WATERBURY - The Woodland boys basketball team has been perfect through the first 22 games of this season.

If the Hawks want to get to 23-0 and win the program's first Naugatuck Valley League championship, however, they will need to get through three-time defending champion WCA in Saturday's final at 3:15 p.m. at Wilby High School.

"Here they are," Woodland coach Ryan Sullivan said, referring to WCA. "Like we said at the beginning of the year, to be the best you've got to beat the best, and they've been the best for the past three years. Yeah, they had a tough beginning of the season, but they've turned it around and it should be a great matchup."

In the lone regular-season meeting between the teams, Woodland escaped with a 59-56 win over WCA on Jan. 31 in Beacon Falls.

WCA, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, outlasted No. 7 Crosby 67-64 in the first semifinal game Friday inside the Reggie O'Brien Gymnasium. 

"It was a dogfight down to the very end, and it was going to come down to who had the ball last. Thankfully, we had it last," WCA coach Ronan O'Leary said. "A free throw would have been nice there to make it a four-point game, but we'll take it whatever way we can. I'm just glad we came out on the right end of it."

No. 1 Woodland pulled away from No. 4 St. Paul 63-50 in the second semifinal. 

The NVL girls basketball final tips at 1 p.m. at Wilby, and will feature No. 1 Seymour against No. 2 Ansonia in a battle of the league's best teams. Seymour and Ansonia split their regular-season meetings, with both teams winning at home.

The Wildcats won the first matchup 64-53 on Jan. 7 in Seymour. The Chargers struck back with a 49-47 triumph on Feb. 6 in Ansonia.

NVL Boys Semifinals

No. 6 WCA 67, No. 7 Crosby 64:In a game where lead changes were aplenty and neither team could get a good foothold, the Spartans did just enough to get past the Bulldogs. Crosby's defense forced WCA into a five-second call in the game's final minute, but the Spartans turned the tables on the Bulldogs on an inbound with 2.3 seconds left. Six-foot-five junior Ethan Blaize hounded the inbounder and forced the call.

"Whatever we need him to do, he does," O'Leary said. "He's grown in confidence throughout the year, recovering from his (ACL) injury. It was like a Christmas present getting him back this year. It's tremendous."

Alex Turner led three WCA players in double figures with 17 points. Maekhi Weaver scored 16 points and Blaize added 11. The Spartans improved to 11-11.

Crosby's Julien Benjamin led all scorers with 24 points. Jamir Jackson had 17 points and Casleem Washington added 11 for the Bulldogs, who fell to 11-11.

No. 1 Woodland 63, No. 4 St. Paul 50:Like in their regular-season matchup, the Falcons stayed close to the Hawks through three quarters. Woodland led 42-38 then later saw its advantage cut to a single point 48-47 on a Nick Leggett 3-pointer. Justin Pringle responded with a 3-pointer of his own to get the Hawks back up four points 51-47. After that, Woodland outscored St. Paul 12-3 to end the game.

"We're built for the fourth quarter. It always comes down to the fourth quarter. We've preached that all year, the kids have bought into it," Sullivan said. "We're able to get our guys rest, so they're fresh for the fourth quarter, and it's like they just believe in it. They can't wait to get to it. 

"If they've got a lead, they're going to hold onto it. The defense is going to come alive, that's going to trigger our offense, and then good things are going to happen."

John Napiello led all scorers with 20 points for Woodland. Ean Pringle tallied 14 points and James Scampolino added 13, included the 1,000th of his career. Scampolino reached the milestone on a mid-range jumper with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter. The game was stopped, and Scampolino was recognized for his accomplishment.

Sean McMahon led St. Paul with 17 points and Leggett added 14.

NVL Girls Semifinals

No. 2 Ansonia 47, No. 3 Torrington 32:The Chargers (21-1) showed terrific balance in their win over the Raiders in the first semifinal of the evening at Torrington High School.

Darnaija Cooks had a team-high 12 points, followed by Jennifer Palmer with 11, Molly Lynch with 9, Weston Ahearn with 8 and Triston Ahearn with 7.

Ellie Goodwin paced Torrington (15-7) with 10 points.

No. 1 Seymour 57, No. 4 Holy Cross 36:The Wildcats used an 18-6 third quarter to pull away from the Crusaders in the second semifinal.

Mia Perry and Viktoria Michalczyk each scored 14 points to lead Seymour (20-2). Mia Cunningham added 13 points for the Wildcats, who led 47-27 after three quarters.

Holy Cross (13-9) got a game-high 15 points from Mia Mattaboni in the loss.

BOYS BOX SCORES

WCA 67, Crosby 64

CROSBY     22 11 19 12-64
WCA            19 12 20 16-67

Crosby (11-11): Casleem Washington 3 1 2-4 11, Julien Benjamin 6 2 6-11 24, Jamir Jackson 7 0 3-6 17, Nyziah Tutson 0 0 0-0 0, Glyn Wallace 0 0 0-0 0, Raquim Chapman 2 1 0-0 7, Lorenzo Rodriguez 0 0 0-2 0, William Dickson 1 1 0-0 5. Totals: 9 5 11-23 64.
WCA (11-11):Anthony Rodriguez 0 2 0-0 6, Maekhi Weaver 7 0 2-3 16, Juel Robinson 1 1 4-4 9, Alex Turner 5 1 4-6 17, Axel Colon 0 0 0-0 0, Marcellus Robinson 0 2 2-5 8, Ethan Blaize 5 0 1-1 11. Totals: 18 6 13-19 67.
3-point field goals: C-Washington 1, Benjamin 2, Chapman 1, Dickson 1; W-Rodriguez 2, J. Robinson 1, Turner 1, M. Robinson 2.

Woodland 63, St. Paul 50

ST. PAUL            10 15 13 12-50
WOODLAND    12 16 14 21-63

St. Paul (15-7): Sean McMahon 3 2 5-7 17, Max Cappetto 0 0 0-0 0, Ashton Bip 0 0 0-0 0, Liam Gaffney 1 0 0-0 2, Cooper Antolini 2 1 0-1 7, Evan Judenis 1 0 0-0 2, Jack Dennehy 0 0 0-0 0, Nick Leggett 5 1 1-3 14, Matt Fiorito 0 0 0-0 0, Coby Dagata 4 0 0-2 8. Totals: 16 4 6-13 50.
Woodland (22-0): Markell Brown 2 0 0-0 4, John Napiello 4 1 9-15 20, James Scampolino 3 2 1-2 13, Allen Quayson 0 0 0-0 0, Jacob Trumbley 0 0 0-0 0, Ean Pringle 4 1 3-5 14, Grant Mullin 0 0 0-0 0, Benjamin Pugliese 0 0 0-0 0, Evan Mastropietro 0 0 0-0 0, Aiden Pringle 3 0 0-0 6, Justin Pringle 1 1 1-2 6. Totals: 17 5 14-24 63.
3-point field goals: S-McMahon 2, Antolini 1, Leggett 1; W-Napiello 1, Scampolino 2, E. Pringle 1, J. Pringle 1.

GIRLS BOX SCORES

Ansonia 47, Torrington 32

TORRINGTON    8   6 12  6-32
ANSONIA             6 12 16 13-47

Torrington (15-7):Stephanie Duman 1 0 2, Bri'ajah Copeland 0 0 0, Chloe Robinson 0 0 0, Piper Battistoni 1 0 2, Kailyn Castillo 3 0 7, Piper Robinson 1 0 2, Avery Goodwin 0 0 0, Ellie Goodwin 4 2 10, Annabel O'Marra 3 1 9. Totals: 13 3 32.
Ansonia (21-1):Jennifer Palmer 3 5 11, Zoe Dombroski 0 0 0, Weston Ahearn 3 1 8, Molly Lynch 2 5 9, Triston Ahearn 3 0 7, Darnaija Cooks 3 4 12. Totals; 14 15 47.
3-point goals:   T-Castillo 1, O'Marra 2. A-W. Ahearn 1, T. Ahearn 1, Cooks 2.

Seymour 57, Holy Cross 36

HOLY CROSS   10 11   6   9-36
SEYMOUR        19 10 18 10-57

Holy Cross (13-9):Mia Mattaboni 6 3 15, Carly Kerrigan 0 0 0, Raniya Young 1 0 2, Reese McGarrity 1 0 2, Amelia Mowad 0 0 0, Quinn Barry 4 1 9, Angie Shivas 3 2 8. Totals: 15 6 36.
Seymour (20-2): Mia Perry 2 10 14, Bella Melissano 2 0 5, Mia Cunningham 6 1 13, Viktoria Michalczyk 3 6 14, Colbie Drezek 1 0 3, Valentina Melissano 1 0 2, Jamie Keough 2 2 6, Jenna Pollastro 0 0 0, Arianna Roxo 0 0 0, Ava Tecci 0 0 0, Alyssa Rivera 0 0 0. Totals:17 19 57.
3-point goals: S-B Melissano 1, Michalczyk 2, Drezek 1. HC-none.

This article originally published at Undefeated Woodland to play WCA in NVL boys final; Seymour and Ansonia face off for girls title.