The Tilton School Girls Varsity Basketball team completed an unprecedented season on Tuesday, March 11 with a 57-52 victory in the finals of the Girls Hoop Series National Prep Championship at University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, CT over Western Reserve Academy (OH). The title came just two days after the Rams won the New England Preparatory School Athletic Counsel (NEPSAC) AAA Championship by beating rival Noble & Greenough School in a thrilling, last-second 68-66 triumph. Tilton is the only school to win the National Prep Championship in the event’s two-year history and also the first champion of the newly formed NEPSAC AAA Girls Basketball division, which is the highest level of competition in New England.

“What an unreal finish to an already incredible season,” says Head Coach Tara Brisson. “I don’t have the words to describe how proud I am of each and every one of them. This group of girls that began their work in November became an indestructible team in March.” 

Heading into the inaugural NEPSAC AAA playoffs and their quarterfinal matchup against Dexter-Southfield School as the No. 3 seed, the Rams were playing their best basketball of the season with 11 straight wins — including the program’s 15th Lakes Region regular season championship in the last 16 seasons. The Rams took care of business in the opening round with a 62-51 victory and then earned a 65-43 win over the No. 2 seed Tabor Academy on the road in the semifinals, setting up a rematch of last year’s NEPSAC AA Championship with Nobles.

Hosted at Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT, the NEPSAC AAA Championship game was the team’s third against Nobles in 2024-25, with Tilton having lost both regular season matchups. The Rams came out firing from long-range, with three-pointers accounting for 9 of their first 12 points and propelling them to a 22-13 advantage after the first quarter. The teams traded jabs in the second and third quarters, with Tilton leading 58-50 heading into the fourth. An incredible late run by Nobles tied the game with less than a minute to play — at which point Coach Brisson called a timeout to set up her team’s opportunity to win the game.

“I remember smiling as the team huddled around me in the timeout, which seemed strange because we had just given up a double-digit lead in the final three minutes. Those who know me know I do not smile in those moments, but I did,” recalls Brisson. “I locked eyes with my team and calmly said, ‘That was their run, now it is our time to win.’” Brisson vividly remembers what she saw in the huddle: A team that was not the least bit rattled. They were glued to the board to watch her draw up the final play. “We put our hands in the circle and shouted, ‘Family’ before jogging to our spots for the final 8.7 seconds. I whispered to myself, ‘We got this.’”

As the ball moved to the right wing, Bela Cucuta ’26 collected it in the corner and beat her defender baseline, as she took another dribble she began to lose her footing, as she was falling and the clock was ticking down, Cucuta found Brooke Muller ’26 on the right side of the lane and pushed her the pass. Muller gathered the ball in traffic, turned, and banked in the game’s final bucket with one second remaining, sealing a 68-66 victory for the Rams.

With 11 points in both the semifinals and finals, Hannah Lynch ’25 was named the tournament’s MVP for her work on both sides of the floor and on the glass. In the championship game, Cucuta (22 points, three 3PFG) and Maddie McCaffrey ’26 (16 points, four 3PFG) joined Lynch in double-figures, while Colleen Phiri ’25 chipped in eight points. 

“Hardworking, determined, and united,” said Phiri when asked to describe this year’s team in three words. “I am proud that we were able to fight through the adversity this year. We focused on us and on the people who love and support us. We proved everyone wrong.” 

Not even 24 hours later, the Rams were in West Hartford, CT to defend their National Prep Championship with an opening round matchup against C.O.D.E. Academy (Canada). After falling behind 10-9 in the opening quarter, the Rams only allowed 22 points the rest of the game en route to a 59-32 victory. In the semifinals against Putnam Science, Tilton once again trailed in the opening quarter before going on a 14-3 run in the second quarter. Ultimately, the Rams earned a second straight trip to the National Prep Finals with a final score of 44-32, setting up a matchup with Western Reserve later that evening.

In the season’s final game, the Rams once again got off to a slow start, falling behind 17-5 in the first, and, again, flipped the script in the second quarter to close the gap. Led by Cucuta’s 18 points, Tilton took the lead in the fourth quarter and did not look back as they closed the 2025 National Prep Championship with a 57-52 victory. Cucuta, who earned Tournament MVP honors for her offensive brilliance in the three game showcase (17 ppg, 5rpg, 4apg), was joined in double-figures in the finals by Phiri (17 points) and McCaffery (12 points). 

The championship catapulted Tilton to a staggering 30-4 record — the team’s second straight 30 win season — that included an incredible 17 straight wins. The team did not lose after the calendar turned to February. “We had hard and honest conversations with each other that changed people’s mindsets,” said Phiri about the incredible finish to the season. “We continued to work hard despite the adversity we faced. As we kept playing we realized that if we work hard together and follow a game plan no one in New England could beat us.”

One year after making Tilton the only school in the country to hold claim to both a girls and boys national prep championship, the Rams now stand alone at the height of girls high school basketball.