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Twice, Canton girls have played for the state championship

Paul Grossman talks to his Canton High girls basketball team during a game during the 1998-99 campaign.

Paul Grossman talks to his Canton High girls basketball team during a game during the 1998-99 campaign.

On Saturday, the Canton High girls basketball team will play Thomaston for the Class S title in search of its first state championship in school history. The Warriors have been in the finals twice in 1982 and 1999. 

In 1982, Canton won only 12 regular season games with a senior-dominated lineup but they won four straight Class S tournament games including a one-point win over top-ranked Wamogo to earn a spot in the championship game for the first time. In the final against Westbrook, the Warriors played even with the Purple Knights for two quarters before dropping a 70-41 decision.

In 1999, Canton finally broke down the door to earn an invitation to the championship game after being eliminated in the semifinals in the previous two campaigns. Canton led by as many as nine points against Valley Regional from Deep River but tough defense in the fourth quarter helped Valley beat Canton, 43-37.

Here is a look back at the two previous championship games from editor Gerry deSimas. In 1999, he wrote a story for the Farmington Valley Post and that is below. In 1982, he taped a radio-style broadcast of the game. He recently took his notes and information from that game to compile a brief story of the contest. 

1999: Valley Regional 43, Canton 37 

NEW BRITAIN – For several years, the hurdle that the Canton High girls basketball team couldn’t overcome was winning a Class S semifinal game. Three times in the 1990s, the Warriors were stopped one game shy of playing for a state championship. 

So, just reaching the 1999 Class S championship game was an achievement in itself for the Warriors. But once Canton reached the finals, took their place on the Central Connecticut State University’s hardwood floor and took a nine point lead over Valley Regional, the Warriors wanted more. They wanted to celebrate a state championship. 

Unlike many of the 22 teams that lost to Canton this past season, Valley regional refused to crumble under the quickness of the Canton press. No. 12 Valley, which had not qualified for its own Shoreline Conference tournament, allowed only four Canton baskets in the second half and just one in the fourth quarter to rally for a 43-37 victory. 

Valley Regional (16-8) took its second lead of the game with 3:18 left as its defense frustrated No. 7 seeded Canton, which shot 4-of-19 from the floor in the second half including 0-for-5 from three-point range. Tournament MVP Lindsey Kucharski (12 points), had four steals while Jenn Feffer had eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Katie Hunt had a game-high 21 points. 

Valley blocked nine Canton shots, forcing the Warriors to adjust their shots. “Our defense has been terrific all year long,” said Valley Regional coach Joel Benson, whose team gave up just 11 points in a 20-11 victory over Old Saybrook in the second round of the Class S tournament. “Everyone accuses us of slowing the ball down but our defense makes the other team’s offense slow down.” 

Canton (22-6, 15-1 NCCC) raced to its third NCCC championship this year on the backs of its pressing defense and fast-break offense. Only E.O. Smith in the NCCC Tournament final was able to slow the Warriors in a 41-30 defeat. Northwest Catholic, the Class M champion, also beat Canton twice this season. 

“We’re not a half-court team,” said Canton’s Natasha Progna, who ended her career as the all-time leading scorer in school history (boys and girls) with 1,802 points. “We like to run and we weren’t running. It was very frustrating. We stood around and passed the ball around the perimeter. Our strength is running, fast break, steal. When you get us calmed down, that’s when we get lazy with our passes.” 

Canton raced out to leads of 15-6 and 24-15 in the first half with its pressing, running style. The lead could have been more but the Warriors missed several shots from point-blank range. Thanks to Valley’s persistent inside game, Canton also got into foul trouble, which didn’t allow them to press defensively. 

Still, Canton had a seven-point lead at halftime, 24-17. Canton’s Laura Mack (12 points) sank a rebound at the end of the third quarter and Naomi Kravitz sank a jumper with 7:30 left in the game to give Canton a four-point lead, 35-31. 

But Valley Regional scored the next eight points to take a 39-35 lead. The Warriors never sank another field goal in the game.

Once Valley closed in, Canton started throwing the ball away, including a stretch of three straight turnovers. On the fourth trip down the floor, Pronga (15 points, 9 rebounds) was blocked by Kucharski with 2:47 left in the game. 

“In the second half, we looked around and we looked scared,” Pronga said. “We shouldn’t have been the ones who were scared. I think we were the better team.” 

Pronga sank two foul shots with 2:11 left to cut the Valley lead to two, 39-37. A foul shot by Danielle Cappello gave Valley a three-point lead with 41.9 seconds left. But thanks to Valley’s aggressive defense, Canton had trouble getting a good shot off. Mack missed with 28 seconds remaining and senior Julie Eifes missed with eight seconds left. 

“You have to give (Valley) credit,” Canton coach Paul Grossman said. “They took away a lot of our inside stuff. We’re a perimeter team and when the shots don’t fall, it’s tough. I couldn’t ask any more of my kids. They were warriors. They got beat. Life isn’t going to be live the movies all the time. They had a hell of a run the last three years. Canton basketball is not over today, trust me. But I feel bad for the seniors. They worked so hard. We wanted them to go out with something special. But it didn’t happen.” 

Pronga, Eifes and Kravitz (5 points) were the seniors on the Canton squad. Kravitz had a career-high 18 points running the fast break in a 66-46 win over East Catholic in the quarterfinals while Pronga had a career-high 28 points in a 60-54 win over Housatonic in the second round. 

“We said at the beginning of the year that our goal was to get to Central Connecticut (and the finals),” Mack said. “To get here was great but to win it would have been so much better. This team was so good. We got along so well and it was such a fun team. 

“We should be proud. We played really well this season.”

Valley Regional 43, Canton 37
At New Britain
Valley Regional (43): Anne Green 0-4-4, Charisse Brockman 1-0-2, Danielle Capello 0-0-0, Jen Feffer 2-0-4, Lindsey Kucharski 5-2-12, Katie Hundt 7-7-21. Totals 13-17-43
Canton (37): Julie Eifes 2-0-4, Naomi Kravitz 2-0-4, Natasha Pronga 5-5-15, Laura Mack 4-1-12, Holly Anderson 1-0-2, Annmarie Fillian 0-0-0, Debbie Eifes 0-0-0, Jill Wyville 0-0-0, Nicole Penincello 0-0-0. Totals 14-6-37
Valley Regional (17-8)    8  9  14  12  — 43
Canton (22-6)               15  9    9    4  — 37
Three-point goals: Mack (C) 3 

1982: Westbrook 70, Canton 41

NEW HAVEN – For one quarter, the Canton High girls basketball team stood toe-to-toe with mighty Westbrook. The Warriors outscored the Purple Knights by eight in the second quarter to go into halftime tied. Canton scored on their opening two possessions of the third quarter to take a two-point lead. 

Then, Westbrook asserted themselves, scoring 13 straight points to seize command of the Class S championship game. The Purple Knights controlled the backboard, pulling down numerous rebounds and created several Canton turnovers. Westbrook never let Canton back in the game, limiting the Warriors to just 14 points in the second half and pulling away for a 70-41 victory and a state championship at Southern Connecticut State College. 

It was Westbrook’s third Class S championship in the last four years. It could have been four in a row but the Knights lost to Ellington by a point a year ago. 

Canton was playing in its first-ever state championship game and had won six straight games. But they couldn’t hang with Westbrook. The Purple Knights outscored Canton 43-14 in the second half thanks to strong rebounding and forcing numerous Canton turnovers. 

“The only I can say is that we went into a defensive lapse in the second half,” Canton’s second-year coach Candy Perez told the Hartford Courant. “In the second half, they wanted it more than we did I guess. They have a real good team. 

Patty Hallahan had a game-high 24 points and 17 rebounds. She had 13 points in the first half. “I really thought we could have put (Canton) away in the first half but they stayed with us,” Westbrook coach Peter Shuler told the Courant. Teammate Pam Gery had 14 points while Kristin Masalski had 13 points. 

Canton was led by Allison Aho with nine points. Heather Turnbull, who was in foul trouble for much of the second half, had eight points. Terri Leonard, Holly Laducer and Kelly Laducer had six points each. 

Westbrook 70, Canton 41
At New Haven

Canton (41): Lisa Loughlin 2-0-4, Kelly Laducer 3-0-6, Holly Laducer 3-0-6, Terri Leonard 3-0-6, Allison Aho 4-1-9, Heather Turnbull 4-0-8, Linnell Grabinsky 0-2-2. Totals 19-3-41
Westbrook (70): Jacqueline Vickay 2-0-4, Michelle Tharin 0-1-1, Pam Gery 6-2-14, Kristin Masalski 4-5-13, Melanie Finkeldey 2-3-7, Patricia Hallahan 11-2-24, Lori Wininger 3-1-7. Totals 28-14-70
Canton (16-9)               9  18    8    6  — 41
Westbrook (20-4)       17  10  17  26  — 70

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 30 years.

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