Avon eighth grade girls squad wins third straight league championship

The Avon girls eighth grade youth basketball team won their third straight Conneticut Girls Basketball League championship recently. (Photo courtesy Donald Mahoney)

Special to The Collinsville Press
AVON – A group of young basketball players who first learned about the sport of basketball in the winter of 2020-21 when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing won their third straight regular season and tournament championship in the Connecticut Girls Basketball League.

Eighth grade girls from Avon, who have won 80 of 87 games over the last three years, won their third straight championship recently with a 51-43 win over Bristol in a game played at Avon High.

The team is known as the Smurfs because they were shorter when they began playing together four years ago and they wore royal blue uniforms.

Seven of the nine girls that first came together on this travel squad are still with team today. In 2021, it was tough to find gym time to practice and playing a game was exceptionally difficult. Wearing masks during all practices and games was a challenge.

But the girls began learning the skills that helped them in 2025.

After winning championships in 2023 and 2024, the Avon squad knew they would be challenged.

“There are some really talented teams in our league who definitely were motivated to knock us from our perch this year,” Avon head coach Don Mahoney said. “They say pressure is a privilege, but it definitely doesn’t always feel like it when every team is coming at you with their best shot.”

Early in the year, Avon was at 3-2 after dropping contests with Simsbury and Bristol, two of the 14 teams in the Connecticut Girls Basketball League.

But Avon ran off 16 consecutive wins to win the regular season championship and earn the No. 1 seed in the league playoffs.

“What is great about this team is that they welcome honest feedback, they hate losing and they’re willing to work hard to get better,” said Mahoney.

Avon faced No. 4 seed Wethersfield in the semifinals at Avon. A year ago, Avon beat Wethersfield in the tournament title game. “We knew it was going to be a battle.  They’re extremely athletic and can cause a lot of problems with their pressure,” said Mahoney.

In front of a large and boisterous crowd, Avon’s Serena Zhou was instrumental in keeping Wethersfield in check early with relentless ball pressure.  With Avon down one midway through the period, Ally Lagassie, gave Avon an 8-7 lead on a beautiful feed from Selma Turken.  Avon did not look back extending its lead to 21-14 by the end of the quarter.

Avon started the second quarter hot with quick buckets from Ellie Fisher and Charlie Evanko but Wethersfield cut Avon’s lead to 28-20 at the half.  Avon began to pull away early in the third quarter with Fallyn Banks scoring on an assist from Alana Garza and Avon never looked back on its way to a 64-35 victory.

Colleen Mahoney scored 18 of her team-high 27 points in the second half to lead Avon. Garza finished with 13 points.  Banks owned the boards with 18 rebounds.

Bristol beat No. 2 seed Simsbury to earn a spot in the title game with Avon.

“Bristol presents a lot of different challenges.  They are blessed with a lot more overall size than us and have some really talented offensive players who can both beat you at all three levels.  We knew it was going to be a physical game decided in the fourth quarter,” Mahoney said.

Both teams played solid defense in the first half with Katie McGlone picking up two steals for Avon in the first quarter. The score was tied 8-8 after one and Bristol led 21-18 at the half thanks to a late three-point shot.

“The thing that separates us from other teams is the quality of our depth which we started to build all those years ago in the masks,” Mahoney said. “All 10 of our girls can play.  That allows us to put pressure on teams throughout the game and helps us when we get to the end.”

Avon came out of the half moving the ball better and got on the board quickly with a perfect pass from Meredith Parker to Evanko to cut the lead to 22-20.  The teams traded baskets and momentum for the rest of the quarter.  With Avon down 27-25, Colleen Mahoney hit a contested three from the wing, grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end and quickly fed Parker for a long two to give Avon a 30-27 lead.  At the end of 3, Avon held a slim 34-33 lead.

With 6:30 left in the game, Mahoney went to work in the post and extended Avon’s lead to three.  After some empty possessions at each end, Ally Lagassie hit a corner three on an inbounds play to extend the lead to 39-33.

On Bristol’s next possession, Lagassie corralled a defensive rebound, found Fisher ahead of the pack and Avon’s lead was up to eight.

Bristol cut the lead 41-36 on a three but Avon answered right back with a deep three of their own from Mahoney.  Bristol made a two and then a three to cut the lead down to 44-41 with 3:42 left.  Fisher then corralled a long offensive rebound and found Mahoney well beyond the arc for another deep three and a 47-41 lead.

With Bristol forced to foul, Avon converted four free throws in the last minute to seal a 51-43 victory.

Mahoney led Avon with 18 points and Fisher added 14.  Garza had a team-high 10 rebounds.

After the game, Mahoney said, “Hats off to Bristol for giving us everything we could handle and then some.

“It’s been a blessing to watch these girls grow as people and players over the years,” he said. “I would not have dreamed during those first practices in 2020 that this group would eventually become the most dominant travel team in Avon history but they did just that by being relentless on defense, sharing the ball and always putting the team above themselves.  I look forward to watching them all compete at the next level.”

The Connecticut Girls Basketball League included 14 youth basketball programs from the greater Hartford area including Simsbury, Farmington, Newington, Southington, West Hartford, Berlin, Cheshire, Cromwell, Glastonbury, Rocky Hill and Wallingford.

This story was submitted by the Avon eighth grade girls basketball team and was edited for length and clarity.