By David Fierro
Unlike its matchup against Fairfield Warde on Feb. 20th, when it rolled to a 32-point win over the Mustangs, Greenwich High School’s varsity girls basketball team was embroiled in a tight, tense game versus Warde in the FCIAC Tournament semifinals on March 2nd, with only a few points separating the squads throughout.
Points were, indeed, tough to come by in this defensive minded matchup with a trip to the conference final at stake, yet the Cardinals made enough plays down during crunch time in the fourth quarter to prevail, earning a berth to a game they haven’t played in for quite some time.
Sophomore center Zuri Faison scored a game-high 15 points for No. 1-seeded Greenwich, which used a strong defensive effort to edge out fifth-seeded Fairfield Warde in the semifinal-round of the FCIAC Tournament.
The Cardinals (19-2) advanced to the championship game of the FCIAC tourney, where they will play second-seeded Staples tomorrow (March 4) at Fairfield University. The title game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. The Wreckers moved on to the conference final by topping sixth-seeded Stamford, 53-41, in the other semifinal-round game. Greenwich is making its first appearance in the FCIAC final since the 2014-2015 season and has not won the FCIAC Tournament championship since the 1987-1988 season.
Senior forward/captain Mikayla Kiernan scored 10 points, including two clutch 3-pointers and sophomore point guard Elsa Xhekaj added seven points for Greenwich, which was tied with Warde at 9-9 after the first quarter and was knotted up with the Mustangs, 22-22 following three quarters of play.
“It feels really nice to win and to know that we’re going to the finals,” said Kiernan, who gave the Cards a lift on offense when points were difficult to come by, scoring five of the team’s six third-quarter points. “It was definitely a battle.”
Coached by David Danko, the Mustangs received 12 points from sophomore Sofia Hardiman. During its recent regular season game versus Greenwich, Warde absorbed a 57-25 loss. The semifinals was a much different scenario, however, as the Mustangs focused on slowing down the game’s tempo and played a box-and-one on Faison for most of the game, hoping to control the Cards’ overall point total.
“At this point of the year, everybody is a great team,” Greenwich coach Megan Wax said. “We knew that going in, we knew that Dave (Danko) is a great coach and he always has his team well-prepared. We anticipated them slowing them down a little bit, knowing that we’re usually pretty good in transition.”
“Overall, I’m really proud of their perseverance,” Wax said of her squad. “I think we had to try to find alternate ways to score and to stop them defensively in ways that maybe, we haven’t used much all year. Overall, they really stepped up.”
A basket off an offensive rebound by Hardiman gave the Mustangs a 24-22 lead early in the fourth quarter. Then came the game’s pivotal run. Faison tied the score at 24-24 with a foul shot, the Cardinals converted a layup and Xhekaj made a 3-pointer, putting GHS on top, 29-24.
Faison capped a 7-0 run by scoring from the low post, making it 31-24 in favor of the Cards with 3:45 remaining in the final quarter, prompting a Fairfield Warde timeout.
“They are a really good defensive team,” Faison said of Warde. “I feel like I handled the adversity well though. I’m just glad my team stuck together and didn’t let the trouble get to us. We were in our heads for a little bit, but we got out of it.”
Faison scored eight second-half points and for the game, made seven of her eight free throw attempts.
“We just had to stick together and play as one,” Faison said. “It feels nice to make it to the finals, I’m really proud of how far we’ve come.”
Another basket in the post from Faison gave GHS a 33-24 advantage, then Warde scored five straight points to pull to within 33-29. A key steal by Xhekaj in the final minute helped clinch the Cards’ win. Senior guard/forward/captain Madi Utzinger had four points and crashed the backboards hard for rebounds, along with Faison and senior guard/captain Juliette Pelham provided strong defensive play for the victors.
“The environment was energetic and loud, so we just had to come together,” Utzinger said. “We knew that if we trusted in ourselves, we could pull out the win. We just had to stay together, compact and calm. Because everyone was energetic and we knew that once we picked up our game.”
Both teams used a good portion of the 30-second shot clocked during their possessions in the first quarter. Xhekaj swished a 3-point shot from the left shot, tying the score at 9-9 going into the second quarter.
Greenwich, which played man-to-man defense throughout, took a 16-11 halftime behind a 3-pointer from the left corner by Kiernan and a layup from Faison. Though the Cards only managed seven second-quarter points, they bared down on defense, limiting the Mustangs to just one basket for two points.
“That’s a great team, so to hold them to such a small amount of points is great,” Wax noted. “They did a great job as well. I think it was a pretty low scoring game for an FCIAC playoff.”
Warde outscored GHS, 11-6, in the third quarter to forge a 22-22 tie. Senior Ava Feay’s 3-pointer knotted the score for the Mustangs going into the final quarter. Kiernan converted a 3-point shot and followed her own shot for an offensive rebound and basket during the third quarter.
“They are really strong in the middle, which took away our inside game,” Kiernan noted. “So, we all had to execute. We all played really well as a team and were able to play well off one another.”
The Cardinals best moments offensively, came during their 14-point fourth quarter.
“I think it took some time to adapt to what they were trying to do, but once we figured it out we just tried to push the ball more on transition and tried to play our game even though they were slowing us down,” Utzinger said.
Senior Chloe McDonald scored six points on two 3-pointers, while senior Ivy Feay and Rebecca Morris, also a senior, had five points apiece for the Mustangs (14-7).
Greenwich sports a sparkling record of 20-2 entering the FCIAC final versus rival Staples. The Cardinals have won 10 in a row and are having one of their most successful seasons in program history.
“We kind of switched up our defense, but I feel that if we play as a team and communicate, anything can happen,” Xhekaj said of the Cards’ overall performance. “We talk a lot off the court, we’re good friends, so once we get on the court, our communication is fluid and we’re able to get steals, fill in the lanes and play well.”
Greenwich topped Staples, 55-42, at home on Jan. 23 and is hoping to win its first FCIAC Tournament title for the school for the first time in almost 40 years.
“Going into the finals, we’re playing Staples,” Kiernan said. “We played them hard during the regular season and we’re looking to play them just as hard.”
“I’m so excited, I don’t think words can describe how happy I am,” Utzinger said. “Hopefully, we’ll play great on Wednesday.”
Said Xhekaj: “It feels amazing, we have a lot of seniors on our team and we’re going to miss them. So, it’s good to have them go into a big stage on their last year. Hopefully, we come out with a win.”
“We’re happy to represent Greenwich,” Wax noted. “As much as we’re excited for the moment and the opportunity it brings, we’re going to focus on one game, one quarter at a time, which has been our mantra all year – focus on the minute in front of you, the play in front of you and go from there.”
