CIAC State Championship Standouts Part 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last week, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference state basketball championships were held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. Five state champions were crowned across the state, and this article will discuss some of the top performances from those games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='303570' first='Emily' last='Mennillo'] - Sacred Heart (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While the junior fouled out for Sacred Heart, she poured everything into her final game of the season, an unfortunate 46-40 loss. Mennillo finished with a team-high 13 points, shooting 5-of-6 from the line with six rebounds, three assists, a block and three steals. All-around she was the best player on the floor for the Sharks and she'll reprise that role in a big way next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Aunee Brookshire - Hamden (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We could have gone with the Philpotts sisters or [player_tooltip player_id='361345' first='Gianna' last='Donnarummo'] to highlight Hamden, but sophomore Aunee Brookshire had herself a GAME off the bench. Brookshire finished with eight points, but led the team with 12 rebounds, eight of those coming on the offensive end. With Hamden more than doubling up SHA in second-chance points, 11-5, the sophomore arguably had the biggest impact on the game, no doubt.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Amanda Gallagher - Simsbury (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a better time for Simsbury's first-ever state championship than this season, and who better to lead the charge than its senior standout, Amanda Gallagher. An incredible performance in her final high school game, Gallagher led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 10-of-13 from the line, along with seven rebounds, four assists, a block and five steals. She did it all and then some to secure a state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='474657' first='Shania' last='Howard'] - Holy Cross (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Howard, despite falling short in the Class L state title game, was spectacular on the floor. Not only was the junior the lone player in double-figures in scoring, finishing with 17 points, she added five rebounds, a block and five steals as well. Holy Cross's luck ran out on Saturday, but knowing this program, they'll be a contender ready to go on a revenge tour.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Rebecca Kelly - St. Paul Catholic (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kelly and St. Paul Catholic were on a collision course with the state title and ended up walking out of Uncasville with some valuable hardware. Of many contributors on the team, the senior was the star of the show, capping her high school career off with a double-double: 14 points and 11 rebounds, along with a block and a steal to her name. Standout performance to end her career on the highest of highs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jaelize Rivera - Windham (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While St. Paul Catholic went home state champs, Rivera ended up having the best performance on Saturday, maybe even the best of the entire tournament. She put up a 20-piece, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists, adding a pair of steals as well. There was no way of stopping her, but unfortunately, Windham's quest at a state title came up just short.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='389139' first='Olivia' last='Jarvis'] - Simsbury (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pair of seniors led the way for Simsbury as it took home its first CIAC state title, and while Amanda Gallagher balled out, teammate [player_tooltip player_id='389139' first='Olivia' last='Jarvis'] was nearly matching her, shot-for-shot. Jarvis shot 50 percent (6-of-12) from the field, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals. She was efficient and spread out her scoring pretty evenly over the entire game, scoring 10 points in the first half and nine in the second half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->