New London, Capital Prep Battle to the Final Buzzer

UNCASVILLE, CT - It's hard to imagine an undefeated basketball team being considered an underdog in the state championship game, but that was the scenario Sunday afternoon at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

New London entered the Class L title matchup with a perfect 24-0 record, but had to square off against Capital Prep, seeking its fourth consecutive state championship.

The Trailblazers lost three games during the regular season, but none to Connecticut teams. They bowed twice to Christ the King and once to Bishop Loughlin, both powerful juggernauts from New York.

The two teams engaged in a classic battle that literally came down to the final buzzer. Unfortunately for the Whalers, the clock ran out before they could get off a potential game-tying shot, falling 51-48.

After reaching halftime tied at 24-24, the Trailblazers struck first after intermission on a layup by Angelique Rodriguez; they never relinquished the lead over the final 15:31.

Capital Prep took its biggest lead of the game at 49-40 with 2:25 to play, but New London refused to quit, scoring the next two baskets to trim the deficit to five. The Whalers' fortunes soured, however, when K.D. Spencer Roman caught a hard elbow to the face from Desiree Elmore and had to leave the game with 43 seconds remaining.

With Capital Prep ahead by three and just 1.3 seconds left on the clock, Rodriguez stepped to the free throw line with a chance to ice the victory. She missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and India Pagan rebounded for New London, but time expired before the Whalers could launch a desperation shot.

Pagan took game-high scoring honors with 21 points and also pulled down 16 rebounds. Spencer Roman and Cora Sawyer each had seven points for the Whalers.

Lizahya Morgan led Capital Prep with 15 points and NaJae White tallied 14, while Elmore registered 11 rebounds.

Photo credits: Tim Jensen