The defending conference champion Trumbull Golden Eagles wrapped up another remarkable regular season with their 19th victory on Wednesday and will be the No. 1 seed when the the FCIAC girls basketball tournament tips off with the quarterfinal round on Saturday.
Seven of the eight tournament teams had been determined heading into Wednesday’s final day, when the Darien Blue Wave became the final playoff team in the door. Darien defeated the Westhill Vikings 62-34, and that, coupled with Ludlowe’s 41-38 loss at Warde, gave the Wave the No. 8 seed.
The No. 2 and 4 seeds — Wilton and Norwalk respectively — are hosting quarterfinal doubleheaders on Saturday. As the top seed, Trumbull earned the right to host two quarterfinals, but because Trumbull High School is hosting the CIAC Class LL wrestling tournament this weekend, the girls basketball games were moved to the home court of the No. 4 seed.
Here’s are the match-ups for the FCIAC quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 17:
Games at Norwalk HS
No. 5 Stamford (12-4) at No. 4 Norwalk (13-3), noon
No. 8 Darien (9-7) vs. No. 1 Trumbull (15-1), 2 p.m.
Games at Wilton HS
No. 6 Ridgefield (12-4) vs. No. 3 Warde (13-3), noon
No. 7 Staples (11-5) vs. No. 2 Wilton (13-3), 2 p.m.
Trumbull took the No. 1 seed with the best overall record. Their only loss this season was to the Ridgefield Tigers and they’ve won seven straight since that defeat.
In a match-up of two playoff-bound teams, the Ridgefield Tigers edged the Norwalk Bears, 40-37, and that result had a domino effect on the second through fourth seeds, as Norwalk dropped from second to fourth, and both Wilton and Warde each moved up one spot.
The Wilton Warriors, Warde Mustangs, and Norwalk Bears all finished with league records of 12-4, and their tie could not be broken head-to-head, as all three teams ended up 1-1 against the other two.
The tiebreaker them moved to the quality wins scenario, which needed three steps: All three teams lost to No. 1 Trumbull and defeated No. 5 Stamford, but the difference was their result against No. 6 Ridgefield, as Wilton and Warde each defeated the Tigers, and Norwalk had today’s loss in Ridgefield.
That caused Norwalk to slip to the No. 4 seed which still makes the Bears a quarterfinal host.
Wilton took the No. 2 seed based on its head-to-head win over Warde, and the Mustangs are the No. 3 seed.
Stamford, which tied Ridgefield at 12-4, is the No. 5 seed, with Ridgefield at No. 6. Stamford defeated Ridgefield during the regular season and thus earned the tiebreaker.
Staples, at 11-5, was locked in at No. 7, with Darien finishing 9-7 in the league and taking the No. 8 seed.
