CIAC State Championship Standouts Part 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were so many players to talk about from last weekend's state championship games in Connecticut that we needed a second article to include them all. Following yesterday's piece, here's part two of our Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference state title game standouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Maeve Staunton - Northwest Catholic (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northwest Catholic needed everything from its top two players in order to hoist some hardware this season, and luckily, the Lions got just that. Staunton had a stellar game, shooting 7-of-17 from the field (41.2 percent) as she finished with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Across the board, she was consistent and was assuredly a standout, earning game MVP honors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Abigail Casper - Northwest Catholic (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Staunton won game MVP honors, Casper arguably had the better performance on Saturday, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. She led all scorers with 19 points, adding on seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. There was simply no way of stopping her as Sheehan couldn't contain the sophomore duo for the Lions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jenna Wresien - Sheehan (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a sophomore showcase across the board in the Class MM title game as Sheehan had a strong performance from its standout player, Jenna Wresien. Shooting 40 percent from the field and 2-of-6 from three, Wresien finished with 10 points, but was well-rounded, adding five rebounds, three assists, a block and three steals to her day. Four of those five rebounds came on the offensive end as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sydney Cassidy - Somers (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Somers had a three-headed attack on full display on Sunday in the Class S state title game in Uncasville and first up in this article is junior Sydney Cassidy. A casual double-double for her in the final game of the season was impressive to watch as she finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, going 8-of-10 from the line. She also had a game-high six steals, twice the amount of the next-closest person on the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='446570' first='Eliana' last='Wood'] - Somers (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wood ended her high school career with a bang on Sunday, yet another double-double to add to her resume with 16 points and 10 rebounds, six coming on the offensive glass. Wood was also tied with teammate Maya Skalski in blocks with three, really dominating the flow of the game down low. It seems the backcourt connection for the Spartans was what helped them win their first title in 47 years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Maya Skalski - Somers (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Wood won't be returning to help Somers try to go back-to-back, Skalski and Cassidy certainly will, with Skalski being the youngest of the bunch. She took home game MVP honors in the Class S title game, recording a third double-double in the game for the Spartans with 22 points and 13 rebounds. She also had three blocks and a steal, shooting 8-for-17 from the floor and 2-of-5 from three.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ava Harkness - Thomaston (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harkness truly left it all out there on the floor in her final high school game, unfortunately coming up short in the state title game against Somers. However, she put together a strong overall performance, finishing with a team-high 16 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal. Her efforts just couldn't get the job done, but as she's done all her career, she was tenacious and played with a competitive edge throughout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='354131' first='Nicole' last='Decker'] - Thomaston (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another player who saw her high school career come to a close on Sunday, Decker struggled from the floor and eventually fouled out, but there was no denying her impact on the floor. Decker had 13 points, but more importantly, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists, also adding in three steals. Sh was the lone player in the game to have more than two assists, a testament to her selflessness and facilitation skills on the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->