UNCASVILLE — As Hailey Mayo delivered the first basket of Sunday's CIAC Class S tournament championship game for the Coventry girls basketball team, the Patriots' fans — including more than 50 supporters who came out for the freshman center — roared their approval.
In the middle of them all, Mayo's mother Emily breathed a sigh of relief.
Early in the morning she recalled playing for Putnam against Thomaston in the 1993 Class S final at Central Connecticut's Detrick Gymnasium and her struggles shooting the ball in a larger venue and urged her daughter to not be intimidated playing inside 9,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena.
"Why did you have to tell me this?" Hailey Mayo said.
What are moms for?
Playing with a passion and poise beyond her years, Mayo had 18 points and 17 rebounds and with plenty of help from her teammates second-seeded Coventry defeated No. 4 Morgan 49-38 for its first Class S title in 37 years.
"My mom always tells me to go out and kick some butt," Mayo said. "She wants me to play strong because she knows when I do that I'm at my best. She encourages and encourages me and it's awesome. She said, 'Play your game and you'll be fine.'
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"When we walked on the court ... We did a lap around the court just to get a feel and I felt, 'We're not going to lose.' I was so excited. I didn't feel nervous. Sometimes when they're announcing the starting lineups I'll get nervous but once the buzzer goes off I'm ready to go. Getting the first basket was a relief because from there I felt confident that I could score."
Mayo scored six of Coventry's first eight points. After the Huskies used a 12-2 run to take their only lead with 3:25 to go in the second quarter, the Patriots responded with an 8-2 spurt of their own with Mayo's foul-line jumper beating the buzzer for a 23-18 halftime lead.
It would be an advantage they would not relinquish. Her free throw and final basket inside two minutes gave Coventry an insurmountable nine-point lead and the celebration was soon on.
"We all worked together as a team, we were all supportive of each other," Coventry junior co-captain Jianna Foran said. "We were connected.
"Hailey was so strong and composed. And when the defenders collapsed on her she was able to get the ball to us for open shots. She was amazing today."
Her supporters were, too, whether it was cheering for one of her baskets or a rebound, a steal by Foran, a rebound by freshman Reese Jeamel, a 3-pointer by freshman Danielle Wheeler or junior Ava Topliff ... Anything.
They were easy to spot with their Coventry green "Mayo 24" t-shirts led by Hailey's parents Luke and Emily.
"We had over 50 people here today, family, friends, people who love to follow this team and Hailey," Emily Mayo said. "And I never ask them. They want to be here. They just ask when and where and they're here. They make their own shirts. We have a sister-in-law who lives two hours away and she wanted one of the 'Mayo 24' shirts we had and I said, 'Sorry we don't have any more.' But she had 25 made for them and they came tonight.
"We have to split up because we're so big. It's crazy. You can hear them yelling for Hailey. They're as crazy as I am."
Emily Vaillant was a three-sport athlete at Putnam High (Class of 1993). She played in three state championship games, 1993 in basketball and 1991 and 1992 in softball, and the Clippers went 0-3. She went on to play college softball at Assumption in Worcester and is a teacher at Douglas High in Massachusetts. She coached Douglas softball to a state title in 2002.
Her father, Gerry, was an outstanding athlete in Putnam in the mid-60s and was well known amongst the Clippers athletes who followed him and the people in town. His son-in-law, Jim Crabtree, was the All-State point guard on Putnam basketball's 1986 Class S championship team.
A good portion of the Mayo 24 t-shirt team are from Putnam and knew Emily's parents. Her mother, Sandra, died in 2014 and Gerry passed away in 2016.
"My two kids lost their grandparents when they were very young, all of them," Emily Mayo said. "Their grandparents would be so proud of them. But all these people come out and they're aunts, uncles, friends, whoever, and I love them as family. It means a ton to me.
"I know how hard this is. I played in three state championship games in high school. I coached in two state championship games. It's hard. To see Hailey do this as a freshman has been amazing. She has no idea how big this is. She plays because she loves the game. That's what she did today. When she looks back as an adult, she'll realize how big this is."
Hailey Mayo finished her remarkable freshman season averaging a double-double of 15.9 points and 11.4 rebounds to go with 2.0 blocked shots.
She was named to the a North Central Connecticut Conference all-star and Class S All-State honors figure to follow as the Patriots completed the sweep of the NCCC regular season and tournament titles and a state crown.
"Hailey has grown so much," Coventry coach Kevin Clancy said. "She came in after being dominant at the middle school level but was lacking some of the toughness we wanted. She's a tough kid but we needed her to push more. Then we had players like Jianna work with her to bring out that physical toughness. She already is, but she's going to be even more of a force as she gets older."
On deck for Mayo is softball where she hopes to contribute to the two-time reigning Class S champion Patriots this spring.
But the idea of another run to the Sun is already on her mind.
"I really didn't think that I would come this far," Mayo said. "While I thought we could do this at some point I wasn't sure that we would win it all this year without any seniors. But we practiced so hard and we pushed and pushed and pushed. Our practices are harder than games, so we were ready for this.
"And we're going to do it again. We're going to work to get so much better. You'll see."