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Northwest Catholic celebrates after winning the CCC title game 72-34 during the Northwest Catholic vs Rocky Hill girls basketball CCC finals on Monday, March 2, 2026, at the University of Hartford in West Hartford. (Jim Michaud/Hearst Connecticut Media)
WEST HARTFORD - For all that the Northwest Catholic girls basketball team had accomplished over the past three seasons, one thing eluded these senior Lions.
Until Monday.
In what was expected to be a close encounter of the top two seeds in the CCC, No. 1 Northwest Catholic blitzed No. 2 Rocky Hill 72-34 in the title game at the University of Hartford's Chase Family Arena to capture the program's first conference crown since 2010.
The end result was never in question after the three-time reigning CIAC champions outscored the Terriers 23-4 in the second quarter to lead 40-13 by halftime. The onslaught continued in the third quarter as GametimeCT's top-ranked team opened up a 40-point lead with 1:40 to play in the third.
A plethora of Rocky Hill turnovers led to several NWC fast-break points and a 61-19 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Lions forced the Terriers into 14 turnovers in the blowout win.
NWC senior captain Maeve Stounton led all scorers with 24 points, as the Lions improved to 23-1 and enter next week's CIAC playoffs as the No. 1 seed in Division 1.
An inside hoop by NWC's all-time leading scorer Abigail Casper (14 points) put NCW up 70-30 with 3:53 to play.
Rocky Hill was led by All-State senior guard Kelsey LaMay, who scored 15 points in the loss.
Northwest Catholic head coach Alison Connors called Monday night a "full circle moment" for her seniors, who didn't even qualify for the 2023 CCC Tournament as freshmen before winning the first of three straight state titles.
Those same seniors have won 95 games (and counting) in four seasons.
"I'm just so excited for this team. (Winning the CCCs) was one of the big boxes at the beginning of the season," Connors said. "Those three (seniors) have worked their tails off."
NWC won't exactly begin defense of its CIAC title next week, as girls basketball tournament switched from classes to divisions this year. The Lions won last year's Class L title after winning Class MM in 2024 and Class S in 2023.
Rocky Hill (22-2), meanwhile, is the No. 1 seed in Division II. The Terriers' only two losses this season were to Northwest Catholic, which also beat Rocky Hill 68-56 on Jan. 12.
Northwest Catholic's only loss this season was at the HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass., falling to Springfield Central High School.
After a competitive first quarter (NWC led 17-9), the Lions turned up the defensive pressure to outscore Rocky Hill 17-2 over the first five minutes of the second.
A LaMay basket 35 seconds into the second quarter would be Rocky Hill's only points as NWC opened up a 36-11 lead with 3:01 to play in the half. The Terriers turned the ball over five times during the NWC run, including three straight possessions.
Stauton took full advantage of the Rocky Hill miscues, twice converting 3-point plays when fouled driving to the basket. Casper also hit a 3-pointer, and it was suddenly 34-11 midway through the second quarter.
"I think today our defense really shined. It's what we hang our hat on," Stauton said.
Rocky Hill had more turnovers than field goals in the second quarter.
"When our defense is going like that, it really fuels us and nothing can stop us," Stauton said.
"All the credit to Northwest, they are a great team," Rocky Hill head coach Pete Asadourian said. "We just weren't connected, and (were) off tonight."
Player of the Game
Maeve Staunton, Northwest Catholic: The senior captain led all scorers with 24 points, including 16 in the first half (eight in each quarter).
Quotable
"I think (the CCCs) are always good for us to come in here and play the best competition. It propels us to the state tournament. Losing always hurts, but there is a bigger picture and our main goal is a state championship." - Maeve Stauton, Northwest Catholic senior guard after winning the conference crown for the first time.
Northwest Catholic 72, Rocky Hill 34
ROCKY HILL 9 4 6 15-34
NORTHWEST CATHOLIC 17 23 21 11-72
Rocky Hill: Kelsey LaMay 5 1 0-0 15, Arianna Daley 1 0 1-2 3, Madisyn Aurigemma 3 0 1-2 7, Jill Rhouddou 1 0 2-2 4, Katie Harding 1 1 0-0 5. Totals: 11 2 4-6 34.
Northwest Catholic: Maeve Staunton 6 2 6-6 24, Lilyan Johnson 1 0 4-4 6, Zoey Canning 4 0 1-1 9, Samatha Casper 1 0 4-6 6, Azjah Lizotte 2 0 0-0 4, Lyla Diaz 4 0 1-1 9, Abigail Casper 5 1 1-2 14. Totals:26 3 16-20 72.
3-point field goals:Rocky Hill-LaMay 1, Harding 1. Northwest Catholic-Staunton 2, Abigail Casper 1.
Team records: Rocky Hill 22-2; Northwest Catholic 23-1.
This article originally published at Top-ranked Northwest Catholic girls basketball erupts to defeat Rocky Hill for CCC championship.
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