Norwich - It was suggested that New London might have something to prove in trying to knock off three-time Eastern Connecticut Conference girls' basketball tournament champion and No. 1 seed Norwich Free Academy.

"They don't have to prove anything," NFA coach Bill Scarlata said with a laugh. "They're defending state champs."

NFA (21-1) will try to hold off second-seeded New London (20-2) in tonight's league tournament championship game at 7 p.m. at NFA. The game will also be livestreamed on www.theday.com, starting with a pregame show at 6:45.

The Wildcats beat New London in last year's title game 53-45, the 15th in 22 seasons under Scarlata, and again on Jan. 21, 53-42, also in Norwich.

NFA is ranked fifth in the New Haven Register Top 10 poll and New London, the defending Class M champion, is ninth.

Scarlata predicted following this year's regular-season meeting that the teams would be tough to beat by anyone else in the ECC due to their configuration.

"Both teams have two bigs and three guards," Scarlata said following Wednesday night's semifinal win over Plainfield. "... I think that's what people expected it to be."

New London had a pair of close games leading up to the final. The Whalers beat Ledyard 56-35 in the quarterfinals, but trailed by a point at halftime, needing a 16-0 run in the third quarter to pull away. And in the semifinals against Stonington, New London trailed by seven entering the fourth quarter and still led by only three with 7.5 seconds remaining in an eventual 48-43 win.

"The jitters," said New London forward Charee Osborne of the team's early lapses. "We're just so excited. That's what's taking so long."

"They haven't been in that situation too many times," first-year New London coach Holly Misto said of the deficit against Stonington. "At halftime, they hadn't been to the free throw line once. They needed to be more aggressive."

NFA, meanwhile, has had an easier path to the final. The Wildcats beat Tourtellotte 50-26 in the quarterfinals, leading 42-5 at halftime.

In the semifinals, sophomore Hailey Conley finished with six 3-point field goals, leading the team with 20 points in a 64-32 victory over Plainfield. NFA led 63-26 with 6:32 to play before Scarlata once again removed all five starters.

"I'm hoping it's because we're playing well," Scarlata said. "If we're playing well, everything will work out."

Olivia Lane, now a senior, was the Most Valuable Player of last year's ECC tournament with 14 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots for NFA, which finished 20-for-27 from the free throw line. There were seven lead changes and five ties in the first half.

New London is bidding to win its first tournament title since 1998.

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday