Stamford stuns Danbury, Ridgefield tops Wilton
WESTPORT — The Stamford girls basketball team has been waiting all season to play a complete game without any stretches of inconsistency.
That game came at the right time as the No. 7 seeded Black Knights upset No. 2 Danbury 55-53 in the FCIAC quarterfinals Saturday at Staples.
Stamford (13-8) will face No. 3 Ludlowe in the semifinals Tuesday at Trumbull.
Stamford sophomore forward Pauline Vlahakis scored a layup with 15 seconds remaining to give the Black Knights the lead.
Vlahakis scored 10 points with six of those coming down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
Danbury’s Amar’Ryi Edwards was fouled with 1.5 seconds remaining, but missed both free throws and a putback attempt at the buzzer fell short.
“(Vlahakis) has come a long way this season. She’s a hard worker and loves the game. I was glad she was able to have some big moments for us out there today,” Stamford coach Diane Burns said. “I am so proud of how focused we stayed this entire game. We had a lot of games where we have done some up and down dives but today they stayed locked in the entire time. The entire team contributed and it was great to see because Danbury is an awesome team.”
Chloe Perrault of Danbury was the game’s high scorer with 18 points with Tenely Wallin adding 12 for the Hatters.
Chloe Sotell led Stamford with 16 points and Madison Lockery had 11.
Stamford was up 28-23 at the half and up by four after three.
Danbury (14-7) tied the game 53-53 on an up-andunder layup by Edwards with 35 seconds left.
The Stamford game plan was to turn up the intensity defensively and limit Danbury’s second-chance opportunities.
“Stepping up on defense and running the floor were our biggest goals,” Lockery said. “It was our job to lock up, get stops and go on a run. We stayed calm in those loud moments an come together. Moving the ball fast, keeping them moving
and making that extra pass was definitely our key.”
RIDGEFIELD 44, WILTON 42
In a rivalry game between teams with contrasting styles, the Ridgefield girls basketball team knew it would be a grind against Wilton in the FCIAC quarterfinals.
The Tigers broke through in the fourth quarter with Kaya Weiskopf scoring 9 of her game-high 20 points over the final eight minutes, helping No. 4 seeded Ridgefield to a 44-42 win over No. 5 Wilton.
Ridgefield will play the winner of No.1 St Joseph against No. 8 Trumbull Tuesday in the Semifinals at Trumbull.
“Fourth quarter it was super important that we didn’t take rushed shots and slowed down our offense.
That got us in rhythm to get better shots and that’s why we were able to do what we did,” Ridgefield senior Kaya Weiskopf said. “Their defense was kind of sinking in (in the fourth quarter) and my range is pretty far. I would tell you that their defense didn’t step far enough out and I was able to get good shots and knocked them down.”
Weiskopf had five 3-pointers in the game.
Wilton tied the game 33-33 with 4:06 left but Weiskopf quickly answered with her second 3-pointer of the fourth quarter and the Tigers never relinquished that lead.
The teams battled through three quarters low-scoring quarters before combining for 32 points in the fourth quarter.
“Honestly I don’t even know what the difference was in that fourth quarter. Both teams were fighting and we made a few more plays,” Ridgefield coach Rob Coloney said. “I coached a lot of those (Wilton) seniors in 6th, 7th and 8th grade and know them well and knew they would give everything in this game because they are talented, tough players.”
Coloney said the experience of his players, which have won back-to-back FCIAC titles, made a huge difference down the stretch.
“Kaya played in big games for us since she was a freshman and knows how to handle herself in those situations,” Coloney said. “Overall, the fact we have kids who have played in these games helps us. St. Joe’s is the same, we played them in the semifinals last year. When you have been in these games before you can draw on that experience.”
LUDLOWE 63, GREENWICH 39
The Ludlowe girls basketball team wasted little time letting everyone know the FCIAC Tournament was a business trip.
The No. 3 seeded Falcons
scored the first 14 points of the game and never let up, rolling to a 63-39 win over No. 6 Greenwich in the FCIAC Quarterfinals.
Ludlowe will face No. 7 Stamford in the semifinals Tuesday night in Trumbull.
Ludlowe (18-3) dominated inside scoring and rebounding, while moving the ball around on offense to create easy baskets.
“The game plan was to play as a team. The past few games we have had this chemistry and we said ‘we aren’t going to come into this first half slow and drooping, we are going to come out and give it to them,’” Ludlowe forward Madison Roman said. “It’s a huge, important thing for our success when we find the open teammate and get it down for that easy basket. We always emphasize the extra pass to push us forward.”
Roman finished with 15 points while Kaleigh Sommers led all scorers with 16 and Caitlin Finnegan added 12.
Roman and center Finnegan controlled rebounds on both ends while Sommers used her length up top to create turnovers and transition opportunities.
Ludlowe took a 36-11 lead into the half, pushing that to 33 points after three quarters.
“We have been talking these last few days about putting in one more inch of effort. And no matter what another team is going to come in and do to us, we are ready to adjust and to anything,: Ludlowe coach Sara Kinsley said. “Our post players are never settling for anything. They just work all the time. We wanted to control possessions and that starts with defensive rebounds.”
RIDGEFIELD 44, WILTON 42
WILTON ............................. 10 8 7 17 — 42
RIDGEFIELD ....................... 8 9 11 15 —44
WLTON
Ashleigh Masterson 5 1-2 11; Katherine Umphred 1 3-4 5; Catherine Dineen 1 -2 3; Elizabeth Copley 5 4-5 15; Leah Martins 2 0-0 6; Brooke Bohacs 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 9-13 42
RIDGEFIELD
Anna Gillan 2 1-2 5; Maya Rubio 4 3-5 11;
Cara Sheafe 2 0-0 4; Kaya Weiskopf 7 1-2 20; Siovhan Moroney 0 2-4 2; Andrea Paz 0 0-0 0; Harley Zins 0 0-0 0; Kate Dowd 0 1-2 1. Totals: 15 8-15 44
3-point field goals: W—Copley 3; Martins 2. R—Weiskopf 5
Fouled out: None
STAMFORD 55, DANBURY 53
STAMFORD ................ 4 13 15 12 15 — 55 DANBURY ..................... 13 10 13 17 — 53 STAMFORD
Chloe Sotell 4 7-7 16; Isabella Edwards 1 0-0 2; Jade Hutchinson 2 0-0 4; Madison Lockery 4 0-0 11; Breanna Jacobs 2 0-1 4; Leonora Lipson 0 0-0 0; Sam Albert 3 2-2 8; Pauline Vlahakis 5 0-2 10 Totals: 21 9-12 55 DANBURY
Cam Froehlich 2 2-3 8; Tenley Wallin 4 3-5 12; Amar’Ryi Edwards 5 1-3 11; Chloe Perreault 8 0-0 18; Viviana Flores 1 0-0 3; Jolie Osborne 0 1-2 1. Totals: 20 7-13 53
3-point field goals: S—Lockery 2; Sotell. D—Perreault 2; Froehlich
Fouled out: S— Sotell
LUDLOWE 63, GREENWICH 39
GREENWICH ....................... 5 6 11 17—39 LUDLOWE ......................... 20 16 19 8—63 GREENWICH
Sophia Sergio 1 1-2 3; Carolyn Frankle 4 2-2 12; Kelly Martyanov1 3-4 5; Kristin Riggs 4 0-0 10; Kayla Anderson 2 0-0 4; Ayanna Davenport 0 0-0 0; Zaniyah Huggins 1 0-0 2; Julia Monteiro 1 0-0 2 Totals: 14 6-8 39 LUDLOWE
Phoebe Shostak 3 0-0 7; Amelia Keresey 0 0-0 0; Kaleigh Sommers 7 2-2 16; Caitlin Finnegan 6 0-0 12; Madison Roman 6 3-6 15; Rory Kudzy 3 1-2 8; Kate Cimador 2 0-0 5. Totals: 27 6-12 63
3-point field goals: G—Frankle 2; Riggs. L—Shostak; Kudzy; Cimador
Fouled out: None