Hillhouse suffered its first loss of the season Monday, falling to Career 58-46.

Would the game be different if Academics injured point guard Andreana Thomas played?

Probably.

Career played well and has tons of weapons, certainly making the Panthers a Class LL contender despite their current 2-2 mark.

But the Panthers sagged off Hillhouse defensively, forcing it to shoot. With Thomas' solid jumper, that plan wouldn't have been as successful. Also, Hillhouse's top scorer Bria Holmes did not have the ball in her hands enough. If Thomas played, that would have been a different story and Holmes likely would have finished with more than 15 points.

Bottom line is Hillhouse needs Thomas back. She is expected to return from her knee injury in January. Hopefully in time for the Academics' Jan. 16 matchup with Norwich Free Academy. That could be the state's best regular-season matchup of the year.

Shaniqua Fuller did it all for Wilbur Cross, scoring 21 points to go with 16 rebounds, seven steals, four assists and two blocks. The Governors coasted to a 60-25 win over Hand.
Aaliyah Robinson added 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

Jen Ruys had 12 points and nine rebounds as Lyman Hall edged Hamden 47-42. Sophie St. Hilaire had a game-high 17 points for the Trojans.

Courtney Schissler had 29 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for Branford, as the Hornets handed Guilford its first loss of the season in a 63-34 win.

Coginchaug moves to 5-0 with a 64-54 win over East Hampton, Lauren Esposito had 20 points to lead four players, who scored in double figures for Coginchaug. Kelsey Booth had 26 points for East Hampton.

Bre Butler had 20 points in Sheehan's 51-34 win over Sacred Heart Academy.

Alyssa Long-Jeffrey scored 18 points in a losing effort as O'Brien Tech fell 75-43 to Crosby.

Foran jumped out to a 35-15 first-half lead and the Lions coasted from there, beating North Haven 56-33. Alyssa Healy led the Lions with 15 points.

Law cruised to a 48-30 win over East Haven. Kim Legen had a game-high 12 points for the Eagles.

Mercy continues to roll. The Tigers beat Cheshire 65-30. Amber Bepko scored 16 points for Mercy. The Tigers outscored the Rams 24-3 in the first quarter.

Jackie Morressey poured in a game-high 20 points to lift Oxford to a 61-51 win over Wilcox Tech.

Sayra Johnson finished with 12 points as West Haven edged Shelton 27-26.

Bria Moore scored a game-high 18 points as Career followed a 1-2 start with a big win over Hillhouse. The Panthers beat the Academics, the No. 1 team in the Register Top 10 poll, 58-46 tonight at the New Haven Athletic Center.
Listen to Moore talk about the victory, Career's depth and a tough upcoming stretch for the Panthers.

Keylantra Langley scored 19 points as Lauralton Hall beat Pomperaug 39-32 in a matchup of two SWC powerhouses.
The Crusaders held Pomperaug to just eight second half ponts.

Damika Martinez poured in for 41 points — just two short of the Platt school record — as the Panthers knocked off Simsbury 62-52.

Maura Calamari and Amber Bepko combined for 39 points in Mercy’s 63-40 win over Career. The Tigers jumped out to a 29-12 in the first half.

Guilford got 21 points, including 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, from Annie Goodrich in the Indians 69-49 win over Shelton. Melissa Corraro had 18 in a losing effort for Shelton.

Alyssa Long-Jeffrey had 16 points to lead O’Brien Tech to its first win of the season over Goodwin Tech.

Mary Hyde had 15 points in Derby’s 54-39 win over Ansonia.

Audrey Biesak led a balanced attack with 11 points as Coginchaug edged Haddam-Killingworth 43-40.

Kelcy Carlson led Morgan with 18 points as the Huskies coasted to a 66-43 win over Valley Regional.

Bria Holmes exploded for 37 points to go with eight steals and three assists as Hillhouse coasted to a 73-30 win over Cheshire.

Courtney Schissler finished with a game-high 24 points to lead Branford to a 63-30 win over West Haven.

Lauralton Hall opened its season with a 78-21 disposal of Platt Tech behind 16 points from Nicola Matero and 14 points from Keylantra Langley.

Isnede Milfort poured in 18 points to lead Bunnell to a 51-39 win over Ansonia. Kristin Mooney led the Chargers with 16 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals.

Casey Dulin had a season-high 28 points in Law’s 57-52 win over Sheehan. Bre Butler had 16 points in a losing effort.

Saige Johnson had 10 of her 22 points in overtime to lead Sacred Heart Academy to a 57-46 win over East Haven. The Pacers came back from an 18-point halftime deficit.

Hamden beat Wilbur Cross 56-39 Thursday night, for the Green Dragons' first win over the Governors in three years. Cara Deroy, who talks about Thursday's win, led Hamden with 22 points. The Green Dragons outscored the Governors 18-6 in the final quarter.

Clare Kane netted 18 of her 20 points in the second half of Sacred Heart Academy’s 56-49 win over Lyman Hall. Jen Ruys had 22 points for the Trojans. Lyman Hall’s loss follows an upset win over Career, the No. 3 team in the Register Top 10 poll.

Cara Deroy finished with 14 points, five steals and five assists to lead Hamden over Law 59-49. Casey Dulin and Kim Legen led Law with 14.

Courtney Schissler had 17 points and eight rebounds in Branford’s 56-35 win over Amity. The Hornets jumped out to a 26-4 lead to open the game.

Annie Raucci scored a game-high 19 points in Foran’s 45-37 win over East Haven. Nicole Acerra led the Easties with 14 points.

Audrey Biesak poured in 18 points to lead Coginchaug to a 53-47 win over Morgan. Melissa Bastian and Amanda Cullen each scored 16 points in a losing effort.

Christina Cretella poured in a game-high 19 points, but Seymour fell 47-43 to Wilby.

Tarra Ricci scored a career-high 25 points to go with nine steals and seven assists to lift North Branford to a 49-40 win over Haddam-Killingworth.

Led by Bria Moore’s 13 points, a balanced attack from Career led the Panthers to a 62-35 win over West Haven.

Kelly Ann Rooney finished with 21 points to lift Guilford to a 67-40 win over Cheshire.

Amber Bepko had 22 points and Sadie Edwards chipped in with 14 points as Mercy beat Hand 69-32.

Bre Butler finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in Sheehan’s 49-39 win over Sports and Medical Sciences Academy.

Four players scored in double figures to lead Sheehan to a 67-56 win over Hamden. Bre Butler led the Titans with 15. Hannah May drained five 3-pointers for 15 points in a losing effort.

Welcome to high school basketball. In its first game as a varsity program, Amistad Academy fell to Stratford 43-7. Montasia Brockenberry had three points to lead Amistad Academy.

A balanced attack led by nine points each from Clare Kane and Natalie Bastian helped Sacred Heart Academy to a 36-26 win over North Haven. Riley Dineen had a game-high 13 points for the Indians.

Derby joined the NVL this year and senior guard Mary Hyde is making a strong early impression on her new conference foes.
Hyde had a career-high 30 points, eight rebounds, eight steals and two assists in a 36-35 overtime win over Seymour Thursday. She followed up with 16 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks in a 49-45 loss to Watertown Friday night.

Hamden guard Lianna Carrero talks the Green Dragons' season-opening win, point guard Cara Deroy and Hamden chances to knock Mercy from the top of the SCC Quinnipiac Division.

Lindsay Karle scored a career-high 31 points to lift Lyman Hall to an 58-57 upset win over Career. The Panthers are ranked No. 3 in the Register Top 10 poll.
Jasmine Claxton led Career with 17 points.

Bria Holmes finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five steals to lead No. 1 Hillhouse to a 56-27 victory over West Haven.

Bre Butler had 19 points in Sheehan’s 58-54 win over Foran. Annie Raucci had a game-high 20 points in a losing effort.

Casey Dulin netted 13 points as Law doubled Amity 44-22.

Julia Navarro scored a game-high 13 points as Platt Tech coasted to a 46-16 win over Whitney Tech.

Amber Bepko and freshman Sadie Edwards each poured in 25 points to lead Mercy to a 70-59 win over No. 8 Branford. Courtney Schissler scored a game-high 27 for the Hornets.

Aaliyah Robinson had 19 points to lead Wilbur Cross to a 76-36 win over Sacred Heart Academy.

Annie Goodrich led all scorers with 15 points in the Indians 63-38 win over North Haven.

Kristen Mooney scored 10 points to go with 14 rebounds and four steals as Ansonia beat Wolcott 44-35.

Woodland coasted to a 64-37 win over Seymour behind Heather Framski’s 18 points.

Katy Hoyt sank a game-winning 3-pointer in overtime to lift West Haven over Amity 38-36.
Jennifer Post had 11 points and 17 rebounds for Amity.

Kristen Mooney filled up the stat sheet with 26 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks as Pat Lynch picked up his first win as coach of Ansonia. The Chargers beat Watertown 51-40.

Mary Hyde netted a game-high 30 points to lift Derby to a 36-35 overtime win over Seymour.
Christina Cretella had 19 points for the Wildcats.

A balanced scoring attack led Mercy to a 50-27 win over Shelton.

Lindsay Karle, Jen Ruys and Sophie St. Hilare scored all 47 Lyman Hall points, as the Trojans beat Foran 47-39.
Annie Raucci had a game-high 20 points for the Lions.

And in the dud of the night, Coginchaug beat North Branford 25-18.

In season-opening play, Aaliyah Robinson poured in 19 points to lead Wilbur Cross over Fitch 59-50. Shaniqua Fuller added 15 points.

Platt Tech's 6-foot-4 freshman Aaliyah Bohannon had just two points and fouled out in her first high school game, a 43-38 Panthers' win over Stratford.

Old Saybrook's balanced scoring attack helped the Rams double up Hyde 74-32.

Hillhouse was voted the No. 1 team in the state in the Register Preseason Top 10 Poll.

The Academics won the Class L title last year. They received 13 of the 16 first-place votes.
2. Norwich Free Academy (received three first-place votes)
3. Career
4. Berlin
5. Northwest Catholic
6. Pomperaug
7. Bacon Academy
8. Wethersfield
9. Branford
10. Fairfield Warde

Led by St. John's-bound guard Keylantra Langley, the Lauralton Hall girls' basketball team will host New York City powerhouse Christ the King in a scrimmage Friday at 5 p.m.
The scrimmage is open to the public.

Hamden senior Cara Deroy has given an oral commitment to play basketball at St. Michael's College (Vt.).
Deroy, a point guard, averaged 15.5 points, six assists and three steals per game for the Green Dragons last season.

Lauralton Hall guard Keylantra Langley gave an oral commitment Saturday to play basketball at St. John's.
Langley, a 5-foot-9 senior from Bridgeport, averaged 15.2 points, nine rebounds and seven assists last season for the Crusaders. Along with the Red Storm, Langley was considering Marist, Cincinnati and James Madison.

Tim Tredwell has been named the new girls' basketball coach at Hand.
Tredwell, 34, was a volunteer assistant coach last season under Tigers head coach Frank Rossi.
Tredwell, a physical education and health teacher at John Winthrop Middle School in Deep River, is the Tigers' third coach in three years.
He takes over for Sal Fiorillo, who led Hand to a 14-9 mark last year, including a trip to the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament and the Class L state tournament.
To read story click here.

Former Hamden girls' basketball players Takerra Williams and Trinity Barnes have both transferred, Green Dragons coach John Ceneri confirmed.
Barnes, a junior, is now at Career. Williams, also a junior, is at Hillhouse.

Hopkins senior center Lauren Okafor recently gave an oral commitment to play basketball at Providence. Here's a look at some other top area players and their college choices...

Law's Casey Dulin to Marist

Branford's Courtney Schissler to Bryant

Hand's Kerry Wallack to Rhode Island

Hamden guard Cara Deroy said she is leaning toward St. Michael's. Keylanta Langley's mother said Langley, of Lauralton Hall, is still undecided at this time. There have been rumors she is headed to Marist along with Dulin.