No. 1 Morgan suffocates Canton in quarterfinal victory

Morgan’s Maddy Grenan (11, left) and Emma Turner (25, right) play tough defense against Canton’s Riley Ahlgren (4) in Friday night’s CIAC Division IV contest in Clinton. No. 1 Morgan won, 66-39. More game photos

CLINTON, March 13, 2026 – A year ago, the Morgan School girls basketball team secured their first CIAC state finals berth in 11 years but their championship hopes were dashed by Coventry in an 11-point loss.

The top-ranked Huskies are looking for another shot at a championship. Morgan rode their pressing defense and energetic offense into the Division IV semifinals with a dominating 66-39 win on Friday night over No. 8 Canton.

Senior Sadie Passante scored a game-high 30 points for Morgan (23-2) on a series of baskets as a result of her drives to the hoop. “She literally has one speed. She just wants to go,” Morgan head coach Caitlin Woods said.

Teammate Emma Turner had 14 points in the paint, numerous rebounds and several blocked shots. Maddy Grenan had 16 points and four 3-point shots for the Huskies.

“We were really prepared with our pressure (defense),” Woods said. “We were able to communicate (on defense), get to the shooters and shut down (Ruby Theberge). She’s a terrific player.”

Theberge had eight points for the Warriors, including two 3-points shots. But the Huskies were determined to stop her from driving to the basket.

“We knew were going to give up some shots but we wanted to shut that down as much as possible,” Woods said.

Morgan was strong on the boards and frequently collapsed on the Canton player with the ball, slowing down the Warriors offense and forcing numerous turnovers.

Canton’s Ruby Theberge (1) gets off a three-point shot before Morgan’s Sadie Passante (10) can get close to block the shot. Morgan coach Caitlin Woods, right, calls to her team.  More game photos

“This is not a representation of our season but it’s a great reminder of all the things we needed to be better at,” Canton head coach Brian Medeiros said. “Decision making with the ball. Finishing around the basket. Communicating on defense.”

Physical mistakes and mental errors that Canton (16-8) committed against other teams with little or no cost were costly against the Huskies.

The Huskies had a three-point lead early in the first half when Passante drove quickly to the basket after an offensive rebound for an 8-3 lead. Thirty seconds later, Grenan hit the first of her four 3-point shots to extend the Morgan lead to 11-3.

Helen Canny hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 11-5 but on Canton’s next two possessions, Passante had a block and Turner forced a turnover.

Grenan hit a jumper in the late after nice pass from Turner to extend the lead to 13-5. Grenan hit another three-point shot with 12.8 seconds left in the half for a 16-6 lead after one quarter.

Theberge hit a three-point shot and Lucy O’Connor ripped down a rebound and put it back into the basket to cut the Morgan lead to nine, 20-11, with 5:16 remaining in the first half.

But Morgan outscored Canton, 15-2 in the final 5:07 to take a commanding 22-point lead at the half, 35-13. Passante scored nine of the 15 points for the Huskies in the run, including a three-point shot at the buzzer from half court.

Ther were a few nice moments for the Warriors in the third quarter. Macy McCullough scored a basket off the glass and that was followed by Canny scoring on the run after a nice pass inside from O’Connor. Theberge made a nice feed to O’Connor inside near the basket.

But it wasn’t nearly enough. Morgan outscored the Warriors 13-2 to open the fourth quarter before bringing in younger players to play out the string.

Canton’s Lucy O’Connor tries to get to the basket past Morgan’s Emma Turner in Friday night’s CIAC Division IV game in Clinton. More game photos

Riley Ahlgren led Canton with 12 points while O’Connor had 10 points. Theberge finished with eight points, including two shots from three-point range. Canton won six of their final eight games of the season.

It was the first game against Morgan in the CIAC tournament and the 27-point deficit is the second-largest in team history in the state tournament.

The biggest loss for Canton in state tournament play came in the 1982 Class S championship game when the Warriors lost to Westbrook by 29 points, 70-41. Canton also lost to Northwest Catholic by 29 in 1991.

Morgan advances to face No. 5 Plainfield in the semifinals with Stonington and Lauralton Hall in the other semifinal contest.

Morgan 66, Canton 39
At Clinton
Canton (39) Ruby Theberge 2-2-8, Riley Ahlgren 3-4-12, Helen Canny 1-2-4, Lucy O’Connor 5-0-10, Emery Howard 1-1-3, Macy McCullough 1-0-2, Maya Affsa 0-0-0. Totals 13 9-10 39
Morgan (66) Sadie Passante 12-5-30, Maddy Grenan 6-0-16, Emma Turner 7-0-14, Addison Reed 0-0-0, Nora Winsor 3-0-6, Emerson Donning 0-0-0. Totals 28 5-13 66
Canton (16-8)                6     7  13  13  — 39
Morgan (23-2)              16  19  18  13  — 66
Three-point goals: Theberge (C) 2, Ahlgren (C), Passante (M), Grenan (M) 4