Mercy coach Tim Kohs will be going for his 600th career win Tuesday night in a home game (6:45 p.m.) against Cheshire.
Mercy (8-2) has won four straight games. Only five other high school girls basketball coaches in state history have won 600 or more games – Northwestern’s Fred Williams, Masuk’s Dave Strong, Holy Cross’ Frank Lombardo, Bristol Eastern’s Tony Floyd and the late Nick Economopoulos, who coached at Lyman Hall, East Catholic and Coginchaug.
“The first thing is – you’ve got to coach a long time,” Kohs said. “It’s hard to get 600 in 10 years. It’s a great place to coach, great place to be at. You get good players, good kids, it’s a great school academically, the parents have been great. Perfect place to call home for 33 years.”
Kohs, who was a freshman and junior varsity boys basketball coach at Xavier before going to Mercy, has a 599-208 record and has won three state titles (1996, 2013, 2018) and five SCC championships. His brother Michael coaches the Xavier boys team.
Farmington on fire
With five seniors – including a key volleyball player from the River Hawks’ state championship teams in 2023 and 2024 – and two productive freshmen, Farmington has jumped out to an 8-1 start.
Sydnie Smith, a middle hitter on the volleyball team, and Briella Rich, who tore her ACL as a sophomore but is back, are senior captains.
Meanwhile, freshman Lexi Juliano is the starting point guard and Reese Bishop is another key freshman and juniors Ava Gaudet and Rachel Bergin have been strong contributors to the team.
“Different kids have stepped up every game,” said Jeff Manaresi, in his third season as Farmington’s head coach.
Smith scored 21 in a win over Hall last week. Bishop had 16 in a win over Simsbury. Juliano had 19 in a victory over Windham during the holidays.
The freshmen, Manaresi said, “are kids with a lot of experience, they aren’t intimidated by the older players they encounter and the faster pace and have seamlessly come in and made a huge impact on our team.”
Farmington has also managed to find a way to win games.
“We’ve been down in almost every game,” he said. “Against Hall, we were down 9-0 to start the game. They don’t quit. We play everybody tough. We were down maybe 12 vs. Simsbury. We just find a way to come back.”
Top performances
De’Mya Barrett, Comp Sci: Barrett had 23 points in a 42-39 win over Parish Hill Friday.
Reese Bishop, Farmington: Bishop, a freshman, had 13 of her 16 points in the second half and hit a 3-pointer in the last minute to help Farmington beat Simsbury Friday, 40-36.
Amelia Faienza, New Britain: Faienza had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 68-50 win over Lewis Mills Monday and 12 points and 11 rebounds in a 54-52 win over South Windsor Thursday.
Tamia Hewitt, East Granby: Hewitt scored 21 points in 50-35 win over East Windsor Friday.
Reese Jeamel, Coventry: Jeamel had 23 points in a 57-47 victory over Ellington Friday.
Abigail Jensen, St. Paul: Jensen hit five 3-pointers and had 17 points in a 69-49 loss to Holy Cross Tuesday.
Sadie Passante, Morgan: Passante scored 35 points and nine assists, seven rebounds and five assists in a 74-26 victory over Old Lyme.
Maira Rodriguez, Innovation: Rodriguez scored her 1000th career point in a 60-54 win over Weaver and had 21 points, 11 steals and eight assists in the win on Thursday.
Addison Tabb, Somers: Tabb scored 18 points in a 60-45 win over Stafford Tuesday.
Games to Watch
Cromwell (6-3) at Hale Ray (6-2), Tuesday, 4:30 p.m.: Hale Ray had a revival type season last year, where the Noises made it to the Class S quarterfinals and lost to eventual runner-up Morgan by three. This year, they are continuing that success but looking to bounce back from losing two of the last three to Haddam-Killingworth and Killingly.
Ellington (9-2) at New Britain (9-0), Thursday, 6 p.m.: New Britain is currently on top of the Division I standings after a 54-52 win over South Windsor last week while Ellington won four straight before losing to last year’s Class S champion Coventry last week.
Southington (8-2) at Northwest Catholic (8-1), Friday, 6:45 p.m.: This has been a week of tests for Northwest Catholic, which dropped its first game to Springfield Central (Mass.) Friday at the Hoophall Classic, then faced Holy Cross Monday. Friday, the three-time state champions go up against last year’s Class LL runner-up, Southington.