Jessica Larsh scored 12 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as Bolton High rallied for a 46-42 victory at Avon in an NCCC girls basketball game Jan. 13. CPTV Sports was there and will show the broadcast premiere Saturday Jan. 17 at 7:00pm.
Bolton (8-1) trailed 14-3 after the first quarter and 28-15 at the half. But the Bulldogs regrouped, outscoring Avon 31-14 in the second half, 19-10 in the fourth quarter.
Larsh was 5-for-6 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Rose Zimmerman had 11 rebounds and five points for Bolton. Avon (7-2) was led by Olivia Welter (15 points).
Hannah Friend scored 20 points to lead unbeaten Farmington to a 55-48 girls basketball win over Southington Jan. 9 in a game seen LIVE on CPTV Sports (full broadcast here).
Farmington (7-0), ranked third in the GameTimeCT.com state media poll and the top-rated team in CIAC Class L, led 28-25 at halftime and 42-38 after three quarters. Cheray Saunders had 12 points and Sophie Borg 11.
Natalie Wadolowski had a game-high 21 points and Kaitlin Paterson 20 (including five three-pointers) for Southington (7-2).
Amy McConnell had 26 points and Molly Murphy 23 points and 10 rebounds as host South Windsor defeated Weaver-Hartford 80-63 in a CCC girls basketball game Jan. 5. CPTV Sports was there and will show the broadcast premiere Thursday Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Once again in 2015, CPTV Sports was your television home for LIVE CIAC state high school championship basketball from Mohegan Sun Arena! If you missed the action LIVE, we’ll relive the action from all eight games Sunday April 5 starting at 10:00am.
Casey Carangelo led four Thomaston High players in double figures with 18 points as the Bears defeated Nonnewaug 78-55 in a Berkshire League girls basketball game Dec. 23 in Thomaston. CPTV Sports was there and will show the broadcast premiere Saturday Dec. 27 at 7:00pm.
Also in double figures for defending Class S champion Thomaston (5-0) were Morgan Sanson (17), Nicole Schaefer (14, including four three-pointers) and Julia Quinn (11). Jess Fengler scored 26 points and Courtney Carlson 17 points for Nonnewaug (3-3).
Amy McConnell scored 21 points and Alex Gosslin had 18 as South Windsor High defeated Bristol Eastern 58-51 Dec. 16 in girls basketball in Bristol. CPTV Sports was there and will show the broadcast premiere of our first girls basketball game of the 2014-15 season Saturday Dec. 20 at 7:00pm.
South Windsor (3-0) forced nine Bristol Eastern turnovers, many leading to scores. Eastern trailed 51-37 in the fourth quarter before rallying to cut it to 55-51. But the Bobcats were able to close out the win at the free-throw line. Senior Khadaijia Brooks led Eastern (2-1) with 18 points and 11 rebounds; her sister Kianna, a sophomore, had 13 points.
Read the game story by the Bristol Press’ Kevin Roberts here.
In this week’s Best in Connecticut Sports Spotlight, we profile three young Connecticut women athletes who recently signed college letters of intent. Find out where Southington’s Kendra Friedt, Capital Prep’s Kiah Gillespie, and Ledyard’s Michelle Klinkowski will be heading to school!
CPTV Sports aired the documentary House Family: A Season in the Life of the Hillhouse High School Girls Basketball Team on Nov. 28. It will re-air Monday Dec. 1 at 5:30pm.
WFSB-TV Channel 3 sports reporter John Holt — the co-host of GameTime, CPTV Sports’ weekly look at sports throughout Connecticut — spent the 2011-2012 season documenting the girls basketball team at New Haven’s Hillhouse High in its quest for a fourth consecutive state championship.
The resulting hour-long film tells the moving story of one community and its beloved basketball program seeking victory — even as it is surrounded by tragedy in a city ranked as one of the most dangerous in the United States. House Family ultimately conveys stories of triumph, inspiration and extraordinary athleticism, while also exploring important issues of crime, loss and race.
The film showcases Hillhouse player Bria Holmes, the first Connecticut girl selected to play in a McDonald’s All-American game (and now starring at West Virginia), and follows her as she faces pressures in the college recruitment process as well as high expectations for the “4-peat.” However, the film also explores Holmes’ personal struggle as her mentor, Timothy “T.J.” Mathis, is gunned down on a New Haven street within days of the start of Holmes’ senior year.
Holmes and the other players and coaches – including coach Catrina Hawley-Stewart, whose sister died in an suspicious fire, and who is raising her sister’s three children as a result – must compete against a backdrop of violence, with New Haven experiencing 34 homicides in 2011, four of which (including the killing of Mathis) are linked to the Hillhouse girls basketball program.
The team perseveres, however, because as Hillhouse principal Kermit Carolina says of the team’s quest for victory under Hawley-Stewart’s guidance, “It’s not just basketball; it’s bigger than basketball.”
House Family’s premiere on CPTV Sports will be immediately followed at 9 p.m. with a special edition of GameTime, in which Hawley-Stewart will join John Holt to provide updates about what has happened to many of the people featured in House Family since the documentary was produced.
She will also discuss the process and experience of having her team’s story documented in House Family. In addition, Quanisha Solomon, who was the senior point guard for the 2011-2012 team featured in the documentary, will contribute insights. Finally, a bonus scene supplementing the film will premiere, continuing the story of Colleene Smith, a Hillhouse senior featured in House Family who suffered a heartbreaking knee injury.
“When I first learned the story of Hillhouse girls basketball coach Catrina Hawley-Stewart, and the fact that she was winning championships while simultaneously – and unexpectedly – raising her late sister’s three children, I immediately sensed she was an extraordinary person,” Holt said of the making of House Family. “The year I spent documenting her team’s triumphs and struggles served to confirm that. I felt her story and her team’s story merited a full documentary to convey the scope of the good things it’s doing against a backdrop of real life challenges.”
“CPTV Sports is proud and honored to debut this extraordinary documentary on our network,” said Bob Yalen, director of CPTV Sports. “This is a story of young women struggling with pressures off the basketball court as they deal with the high expectations of repeating as state champions on the court. John Holt captures both the joy and the angst that the women of Hillhouse must endure as the season progresses.”
Alyssa Velles of Norwich Free Academy made a three-pointer and two free throws, and Emma McCarthy of Lauralton Hall missed two free throws at the finish as the East All-Stars beat the West 72-71 in the JCC Schoolgirl Classic April 13 of Woodbridge. CPTV Sports was there for the all-star game featuring many of Connecticut’s top senior girls basketball players and will show the broadcast premiere Friday April 22 7:30pm
Cromwell’s Janelle Harrison led the East with 18 points; Career’s Tanaya Atkinson added 16 and was voted game MVP. Corrine Williams of Bloomfield led the West with 16 points. Read the game story by GameTimeCT.com’s Henry Chisholm here.
Emma McCarthy had 26 points and 17 rebounds as Lauralton Hall got redemption for a heartbreaking 2013 loss to defeat South Windsor 68-53 in the CIAC Class LL girls basketball final March 22 at Mohegan Sun Arena. It was one of eight finals covered LIVE by CPTV Sports and will be replayed several times in upcoming days (check broadcast schedule).
Lauralton Hall, which lost to Mercy on a buzzer-beater in the 2013 final, dominated the boards (45-25) and made 24 of 31 second-half free throws. The Crusaders only led 23-20 at halftime, but scored the first five points of the second half and never looked back. Read the game story by the Connecticut Post’s Doug Bonjour here.
