Lewis Mills’ victory over Avon was harder than it looked

Avon’s Candance Graves, shown in a 2025 photo, scored six points in Monday night’s loss to Lewis Mills in the CIAC Division III tournament.

By STEVE BARLOW
Special to the Collinsville Press

BURLINGTON, March 10, 2026 – Simply looking at the final score of the Lewis Mills High School girls basketball team’s 58-33 win over Avon on Monday night, you might think it was a stroll in the park the whole way. You would be wrong.

Yes, the sixth-seeded Spartans jumped out to a big lead over the No. 22 Falcons in the first quarter of the Division III state tournament second-round game at the Thunderdome.

But in the final minute star guard Layla Ljubuncic was whistled for her second foul, which meant a seat next to the coaches to prevent her from getting another. Foul trouble also put starters Brooke Martineau and Liza Putnam on the bench, too.

“(Avon’s Drew Faucher) is a good coach, so he started pressing us. They started chipping away,” noted Mills coach Al Ciarlo.

What had been a 15-2 lead for the Spartans through one period was whittled to a four-point margin. But Mills got a clutch 3-pointer from freshman guard Kendall Buthe and a big basket inside from sophomore forward Sophia Valigorsky to stay on top, 22-16, at halftime.

To start the third period, Mills promptly went on an 11-0 run to take firm control. Ljubuncic (22 points overall) and Caitlyn Putnam (14) scored 20 of the Spartans’ 23 points in the quarter as the lead expanded to 45-25.

Jillian Tiso added 10 points for Mills (17-6), while Colleen Mahoney was top scorer for Avon (11-12) with 16.

The Spartans advanced to the state quarterfinals Thursday at 6 p.m. at No. 3 Suffield, which beat Kolbe Cathedral, 56-53, on Monday.

They share two common opponents. Suffield, which plays in the North Central Connecticut Conference, beat Simsbury, 45-25, and Conard, 55-45. In the Central Connecticut Conference, Mills split with Simsbury, falling 50-48 in the second game of the season and rolling to a 47-23 win in the rematch. The Spartans trimmed Conard, 64-40.

“They’ve got the coach’s daughter (guard Hazel Qua). We’ve got to contain her and win the boards or be even,” Ciarlo said. “I think we have a legitimate shot.”

Lewis Mills 58, Avon 33
At Burlington
Avon (33) Eleanor Aguilar 0-1-1, Haley Chisholm 3-1-7, Anna Garza 0-1-1, Sam Srb 2-0-5, Colleen Mahoney 5-4-16, Candace Graves 1-4-6, Anna Kelly 0-0-0, Lia Bosanac 0-0-0. Totals 9-11-33
Lewis Mills (58) Jillian Tiso 4-2-10, Megan Jones 0-0-0, Caitlyn Putnam 6-0-14, Brooke Martineau 1-0-3, Kendal Burke 1-0-3, Liza Putnam 2-0-4, Layla Ljubuncic 8-2-22, Olivia Beausoleil 0-0-0, Sophie Valigorsky 1-0-2. Totals 23-4-58
Avon (11-12)                  2  14  9   8  — 33
Lewis Mills (17-6)      15  7  23  13  — 58
Three-point goals: C Putnam (LM) 2, Ljubuncic (LM) 4, Burke (LM), Martineau (LM); Chisholm (A), Srb (A), Mahoney (A) 2