Katelyn Linney scored 18 points, including four three-pointers, to lead the Fairfield women's basketball team in a 74-48 victory over Rhode Island in the season opener for both teams.

The most prolific scorer in the history of North Providence High School basketball has just gotten her collegiate basketball career off to a tremendous start. Averaging 14.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game in her first season at Rhode Island College, guard Stephanie Coro was named the 2009 Little East Conference Rookie of the Year, while also earning second-team All-Little East Conference honors, as well as a spot on the LEC All-Rookie team with former Coventry standout Rachel Riley.

After battling the Eagles inside, University of South Florida guard Janae Stokes decided to play outside, drilling five 3-pointers to lead the Bulls to an 82-65 victory over Boston College last night in a WNIT semifinal at Conte Forum. South Florida (26-10) kicked off the game in attack mode, scoring the first points on two steals within a minute of each other by freshman guard Jasmine Wynne (19 points). Although BC (23-12) seemed off-balance from the start, the Eagles countered the Bulls' defensive energy by winning the boards, totaling 22 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Boston College’s Stefanie Murphy is reveling in her March moments. The 6-foot-4 sophomore forward from Londonderry, N.H., started a numerically rewarding run during the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and it has carried over in the Eagles’ drive for the Women’s NIT title. BC (23-11) will host South Florida (25-10) in the semifinals tonight at 7 at Conte Forum. If the Eagles prevail, they will hit the road to play the winner of the Illinois State vs. Kansas game on Saturday.

TRENTON, N.J. — - On a day such as this, the most important of the season so far, it seemed appropriate that the players who carried the No. 1 UConn women to this point would carry them one step further. Ask any of the 36 teams the Huskies faced prior to Arizona State who they feared the most. Invariably, the answer would be the same — Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles. On Tuesday afternoon, they were named Associated Press All-Americans. Moore and Montgomery were first team.

USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan was right last week when she wrote that President Obama should have filled out both men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament bracket sheets. Of course the president has a lot more important things to worry about than a basketball tournament, but if Obama is going to make a big deal about his bracketology, he should have picked both men’s and women’s teams.

“Passion and hard work are the keys to life,” former La Salle standout Kate Lynch told the current generation of girls basketball players who gathered at the West Valley Inn in West Warwick last week for the Rhode Island High School Girls’ Basketball Coaches’ Association 31st annual Awards Banquet.

LINCOLN – Be present. Be on time. Be prepared. Be cooperative. “Employability skills really count,” students are reminded each time they walk into any classroom at the William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical School in Lincoln. A mission statement also posted in every classroom encourages them to be “lifelong learners,” “productive team members” and “responsibly engaged citizens.” The words “pride,” “desire” and “respect” hang on the walls of Gaskin Alumni Hall, reminding athletes how they are expected to conduct themselves each time they step onto the basketball court.

It may have been a winter of disappointment from Wall Street to Main Street, but at least Rhode Island’s high school winter sports athletes provided us with a lot special moments over the past three-plus months. There’s never enough room to herald all of the great accomplishments of the state’s student-athletes but here are a few that stood out for me.

The Lady Rams All-State star closed out her high school career with an MVP performance in the Credit Union Classic Division I girls state tournament. Her 21 points and 12 rebounds led La Salle to the 59-48 victory over Bay View in the title game, giving the Rams their third straight state championship.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN –– Same opponent. Same result. Facing Bay View for the third straight year, La Salle captured its third straight championship, this time defeating the Bengals, 59-48, in the title game of the Credit Union Division I Girls Basketball Championship at the Ryan Center. Although she played a prominent role in each of the other two finals, Jameilia Dillon without a doubt saved the best for last. Giving her team the lead for good with about six minutes left to play in the first half, the senior forward — and tournament MVP — poured in 21 points and grabbed nearly a dozen rebounds in the final game of her high school career.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN –– Sparked by freshmen, buoyed by a sophomore and steadied by juniors, the Woonsocket girls won their city’s first state basketball championship Sunday. And the Villa Novans’ convincing 55-42 triumph over two-time defending champion Barrington in the Credit Union Division II Girls Basketball Championship was a victory for their community as much as for the players and coaches on their team. "A lot of us help out at the Y. We're their role models. A lot of them were here today," junior co-captain Brooke Coderre said. She contributed 11 points to the winning effort and was named the tournament’s MVP.

SOUTH KINGSTOWN –– Having once experienced it himself as a member of the Central Falls boys basketball team that won the 1987 Class C Championship, Warriors girls basketball coach Joe Handy wanted nothing more than to see his players experience for themselves the thrill of not only making it to the title game, but also going home with the championship trophy. Handy got his wish. And what a thrill it was.

They established themselves as the top teams in their respective divisions during the regular season, and yesterday they each gave some solid indications as to how they arrived there. Woonsocket, the top seed out of II-North, and II-South champion Prout will face off in the first semifinal Wednesday night (6:30) after posting quarterfinal victories in yesterday’s Credit Union Classic Basketball Championships at RIC.

JOHNSTON — He says the light-bulb moment happened about three weeks ago. His team was playing Smithfield when Johnston girls basketball coach Chris Corsinetti says he sensed that "something clicked" with his players. "They had always worked hard in practice before that, but the hard work didn’t always translate once they got into games. It was like they didn’t realize they could win," he said. "But I think something clicked at some point and they said, 'Listen, we can do this.' "

The brackets for this year’s Rhode Island Interscholastic League Girls Basketball playoffs were finalized over the weekend, but not before a number of division races were finally settled in the last week of the regular season. The I-Central title was on the line when Cranston West hosted Bay View in the regular-season finale for both teams last Thursday. Both sported 15-2 records and were tied for the top spot going into the matchup.

GAME OF THE DAY As fate would have it, Central Falls and Hope –– the top two teams in Division III girls basketball –– wrapped up their regular season in a head-to-head game for first place. Tied at 45 apiece with less than a minute left, CF’s Valerie Biascochea was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made two of three from the line to give the Warriors a 47-45 victory and the title. Central Falls freshman Brianna Cooley tied the score on a steal and a layup prior to Biascochea’s game-winning foul shots. Cooley finished with nine steals. The Blue Wave opened the game with 13 straight points. The Warriors tied it by halftime but trailed by as many as six points with three minutes remaining. Freshman Ana Rodriguez led the Warriors with 22 points and 24 rebounds. Biascochea had 8 points and 20 rebounds. Central Falls finished the regular season at 13-1 and Hope fell to 12-2.

As fate would have it, Central Falls and Hope –– the top two teams in Division III girls basketball –– wrapped up their regular season in a head-to-head game for first place. Tied at 45 apiece with less than a minute left, CF’s Valerie Biascochea was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made two of three from the line to give the Warriors a 47-45 victory and the title. Central Falls freshman Brianna Cooley tied the score on a steal and a layup prior to Biascochea’s game-winning foul shots.

North Kingstown swept the season series from first-place South Kingstown as the Skippers built a 10-point second-half lead and never looked back in a 41-33 Division I-South girls basketball win Monday night.