During the 2019 season, Jayden Burns, taking over the point guard's role for the first time, helped lift the New London High School girls' basketball team to a Class LL state championship berth at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Along the way, she passed the ball more times than it was even possible to count to senior Tai Pagan in the frontcourt, a combination Burns announced this week will remain intact beginning next season as Burns joins Pagan on the Division II Post University women's basketball team.

"I'm really excited," Burns said in a telephone interview this week. "It was a stressful process and decision. A lot of girls might have got in more (recruiting) options if COVID wasn't here. They were the first ones to show interest in me to push it forward. They contacted me last summer and they were, like, right into it. They recruited me. They wanted me on campus real quick.

"... I originally wanted to get on campus. I texted Tai telling her I wanted to be on campus and she said, 'I already talked to the coach about you and your family.' I called her right after. I love that she's able to support and to have her as a big sister there."

Burns spent her freshman season in high school at Norwich Free Academy before transferring to New London, where her dad, Johnny, is the Whalers' football coach.

She immediately made a splash in New London's backcourt along with freshman Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick, as the Whalers finished 25-3 with an Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament title and a fourth state championship appearance in six seasons. Burns played all 32 minutes of the Class LL championship game, setting the stage for the future.

Last season, Burns was named the Whalers' junior captain and averaged 14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game, selected to The Day's All-Area Girls' Basketball Team as well as earning first team All-ECC honors and being named to the GameTimeCT all-state second team.

Thus far the 2020-21 season has been interrupted by the COVID-19 crisis. Competition this season, slated to begin Feb. 8, is limited to 12 games instead of the normal 20.

"I don't know how it's going to end up," Burns said of the coming season. "I've been conditioning, getting in the gym every single day."

She said it was between the middle and the end of her sophomore year, playing point guard for the first time, that she began to feel her game had improved significantly.

"Once I started getting interest to schools, I thought, 'Wow, I can actually do something with this.' ... It was a long process (being recruited). It's like a relief now," Burns said.

Burns, who plans to major in business, received a partial athletic scholarship and a partial merit scholarship at Post, she said.

Post, which had its season canceled this year due to the coronavirus, with all students at the Waterbury school attending classes virtually, was 22-6 last year, 16-3 in the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference, setting a program record for victories and winning the league's North Division for the first time.

Pagan, a 6-foot freshman forward, averaged 9.8 rebounds per game, leading the conference in rebounds (256) and blocked shots (67), recording 13 double-digit rebounding performances and six double-doubles.

The Eagles are coached by Jon Plefka.

v.fulkerson@theday.com