Lori Riley

Storrs

Hartford Courant sports writer who covers high school sports, running, Olympic sports, always looking for good stories to write.

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Articles

Fifty years ago, Newington’s Bill Rodgers shocked everyone when he raced to Boston Marathon title

5 days ago | courant.com | Lori Riley

Fifty years ago, Jack McDonald had followed Bill Rodgers’ progress at the Boston Marathon from Natick to Boston College to Cleveland Circle. But when Rodgers got close to the finish line near the Prudential Center, McDonald couldn’t see him anymore. So he climbed a tree.
A CT athlete started losing her sight as a child. That didn’t stop her from becoming an ace pitcher

6 days ago | courant.com | Lori Riley

CHESHIRE – In her first month of her first full season as the starting pitcher for the Cheshire softball team, Jenica Matos threw a no-hitter against Southington, one of the state’s top teams of the last decade. Matos was only a sophomore. She ended the season with her team in the Class LL state championship game, where the Rams lost to Fairfield Ludlowe, 3-2, in 10 innings. She had 343 strikeouts in 168 innings and a 0.91 ERA.
National champion UConn women receive heroes’ welcome at Gampel

2 weeks ago | courant.com | Lori Riley

• None Victoria Roukas from New Jersey looks through 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball National Champion UConn Huskies shirts at the UConn Bookstore on the Storrs Campus on Monday, April 7, 2025. Victoria and her friend, Lisa Little, drove up from New Jersey Monday morning to attend the Championship Welcome Home Rally.
Gampel Pavilion rocks as UConn women capture 12th national championship

2 weeks ago | courant.com | Lori Riley

STORRS – The basketball capital of the world was rocking Sunday afternoon. When Paige Bueckers came out of the national championship game at Amelie Arena in Tampa – with her first NCAA title well in hand – and hugged UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, the students inside Gampel Pavilion screamed and screamed. There may have been some tears in the crowd as a clearly emotional Bueckers hugged everyone down the UConn bench.
Gampel Pavilion rocks as UConn women capture 12th national championship

2 weeks ago | sports.yahoo.com | Lori Riley

STORRS – The basketball capital of the world was rocking Sunday afternoon. When Paige Bueckers came out of the national championship game at Amelie Arena in Tampa – with her first NCAA title well in hand – and hugged UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, the students inside Gampel Pavilion screamed and screamed. There may have been some tears in the crowd as a clearly emotional Bueckers hugged everyone down the UConn bench.
Cheshire softball avenges state championship loss on opening day

2 weeks ago | courant.com | Lori Riley

FAIRFIELD – It was cold, raw and damp; not softball weather at all Saturday morning as the Cheshire High softball team took the field on opening day. But the Rams had been through five scrimmages in this kind of weather during the preseason and were also motivated by the fact that they had lost to Fairfield Ludlowe, their first opponent of 2025, last June in extra innings in the Class LL championship game. Cheshire senior first baseman Bailey Vitanza remembered that game very clearly.
High school baseball preview: Southington looks tough; Coventry has a new coach

2 weeks ago | courant.com | Lori Riley

The Southington baseball team added a top pitcher, Logan Rembish, who transferred from St. Paul, and Coventry, which won a Class S title last year, has a new coach, as high school baseball season opens Saturday in Connecticut. Originally Published: April 4, 2025 at 6:36 PM EDT
High school softball preview: Southington’s new coach; Ellington, Cheshire return top pitchers

3 weeks ago | courant.com | Lori Riley

Over the last 10 years, Davina Hernandez led the Southington softball team to 228 wins and five state titles. But Hernandez resigned last fall to spend more time with her family and her assistant, Michelle Boisvert, has taken over the team, which lost in the Class LL semifinals last year to Cheshire. Boisvert played basketball and softball in college and was a basketball coach at the high school and college level for years before joining Hernandez 10 years ago as part of the Southington program.
Onto the Final Four: UConn women enjoy the moment, then it’s back to work

3 weeks ago | saratogian.com | Lori Riley

The UConn women's basketball team enjoyed celebrating its return to the Final Four, the program's 16th trip in the last 17 years, with a 78-64 win over USC Monday night in the NCAA Tournament Spokane 4 regional final but will get back to work quickly as the national semifinal game vs. UCLA looms Friday. Originally Published: April 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM EDT
‘We stepped up to the challenge’: UConn women handle USC’s post players; face major threat vs. UCLA next

3 weeks ago | saratogian.com | Lori Riley

UConn's post players – Sarah Strong, Ice Brady, Jana El Alfy and Aubrey Griffin came in deep off the bench – to help stop USC's bigs in the Huskies' 78-64 victory over the Trojans Monday night in the NCAA Tournament Spokane Region 4 final. Originally Published: April 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM EDT