Canton girls to challenge Thomaston in Class S championship Saturday morning

Canton senior Maggie Treacy (23) and the Warriors are playing Thomaston for a state championship Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.

UNCASVILLE, March 18 – Championship Saturday begins early for the Canton High girls basketball team. The Warriors will be facing two-time defending Class S championship Thomaston in the championship game at 10 a.m. on the floor of the Mohegan Sun Arena.

No. 3 Canton (20-6) will be challenging No. 1 Thomaston (26-1) for the second straight year. A year ago, the Bears held off Canton, 52-50 to capture another state championship. It’s the first rematch in a girls basketball title game since March 2000.

Thomaston and seniors Gabrielle Hurlbert, Morgan Sanson and Nicole Schaefer are no strangers to state championship games. This the fourth straight appearance for the Bears in the Class S final.

This is the seventh state championship final for these three seniors – four in basketball, two in softball and one in field hockey. They’ve won four state titles – two in basketball and one each in softball and field hockey.

It’s a unique story made even more special by the size of Thomaston High – virtually one of the smallest high schools open in the state. With just 106 girls in the entire school, the Bears have the second smallest public high school in the state – even smaller than East Granby (128). Capital Prep has 98 girls in its school, according to CIAC enrollment figures.

Canton’s Emily Briggs (22) and the Warriors play for a state title Saturday morning.

But when the ball goes up, it won’t be about school size, uniform designs or the number of fans in the stands, it will be about execution on the hardwood. And the Bears have some tremendous athletes led by Hurlbert, Sanson and Schaefer.

Thomaston is led by junior Casey Carangelo, a 6-foot forward, who leads the Bears scoring 16.4 points a game and Sanson (11.8 ppg). Junior sharpshooting guard Julia Quinn is averaging 7.4 points while Hurlbert (6.7) and Schaefer (5.5) are major contributors.

The Bears, who have won 21 straight games since losing to New London in December, 66-31, beat No. 4 Kolbe Cathedral, 59-37, in the semifinals to earn its spot in the championship game.

Canton is led by its pair of 1,000 point scorers – senior Maggie Treacy (17.2 ppg) and junior Emily Briggs (19.5 ppg). Treacy leads the team with 48 three-point shots while Briggs is the team’s leading rebounder, pulling down 9.4 rebounds a game.

In the semifinals, Canton beat No. 3 Bolton, 43-34, for the first time in three attempts this year to earn its shot at the Bears.

Defensive pressure helped Canton beat Bolton, who scored just 14 points in the second half. “The girls came out with great intensity, battled from the opening whistle and played with a purpose,” Canton coach Brian Medeiros said. “Abbe Skinner and Belle Magna made (Bolton’s) Jessica Larsh work for everything. Their tough man-to-man defense gave her fits.”

A good start against Thomaston will be key for Canton along with limiting unforced turnovers offensively.

Canton has won 10 of its last 11 games with its only loss coming to Bolton in overtime of the NCCC Tournament.

2016 Class S championship game
Who: Canton (20-6) vs. Thomaston (26-1)
When: Saturday, 10 a.m.
TV: Live on CPTV Sports
Coaches: Canton – Brian Medeiros; Thomaston – Bob McMahon
Last meeting: Thomaston 52-50, 2015 Class S championship game
Finals history: Canton 0-3, Thomaston 3-3
Top scorers: Canton – Maggie Treacy (17.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 48 3-point shots); Emily Briggs (19.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 17 3-point shots); Emma Charron (5.7 ppg, 15 3-point shots), Abbe Skinner (4.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Carly Atkinson (3.0 ppg), Belle Magna (2.3 ppg), Sarah Bowman (1.3 ppg); Thomaston – Casey Carangelo (16.4 ppg), Morgan Sanson (11.8 ppg), Julia Quinn (7.4 ppg), Gabrielle Hurlbert (6.7 ppg), Nichole Schaefer (5.5 ppg)
Of note: Both teams challenged themselves during the season. Canton lost to Class M finalist Notre Dame-Fairfield, Class M semifinalist Enfield and Class L semifinalist New Fairfield during the regular season. Thomaston lost to Class L finalist New London, 61-33, on Dec. 30 and beat SCC champion Hand-Madison during the regular season. … In the CIAC enrollment figures, Canton is ranked 133 out of 187 schools with 235 girls in grades 9-12.