the floor first against undefeated Ellington, and actually held a slim lead late in the third quarter before the Knights pulled away for a 55-39 victory for the Division IV championship. (See complete game story here)

By 3 o'clock, that disappointment had given way to renewed hope that the girls' team could bring home a state crown for the first time since 1976. Indeed, the Titans came out smoking in the Class MM final against East Catholic, draining a trio of three-point baskets in the game's opening minutes for an early 9-0 advantage.

Strong Sheehan defense kept the top-seeded Eagles off the scoreboard until the midpoint of the first quarter. The Titans knocked down another trey en route to a 20-9 lead after the initial period.

That momentum carried over into the second quarter, with Sheehan building a lead as high as 22. East Catholic scored the final five points before intermission, sending the teams to the locker room with the Titans in front, 34-17.

The Eagles began chipping away, and a 22-8 third quarter found them trailing 42-39 heading into the final eight minutes. They cut the deficit to one, but Sheehan restored a six-point bulge by the 3:30 mark, when Susan Hotaling picked up her fifth personal foul, ending her afternoon.

Rather than panicking, twin sisters Megan and Jenna Wresien simply took over at both ends of the floor; the closest East Catholic could get from that point was four. When the final buzzer sounded, the Titans had prevailed by a 56-51 final.

Megan Wresien took game-high honors with 22 points and eight rebounds, while her twin sister contributed 13 points and Hotaling added nine.

For East Catholic, Urielle Afoakwa-Abrokwa led the way with 18 points and six rebounds. Mo Bridgeforth tallied 16 points.