Porrini Clingan, Stacy

Stacey Porrini Clingan is described by her collegiate coach Joanne P. McCallie as “a warrior of character in all ways.” The former Stacey Porrini, a 6-foot-4 center, played for the women’s basketball team at the University of Maine from 1993-97, where she finished with 1,128 points, 929 rebounds and the first three NCAA tournament appearances in Black Bears history, but more than that McCallie remembers her as a leader, fiercely loyal to the program and the very definition of character.

Clingan lost a hardfought battle with breast cancer on March 27, 2018, at the age of 42, but leaves a lasting legacy, including her children Donovan and Olivia. Donovan, a 7-foot-2 center who followed his mother into the history books while playing at Bristol Central High School and who recently completed his sophomore season as a member of the UConn men’s basketball team — wearing Stacey’s familiar No. 32 — will accept on his mother’s behalf as she is inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

“As a team leader, Stacey was character personified in her actions daily,” said McCallie of Clingan, who was a three-time North Atlantic Conference/America East all-star and captained the Black Bears her senior season. “We all looked up to Stacey for strength and leadership. ... Her consistent leadership and character positively affected all who had the pleasure of knowing her or being a teammate. Stacey worked very hard and was not afraid to dream big. We miss her.”

Prior to her career at Maine, Clingan was a three-sport athlete at Bristol Central from 1989-93, excelling in basketball, swimming and track and field. She set school records in rebounds (1,032) and blocked shots (273), both of which were broken by Donovan in his decorated career, and as a senior she averaged 17 points, 21 rebounds and six blocks per game. She earned all-conference honors in all three sports and was inducted into the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, followed by the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.

Stacey received her undergraduate degree from Maine in elementary education and her master’s from Central Connecticut State University and returned to teach in Bristol at the Ellen P. Hubbell and Greene-Hills elementary schools, raising her family along with husband Bill.

“When she was here, she was always telling me about the memories she had from March Madness and everything that went on,” Donovan Clingan told reporters during UConn’s march to the men’s NCAA tournament championship in 2023. “She was always talking about the parades, the police escorts, all that type of stuff. For me to be here and see what she was saying, in person, it’s crazy.

“I play basketball to make her proud. I wanted to do something to honor her and I feel like basketball was the best fit for me because I love the sport so much and she did, too.”