While most eyes will be on defending national champion UConn during the upcoming NCAA tournament, there is also a chance for some former state high school stars to leave their mark during March Madness.

Leading the way is former Hillhouse star Bria Holmes, the leading scorer for Big 12 co-regular champion West Virginia.

West Virginia is the No. 2 seed in the Louisville regional which is the bracket with the most Connecticut natives taking part i the tournament as Torrington's Sarah Royals is a member of the Albany team that will face West Virginia in the first round,Milford's Casey Dulin and Marist will play meet up with Iowa in the first round while St. John's (featuring former Lauralton Hall star Keylantra Langley and Norwalk native Briana Brown) play Southern California in the first round with the winner getting to play Tennessee (barring a major upset) on the Lady Vols' home court in the second round.

Former Hopkins star Lauren Okafor had a strong game off the bench (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks in 15 minutes) as James Madison rolled to a 70-45 victory over Delaware to win the Colonial Athletic Conference tournament title. JMU gets to play Gonzaga on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in the first round.

Player, School                Yr. Pos. Hometown   Stats                       First-round opponent
Briana Brown, St. John’s Sr., G Norwalk 9.6 PPG, 40 3s            USC, Saturday 6:30 p.m.
Abigail Corning, Fordham Sr., G Wethersfield 12.6 PPG,142 assists  California Saturday 4 p.m.
Casey Dulin, Marist Sr., G Milford 10.9 PPG, 118 assists  Iowa Sunday 8 p.m.
Kastine Evans, Kentucky Sr., G Salem 8.4 PPG, 38 3s    Wright State Saturday 11 a.m.
Bria Holmes, West Virginia So., G New Haven 15.1 PPG, 68 3s           Albany Sunday 3 p.m.
Keylantra Langley, St. John’s Sr., G Bridgeport 6.6 PPG               USC Saturday 6:30 p.m.
Tierney Lawlor, UConn Fr., G Ansonia 1.3 PPG               Prairie View Sunday 8 p.m.
Lauren Okafor, James Madison Jr., F Hamden 5.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 38 blocks Gonzaga Sunday 5:30 p.m.
Sarah Royals, Albany Jr., G Torrington 11.7 PPG, 157 assists    W. Virginia Sunday 3 p.m.