Northwest Catholic Girls, East Hartford Boys Basketball Each Win CCC Tournament Titles

East Hartford boys basketball won its first CCC title since 1998, while the Northwest Catholic girls win their first CCC crown since 2010.

East Hartford senior Kehari Walker (right) scored a team-high 22 points in the team’s 69-65 CCC title win over the Windsor Warriors. / Dan Heary

The Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) basketball tournament championships took place Monday, March 2, at the Chase Arena at the University of Hartford.

Both the boys' and girls' championship games featured the top two seeds of the conference. The No. 1 Northwest Catholic Lions girls faced the No. 2 Rocky Hill Terriers. Following the girls' basketball game, the No. 1 Windsor Warriors boys faced the No. 2 East Hartford Hornets. 

East Hartford Boys Basketball Wins First CCC Title Since 1998

Meeting for a second time this season, the East Hartford Hornets and Windsor Warriors boys basketball teams clawed back-and-forth in the CCC’s first all-public CCC championship since 2015. In a game between the conference’s top two teams, the Hornets edged the Warriors, 69-65, for their first CCC title since 1998. 

Kehari Walker's 22 Points Led the Way

Senior Kehari Walker caught fire in the final quarter, scoring 13 of his team-high 22 points. At one point, he scored eight-straight points for the Hornets while having four fouls. He said being in foul trouble made him step up offensively while still playing disciplined basketball.

“Me having the four fouls, already calls for me to play less of a role as a teammate, so, I had to step up offensively and defensively, be smart with my fouls,” said Walker. “Just playing smart, make sure you don’t give up any petty fouls, and stay disciplined.”

The Hornets got out to a quick 12-6 lead in the first quarter with 3:16 remaining when senior Deondre Storey made a layup. Windsor finished the quarter going on a 6-0 run in the final 1:05 to take an 18-14 lead into halftime. 

Windsor maintained its lead through the second quarter, going up by as many as five and went into halftime with a 34-29 lead. 

East Hartford Made a Run Early in the Third Quarter

East Hartford went on a 6-0 run in the first minute-and-a-half of the third quarter to regain the lead, 35-34. For the rest of the game, it was back-and-forth between the teams with several lead changes. 

The Hornets pulled away in the last minute-and-half. A three-pointer by Walker with 1:24 remaining gave the Hornets their biggest lead since the first quarter, going up 64-59. Senior Zasheem McCoy scored an and-one layup to put the Hornets up 67-61. 

The Warriors got within two points with 10 seconds to play as Charlie Lewis hit a pair of free throws, but a layup from Storey with one second left sealed the Hornets’ victory. 

East Hartford (21-3) and Windsor (22-2) could meet for a third time this season in the DII state tournament. 

Northwest Catholic Girls Win First CCC Title Since 2010

The Northwest Catholic Lions girls' basketball team is ranked No. 1 team in the state, but surprisingly had not won a CCC title since the 2010 season, before Monday. 

The Lions blew out the Rocky Hill Terriers 72-34 in a one-sided matchup between the top-two seeds in the CCC. It was the second time the Lions defeated the Terriers as Northwest Catholic earned a much closer 68-56 regular season win on January 12.

The Lions Gained Full Control in the First Half

In Monday’s CCC title championship, the Lions gained a 40-13 halftime lead. Northwest Catholic Maeve Staunton outscored Rocky Hill alone 15-13 in the first half. 

The deficit was too much to overcome in the second half as the Terriers only put together 21 second-half points. The Lions kept the scoring going, adding 32 second-half points. 

Maeve Staunton Nets a Game-High 24 Points

Staunton finished with a team-high 24 points as senior Abigail Casper added 14. Rocky Hill Kelsey LaMay had a team-high 15 points in the loss. 

With the win, the Lions have improved to 23-1 and will look to win a fourth-straight state title. While they’ve been dominant in the state tournament, the team is excited to bring home its first CCC title in over 15 years. 

“It’s a really great feeling,” said Staunton. “We’ve tried to get this four years now and the fourth year we got it. From freshman year, not even getting into the tournament, it’s really great to come back and win it all.”