Seymour rode the hot hand of sharpshooter Bella Melissano, who finished with a game-high 17 points.
WATERBURY - It happened long before any of the current players were born, but Seymour used to rule Naugatuck Valley League girls basketball at the turn of the century when stars such as future UConn Husky Maria Conlon were dazzling fans.
The last league title for the Wildcats, though, was in 2000. They've been dreaming of another one ever since.
The wait is over. Seymour rode the hot hand of sharpshooter Bella Melissano to a sizeable first-half lead and limited Ansonia to a season low for points Saturday afternoon to win the NVL championship 42-29 at Wilby High.
"I wanted to win NVLs more than anything this year," said Melissano, the tournament MVP. "We knew this year was the year to do it."
For Wildcats coach Brian Cleveland, in his 17th season in charge of the program, the NVL title was especially sweet after so many years of being an also-ran. A good also-ran, yes, but not quite as good as the league's top teams.
"This honestly means the world to me. I feel like this program and team is my life's work," Cleveland said. "You know, when you have teams like St. Paul and Holy Cross always in the way or always ending your season, this means the absolute world to me. The kids deserve it. They deserve the credit."
Much of the credit can be heaped on Belissano. She made the first four baskets of the game for top-seeded Seymour (21-2), and each one was a 3-pointer. Her final trey of the period gave the Wildcats a 14-5 lead, and Viktoria Michalczyk's drive to the hoop produced a 16-5 lead through one quarter.
"I didn't expect (to be so hot), but I was going into the game confident, knowing we wanted to win," Belissano said. "They've been our main matchup since the beginning of the season."
Belissano drained another three in the third period and finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. It was a welcome change for Seymour after her subpar game in Ansonia's 49-47 win over Seymour a month ago.
"She had a rough time that night with turnovers and what-not. I knew she wasn't going to do that again," said Cleveland. "She separated us immediately from Ansonia, and they never were able to get back."
The second-seeded Chargers (21-2) struggled mightily to put the ball in the basket, from the floor and from the foul line, where they canned nine of 20 free throws. They trailed 28-14 at halftime and never got closer than 10 points in the second half despite having opportunities.
Both rims and backboards got a workout after halftime. In fact, neither team scored a basket in the fourth quarter as each side made six free throws for all of the offense.
"I feel like I got in their way. We had that lead and I was trying to get us to protect it. I think I got in their head because they'd hesitate when they were open," said Cleveland. "Our focus all year is defense, defense, defense. Defense wins championships."
The Wildcats baffled Ansonia with a recently adopted man-to-man defense.
Guard Jennifer Palmer led the Chargers with 11 points. All-NVL star Weston Ahearn was held to one point by Seymour senior guard Colbie Drezek.
"We played man-to-man the whole time, which is not our normal. With the man (defense), we felt it would lock them down. We had great hedges. We all just came together," said Drezek.
The Chargers, playing in their first NVL final for their first league title since 1984 (before there was a tournament), didn't resemble the team that went 19-1 in the regular season and earned the top seed in the Division III state tournament.
"From the beginning, we looked like the moment was a little big for us," said coach Vince DellaVolpe. "We didn't shoot the ball well. I'm more disappointed in how we shot the ball from the free throw line. I think that was the most disappointing part. We played hard the whole game. We just couldn't get a flow going on offense."
Seymour also had a sizeable advantage on the boards, outrebounding Ansonia, 48-23. Mia Perry had a team-high 16 rebounds and Mia Cunningham had 10. For Ansonia, Molly Lynch grabbed nine.
Player of the Game
Quotable
"These girls love each other. They spend all kinds of time together, obviously at practice and games, but off the floor, too. They're a team. We don't have one true superstar, so we're hard to beat." - Seymour coach Brian Cleveland.
Seymour 42, Ansonia 29
ANSONIA 5 9 9 6-29
SEYMOUR 16 12 8 6-42
Ansonia (21-2): Molly Lynch 1 0 2, Zoe Dombroski 1 0 2, Darnaija Cooks 1 4 7, Jennifer Palmer 3 3 11, Weston Ahearn 0 1 1, Triston Ahearn 2 1 6, Brianna Mastrantoni 0 0 0. Totals: 8 9 29.
Seymour (21-2): Mia Perry 1 4 6, Bella Melissano 5 2 17, Mia Cunningham 3 3 9, Viktoria Michalczyk 1 0 2, Colbie Drezek 1 2 5, Valentina Melissano 1 0 3, Jamie Keough 0 0 0, Jenna Pollastro 0 0 0.
This article originally published at Top-seeded Seymour topples Ansonia for 1st NVL girls basketball championship since 2000.
Category: General Sports
