Four teams are just one win away from the finals and you can see them in action on the HAN Network tonight during the 2018 FCIAC girls basketball semifinals from Fairfield-Ludlowe.
Coverage with a pregame shown at 5:50 p.m., with No. 2 vs. No. 3 Warde at 6 p.m., and No. 1 Trumbull vs. No. 5 Stamford at 7:45.
The games can be seen on the home page of FCIAC.net and at HAN.Network, or on Frontier Communications’ Vantage Sports Network (Chs. 600/1600). Frank Granito and Kevin Coleman will be on the call.
After the games are completed, they will be available on demand by clicking here.
The Warde Mustangs (16-4 overall, 13-3 in the FCIAC) defeated the No. 6 Ridgefield Tigers 38-33 on Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals.
In that quarterfinal win, senior captain Olivia Parisi posted a double-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds, as well as five assists. The Mustangs were able to advance back to the semifinals where, last year they fell to Trumbull 36-34 in triple overtime. Warde is also playing without senior captain Libby McKenna who is out with an injury she suffered on Jan. 25 in its 56-46 loss to Staples.
Coach Dave Danko has had his young talent step up this season with strong minutes but will rely on his experienced upperclassmen to punch a ticket to the finals.
The Wilton Warriors (16-4 overall, 13-3 in the FCIAC) defeated the No. 7 Staples Wreckers in the quarterfinals, 57-53 on Saturday afternoon at the Zeoli Field House.
The Warriors were able to hold off the Wreckers thanks to three starters finishing in double figures. Caroline Sweeney led the team with 14 points, Lauren Robertson had 12 points, and Claire Gulbin finished with 11 points.
Wilton, a strong shooting team, also showcased its speed up and down the floor with fast-break points and team defense. The win on Saturday extended the Warriors’ win streak to five games. Head coach Rob Coloney has coached this senior class since they were in middle school and will look to share more memories by bringing home a conference championship.
The second semifinal is a rematch of last season’s FCIAC girls basketball championship game, when Trumbull defeated Stamford 44-35 to claim its first title since 2011.
The Stamford Black Knights (14-6 overall, 12-4 FCIAC) upset No. 4 Norwalk 65-57 in their quarterfinal game on Saturday.
The Black Knights had three starters finish in double figures. The big story was the 30-point performance by the senior captain Brooke Kelly which included 11 free throws and three 3-pointers.
Senior captain Andrea O’Connor had 11 points, and sophomore point guard Megan Landsiedel had 15 points. After reaching the championship game the last two seasons head coach Diane Burns has done a terrific job getting her program back to the conference semifinals considering they lost senior captain Alexa Kellner, who tore her ACL in the beginning of the season.
The Trumbull Eagles (19-1 overall, 15-1 FCIAC) were able to hold off No. 8 Darien 54-46 in their quarterfinal match Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles were led by senior captains Julie Keckler, who had a team high 17 points including four three-pointers, and Aisling Maguire, who had eight points to help the Eagles advance to the semifinals. Trumbull finished the game with eight three-pointers from four players.
Despite losing key starters from last year’s championship team, head coach Steve Tobitsch has retooled his roster and has gotten great minutes out of his young talent. Freshmen Cassi Barbato and Allison Palmeiri have provided great minutes and have shown the future will continue to be bright at Trumbull High.
The HAN Network will also carry the FCIAC championship game on Thurs., Feb. 22, at 7 p.m.