By all accounts, Chantell Alford was known for her modesty, as the consummate teammate, a 5-foot-8 guard who was also a standout on the track for Wilbur Cross High School. Only Alford, while humble as always, got better every time she stepped on a basketball court, thriving at Boston University where she was the first player in America East Conference history to win Player of the Year honors three times (2011, 2012, 2013).

Joe Mone has spent his coaching career in Bristol, the same town in which he grew up playing basketball at the Bristol Boys’ Club and the place he attended high school, graduating from Bristol Central. For the last 30 seasons, Mone has served as the head coach for the St. Paul Catholic High School girls’ basketball team, accumulating a record of 465-218 (prior to the 2024-25 season) and three state championships.

Kiah Gillespie is among the most decorated women’s basketball players in state history, reaching the pinnacle of the sport at Capital Preparatory Magnet School, Florida State and as a 2020 draft pick of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.

A newspaper colleague of Rick Wilson’s, Steve Barlow of the Waterbury Republican-American, referred to Wilson recently as a “local legend.” Wilson carved that iconic status for himself by not only contributing to the community in one career, but two, serving as a high school history teacher for 35 years and a sportswriter for 44, including stints at the Thomaston Express, Torrington Register Citizen, Litchfield County Times, the Republican-American and currently for Litchfield County Sports.

The big moments for Carfora-Brune, however, were glaring. She is a 2004 graduate of Branford High School, where she was named the New Haven Register Female Athlete of the Year as a senior and later to the GameTimeCT All-Decade Team for 2000-09. She finished with a school-record 1,980 career points, averaging 26 points per game her senior season, and was a McDonald’s All-America nominee and a Street & Smith honorable mention All-American. She was a two-time all-state selection, also earning academic all-state honors, and went on to play at Columbia University, where she was a 3-point specialist.

Sue Tomko, who led then-Southern Connecticut State College to three Final Fours in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national tournament, speaks of taking part in the evolution of women’s basketball. She started out playing the game with three forwards and three guards before progressing to two forwards, two guards and two rovers.

“Basketball???” she said, with the question marks referring to the previous rules of the game. “Finally, 1971 was full-court, real basketball.”

Michelle Martinik Shoop started playing basketball as a third-grader at the recreational level and she’s still involved coaching her own daughter’s rec team in Orange. In between, she’s compiled a hall of fame resume, beginning with her achievements as a two-time all-state player and 1,000-point scorer at Masuk High School and continuing through her playing career at Southern Connecticut State University – the Owls won the 2007 Division II national championship – and as the 13-year head coach of the Amity High School girls’ basketball team.

Kristin Schatzlein’s father, Lee, shot nearly 57% from the floor during his career with the Bryant College men’s basketball team. It’s no surprise then that Kristin, a 2012 graduate of Tolland High School and the Gatorade Connecticut Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year as a senior, spent a lot of time in the gym. While playing for Division I Fairfield University, Schatzlein – nicknamed “Schatz” – would shoot until she made 100 shots from inside the 3-point line and 100 more from outside the arc.