Sports blog: Stamford Sports Scene
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By JOE RYAN

Times Correspondent


STAMFORD -- Just like the season so far, Senior Night could not have gone better for the King girl's basketball team.

The three captains, Briana Brown, Julia Bonnell and Casey Correa, were honored before the game, and then they gave their fans reasons to regret that their time as Vikings is getting short. But younger players like Tatiana Brown, Domonique Carter-Stanley and Sam Karp gave the fans enough reason to feel optimistic that the departure of the seniors will not leave the cupboard bare.

The Vikings raced out to a 23-point lead after 10 minutes had expired in the first half then coasted to a 64-51 win over Greenwich Academy on Friday, Feb. 19 at the King gym.

Brown scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Bonnell scored 12 points and Correa showed off her skills as a playmaker. Meanwhile, Karp and Carter-Stanley each chipped in with eight points as King's winning streak reached 18 since its season-opening loss to Chase Collegiate on Nov. 30.

"I knew we had a strong team -- it was just a matter of playing our game. It's our first FAA (regular season) championship since 1996, so I think we can be pretty proud of ourselves," said Briana Brown. "For the seniors, it was an emotional thing that we are actually seniors and this is our last year here. It's been special, unique, and I love these girls. They are my family."

The Vikings clinched the FAA crown and will open the tournament at home on Monday, Feb. 22, with Greenwich Academy returning with hopes of a better result.

King coach Ervin Thompson knows having seniors like Brown, Bonnell and Correa is a rare occurrence.

"I was thinking about the seniors because I am really going to miss them. I call them my three amigos. They've been together so long," said Thompson. "When you have three like that, the chemistry they have just comes together and they know where each other is going to be (on the court). When you have three like that, it makes my life a lot easier."

Kings jumped out to an early 9-3 lead behind Brown and then went on a 28-11 run to grab a 37-14 lead with six minutes left before intermission. During that span, Correa was effective passing and setting up the offense with five assists while Carter-Stanley came off the bench to toss in six points and add energy.

Joi Spaulding and Galen Hughes were able to pose some problems for the Vikings as they used their height to grab offensive boards and cash in with points, but not enough. Karp heated up from the outside and King went into halftime with a 43-28 lead.

The Vikings opened the second half by scoring the first seven points, forcing Greenwich to take a time-out and regroup after only 78 seconds had ticked off the clock. The time-out did not slow down King, however, as the Vikings expanded their lead to 57-35 with 11 minutes remaining, which allowed Thompson to substitute liberally.

It came down to a matter of time after that as the two teams traded baskets the rest of the way with Greenwich Academy getting no closer than the final margin of 13 points before time ran out.

Greenwich Academy coach O'Neil Medley had nothing but praise for the Vikings as a team and thanked them for including his seniors, Spaulding and Hannah Shaw, in the pre-game celebration.

"They've had a great season -- I tip my hat to them. This is the 18th game they have won in a row and they won the FAA outright. Once again, Briana is tremendous and for all the years that she has been on varsity, she has put her team on her back," said Medley. "I am hoping that we will get to this level, too. It was a classy thing that they did by giving us flowers. As far as my team, they showed a lot of heart today, a lot of effort. They supported each other and this is probably the best basketball that we have played all year long."

The Vikings now will try to carry that level of play into the postseason because their seniors know the end maybe be near but they still have some work to do.

Thompson said he knows winning back-to-back games against any team will be very difficult but he has learned not to doubt his Vikings.

"They are a very tough team, they're young but it will be a battle on Monday," said Thompson. "We came into the season looking to win it all and for us to be 18-1, they made believers out of me."

King defeated Greenwich Academy 76-49 in the FAA playoffs on Monday, Feb. 22, to advance to the league semifinals. The top-seeded Vikings hosted Hopkins in the semis on Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Briana Brown tallied 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals in the quarterfinal victory over Greenwich Academy. Bonnell scored 16 points, Karp added 14 points and Tatiana Brown had seven assists.

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