(Arnold Gold-New Haven Register) Capital Prep girls celebrate their win over New London in the Class L Championship at the Mohegan Sun Arena on 3/20/2016.
For the fourth straight year, Capital Prep finishes the season as the No. 1 team in the Register Top 10 girls basketball poll.
The Trailblazers (24-3) received 13 of 15 first-place vote and a total of 446 points from the panel of sports writers and coaches.
Unbeaten Class M champion Cromwell (28-0) finished second. The Panthers earned one first-place vote and finished with 408 points.
Class LL champion Stamford (25-2) also received one first-place vote and 396 points and ended up third.
Your Class L state champs Capital Prep Blazers #ctgb pic.twitter.com/9jK0SGaIkj
— Dan Zumpano (@djz1590) March 20, 2016
Capital Prep became the first girls team since Southington from 1986-1989 to win four titles in a row.
“That’s our goal — to be No. 1,” Capital Prep coach Tammy Millsaps said Monday. “It’s such an even more proud moment because we were able to make history and get in the history books by winning four straight state titles.”
Cromwell defeated Notre Dame-Fairfield 43-20 in the Class M championship game. The Panthers were ranked second when the state tournament started.
“However people vote they vote,” Cromwell coach Kelly Maher said. “I’m just happy with how the kids are and how they played all year long.”
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. CAPITAL PREP |
24-3 | 13 | 446 | 1 | L |
Final result: Def. New London 51-48 to win the Class L state championship.
Bottom line: The Trailblazers finish No. 1 for the fourth straight season. It was the fourth straight title for Capital Prep, including the last three in Class L. The first title – in 2013 – was Class S. The Trailblazers have not lost to an in-state opponent since losing to Coginchaug in the Class S final in 2012.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. CROMWELL | 28-0 | 1 | 408 | 2 | M |
Final result: Def. Notre Dame-Fairfield 43-20 to win the Class M state championship.
Bottom line: The Panthers won their second title in four seasons.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3. STAMFORD | 25-2 | 1 | 396 | 5 | LL |
Final result: Def. Greenwich 50-45 to win the Class LL state championship.
Bottom line: The Black Knights captured their first CIAC state title.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4. NEW LONDON |
25-2 | 0 | 362 | 6 | L |
Final result: Lost to Capital Prep 51-48 in the Class L final.
Bottom line: The Whalers fell just short of capturing their second title in three seasons.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. GREENWICH | 19-5 | 0 | 334 | NR | LL |
Final result: Lost to Stamford 50-45 in Class LL final.
Bottom line: The Cardinals were making their first trip to a state final.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. NEW FAIRFIELD |
24-2 | 0 | 268 | 7 | L |
Final result: Lost to Capital Prep 67-58 in the Class L semifinals.
Bottom line: The Rebels lost only to Capital Prep and Class M runner-up Notre Dame-Fairfield this season in coach Joe Russo’s final game at the helm. Russo announced his retirement following the loss to Capital Prep.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7. E.O. SMITH |
25-3 | 0 | 216 | 9 | LL |
Final result: Lost to Greenwich 69-60 in Class LL semifinals.
Bottom line: The Panthers trailed by 21 points against Greenwich before rallying to take a 1-point lead. The lead was short-lived, and the Cardinals ended E.O. Smith’s bid to play for a state championship.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8. MERCY | 23-3 | 0 | 213 | 4 | LL |
Final result: Lost to South Windsor 52-50 in the Class LL quarterfinals.
Bottom line: The Tigers lost on a last-second layup to South Windsor.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9. SOUTH WINDSOR |
23-5 | 0 | 204 | NR | LL |
Final result: Lost to Stamford 66-57 in the Class LL semifinals.
Bottom line: The Bobcats fell a game short of advancing to the state championship for the third straight season.
| Team | Record | 1st Place | Points | Last | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. NORWICH FREE ACADEMY |
23-4 | 0 | 188 | 3 | LL |
Final result: Lost to Stamford 74-60 in the Class LL quarterfinals.
Bottom line: The Wildcats have not made a state final since winning Class LL in 2010.
Dropped out: Fairfield Warde (8), Enfield (10).
First-place votes in parentheses and points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis.
Others receiving votes
Notre Dame-Fairfield (21-7), 158; Fairfield Warde (22-4), 154; Enfield (26-1), 119; Canton (21-6), 118; Holy Cross (24-3), 60; Bacon Academy (23-4), 50; Hand (22-5), 39; Thomaston (26-2), 36; Southington (20-5), 22; Morgan (21-5), 15; Trumbull (19-5), 11; RHAM (20-6), 8.
The following voted
Marc Allard, Norwich Bulletin; Dave Danko, Fairfield Warde; Eric DeMarco, Notre Dame-Fairfield; Vickie Fulkerson, The Day of New London; Mike Madera, Elm City Newspapers; Ken Lipshez, Meriden Record-Journal; Scott Nails, Rye CDS; Dave Phillips, Shoreline Newspapers; Mike Pucci, New Haven Register; Lori Riley, Hartford Courant; Mike Suppe, HAN Network; Derek Turner, GameTimeCT; Fred Williams, Northwestern; Richard Zalusky, Willimantic Chronicle; Jimmy Zanor, Middletown Press.
