Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame seeks to honor those who, in a superlative fashion, have contributed to the enhancement of women's basketball in Connecticut - either through participation, service, support, or achievement.
Excellence speaks with a voice of its own. On this web site we are privileged to share in that voice. The Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honorees exemplify the finest achievements in the world of sport.
CWBHOF NEWS
2026 Induction Luncheon
The 2026 Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (37th Annual) Luncheon will be held on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at the Aqua Turf Club, CT 06479.
We are very proud to honor these deserving members of the Connecticut Women's Basketball community.
Our 2026 Inductees:
Gemetta Neal-Goulet (Referee)
Bridget Brosnahan (High School player)
Gena DePeano Cascio (College player)
Laura Scinto (High School player)
Abby Hurlbert (High School player)
Robert P. McMahon (High School coach)
Chris Lindwall (High School coach)
Mark Jaffee ( Honorary)
37th Annual Induction Ceremony and Luncheon Info Posted
2026 Inductees
A referee, two former coaches, four former players and a retired newspaper writer will share in the limelight at the 37th annual Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Sunday, April 26 at noon at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville.
Gemetta Neal-Goulet (referee)
Aspiring to be a role model for young girls and women, Neal-Goulet of Manchester wanted to show them there is a career path after playing basketball.
A referee on IAABO Board 6 since 1998 and college official since 2001, she became the first female executive committee member in2015-16 and the first female president in 2019-20.
Previously, Neal-Goulet coached at the high school level at E.O. Smith, RHAM and Bloomfield and as a graduate assistant for Geno Auriemma in his first season as UConn's head coach in 1985-86 and as an assistant at Eastern Connecticut State University.
Neal-Goulet is now working at the CREC Magnet School in Hartford after a nine-year stint at the Hartford Juvenile Detention Center.
Bridget Brosnahan (high school player)
A 1990 Cheshire High graduate and two-year team captain, Brosnahan scored 1,246 career points for coach Cindy Hitchcock's program.
As a senior, Brosnahan averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds, team highs, and led the state in scoring.
Among her individual highlights was a 45-point effort against Holy Cross.
A two-year starter at Franklin Pierce University, Brosnahan helped the team to New England Collegiate Conference titles in three of the four seasons. She graduated Cum Laude in graphic design and fine arts, earning All-American honors in the classroom.
Brosnahan would then turn toward advanced education in Criminal Justice and Forensic Science and became a police officer and later served as a Crime Scene Detective with the New Haven Police Department, where she retired in 2021. Since 2017, Brosnahan prepares K9 handlers for deployment to local, state and national trauma events.
Currently Brosnahan is a full-time faculty lecturer at the University of New Haven.
Gena DePeano Cascio (college player)
A 2025 Masuk High Hall of Fame recipient, DePeano was a starter on the 1983 Southern Connecticut team that advanced to the 1983 NCAA Division II Final Four.
An MVP selection in the New England Regional finals, DePeano scored over 1,000 points and was a first-team New England Collegiate Conference selection.
In high school, a three-sport athlete, she was also an all-league runner in cross country and all-league pick on the tennis court. An all state selection, DePeano was the second girl to score over 1,000 points at Masuk for legendary coach Dave Strong. As a team captain of the 1980 team, she helped the Panthers the Class M state finals, where they dropped an overtime decision to Stonington at Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven.
Laura Scinto (high school player)
A 1985 Shelton High School graduate, Scinto poured in 1,338 career points, the second most in Gaels' history, and became the most decorated Shelton athlete. She became the first to graduate with 12 varsity letters while playing soccer, basketball and softball and was inducted into the school hall of fame in 2021.
On the hard court, Scinto helped lead the Gaels to the 1985 Housatonic League title and later the CIAC Class LL state crown. While at Bryant University, the guard eclipsed 1,175 points and led the Bulldogs to three NCAA appearances.
After a successful assistant coaching career at Seymour High, Southern Connecticut State University and Fairfield University.
At Seymour, Scinto helped guide the team to two state titles in 1997 and 1998 and a NCAA Division II national title in 2007 while at Southern, and a MAAC championship at Fairfield in 2022. She has moved onto college administration as a compliance director at the University of Bridgeport.
Abby Hurlbert, Thomaston (high school)
A 2014 Thomaston High graduate, Hurlbert was a three-time Berkshire League selection and a two-time All-State pick. On March 22, 2014, at the Mohegan Sun Arena, Hurlbert converted three foul shots with 0.2 seconds left to lift Thomaston to a double overtime victory over St. Paul to capture the Class S state title to climax a 23-point performance. Hurlbert compiled 1,136 career points.
One of the most decorated athletes in the BL, Hurlbert was also a three-time all-league selection in field hockey and softball. Among her many accolades was GameTimeCT basketball MVP and Female Athlete of the Year and Waterbury Republican American Player of the Year.
Hurlbert would go onto a successful basketball career at Southern Connecticut, which included a 38-point effort, featuring seven 3-pointers, in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.
Robert P. McMahon (high school coach)
McMahon, a 1988 Thomaston High graduate, compiled a 307-121 (.717 percentage) as the Thomaston girls basketball coach. McMahon, a Bristol resident, guided the Golden Bears to three state titles in 2014, 2015 and 2022. He was the RA Hoop Zone Coach of the Year twice and received a Merit Award in March 2025 by the CIAC.
A founder of the CT Trotters youth basketball program, McMahon also guided the Golden Bears baseball team to 143 wins over nine seasons and the 2008 Class S state title.
A former standout at UConn-Waterbury and coach at Naugatuck Valley Community College, McMahon is a fifth-grade teacher in Thomaston.
Chris Lindwall (high school coach)
A 21-year tenure as a high school coach (eight years) at Joel Barlow-Redding and St. Joseph-Trumbull (13 years, 156-87), Lindwall compiled a 342-56 overall record, four divisional titles in the South-West Conference and four Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference crowns.
The Trumbull resident guided Joel Barlow to the 1995 state title and guided the Cadets to the 2015 state title becoming the only coaching girls basketball history to win titles at two different schools. He also earned two other runner-up plaques in 1998 and 2022.
An assistant at Fairfield University for seven years, Lindwall and the 2001 team were inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2018. He is currently the athletic director at Lauralton Hall in Milford.
Mark Jaffee (honorary)
A New York City native and 1984 University of Bridgeport graduate, Jaffee devoted 44 years as a daily newspaper writer at the Bridgeport Post-Telegram, New Haven Journal-Courier/Register, Meriden Record-Journal, Middletown Press and nearly 30 years at the Waterbury Republican American.
An advocate for scholastic and women's college basketball, Jaffee covered many of the elite teams in New Haven in the 1980s, including Wilbur Cross, Westbrook, Branford, Guilford, and Southington in the mid-1990s and Holy Cross-Waterbury, Naugatuck, Thomaston, Wamogo-Litchfield, Northwestern-Winsted and Pomperaug-Southbury over the past quarter century in western Connecticut and Litchfield County.
Jaffee was the beat writer for the 1987 NCAA Division II national champion University of New Haven women's team and was at courtside when Killingly's Tracy Lis broke Walter Luckett of Bridgeport's all-time scoring record.
A Cheshire resident, he was inducted into the CHSCA Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012 for long-term service to scholastic sports.