Northwestern to face Gilbert for Berkshire basketball title

Northwestern star Maddie Topa defends Housatonic's Olivia Brooks in the Berkshire League semifinal Feb. 21.

Photo by Riley Klein

Northwestern to face Gilbert for Berkshire basketball title

WOODBURY — The two leading scorers in Berkshire League history will face off in the 2025 championship game

Emily Arel and Gilbert School will play Maddie Topa and Northwestern Regional High School for the BL title Feb. 26.

Arel and Topa are the only two girls players ever to score more than 2,000 varsity points in the Berkshire League. Arel, the league leader for both boys and girls, upped her career total to 2,328 after the semis.

The semifinal games were played as a double-header at Nonnewaug High School Friday, Feb. 21.

Northwestern's Emma Maltby and Housatonic's Tessa Dekker matched up against each other Feb. 21.Photo by Riley Klein

Northwestern got the action started with a 54-34 win over Housatonic Valley Regional High School. HVRHS looked to repeat the defensive dominance that helped them beat Northwestern earlier in the season, but the Highlanders could not be stopped in the semis.

Topa scored a game-high 19 points for Northwestern, 15 of which came in the second half. HVRHS was led offensively by Kylie Leonard, Daniela Brennan and Maddie Johnson, who each scored seven points.

Mackenzie Janco, No. 4, high-fives Maddie Topa as Northwestern secures its return ticket to the BL title game.Photo by Riley Klein

Gilbert played Thomaston High School for the second semifinal game. Gilbert built a comfortable lead but Thomaston started to claw back late. Arel took over in the fourth quarter and iced the 58-48 win, securing a spot for Gilbert in the title game.

Gilbert will look to deny Northwestern from going back-to-back in the championship game Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Nonnewaug at 7 p.m.

The last time these two teams met was on Feb. 7, when Gilbert won in overtime and Arel and Topa combined for 91 points in a thriller.

Emily Arel, No. 5, and Gilbert School will take on Northwestern in the Berkshire League championship Feb. 26. Photo by Riley Klein

Latest News

Hotchkiss lacrosse ices Kingswood Oxford 19-0

LAKEVILLE — The Hotchkiss School opened the girls varsity lacrosse season with a big win in the snow against Kingswood Oxford School.

The Bearcats won 19-0 in a decisive performance March 26. Twelve different players scored for Hotchkiss, led by Coco Sheronas with four goals.

Keep ReadingShow less
HVRHS releases second quarter honor roll

FALLS VILLAGE — Principal Ian Strever announces the second quarter marking period Honor Roll at Housatonic Valley Regional High School for the 2024-2025 school year.

Highest Honor Roll

Grade 9: Parker Beach (Cornwall), Mia Belter (Salisbury), Lucas Bryant (Cornwall), Addison Green (Kent), Eliana Lang (Salisbury), Alison McCarron (Kent), Katherine Money (Kent), Mira Norbet (Sharon), Abigail Perotti (North Canaan), Karmela Quinion (North Canaan), Owen Schnepf (Wassaic), Federico Vargas Tobon (Salisbury), Emery Wisell (Kent).

Keep ReadingShow less
Thomas Ditto

ANCRAMDALE — Thomas Ditto of Ancramdale, born Thomas David DeWitt Aug. 11, 1944 in New York City changing his surname to Ditto at marriage, passed peacefully on Pi Day, March 14, 2025. He was a husband, father, artist, scientist, Shakespeare scholar, visionary, inventor, actor, mime, filmmaker, clown, teacher, lecturer, colleague, and friend. Recipient of numerous grants, awards and honors in both the arts and sciences, a Guggenheim and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow, he was a creative genius beyond his time. In addition to authoring scores of papers, he held several patents and invented the first motion capture system and the Ditto-scope, a radically new kind of telescope. He was a pioneer in computer generated video, film, and performance.

When not hard at work, he was always there to help when needed and he knew how to bring smiles to faces. He loved his family and pets and was supportive of his wife’s cat rescue work.

Keep ReadingShow less
Winifred Anne Carriere

SHARON — Winifred Anne Carriere passed away on March 6, 2025, at the age of 87. A resident of Sharon for many years, she later retired to Ancramdale, New York.

Born in New Haven to writers Albert Carriere and Winifred Osborn, Anne grew up in New York City. Raised in a Quaker family, she attended Friends Seminary, and The University of Wisconsin. Anne studied American Architectural History through Bard College’s University Without Walls. For her degree, she wrote a comprehensive history of the architecture of Sharon during its first hundred years.

Keep ReadingShow less