Sports blog: Stamford Sports Scene
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By STEVE GEOGHEGAN

Times Sports Editor


FAIRFIELD -- It wasn't the ending the Trinity Catholic girls basketball team had in mind.

The Lady Crusaders had visions of celebrating an FCIAC Championship and through three-plus quarters against St. Joseph, there was no reason to believe it wouldn't come true. They were ahead 31-27 with 7:47 left in the game.

But their lead evaporated from there as Trinity went scoreless for six minutes of the fourth quarter and the Cadets capitalized, turning a four-point deficit into a 38-31 lead as St. Joseph held on for a 47-38 victory in the FCIAC championship on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Fairfield Ludlowe.

Trinity head coach Tom Kriz said he couldn't fault his team's effort. What it came down to was St. Joseph playing better.

"I'm always proud of my girls," said Kriz, whose team was making its fourth appearance in the finals in five years. "I told them downstairs (in the locker room) that sometimes it's not a story-book ending, but as long as they can walk out of here knowing they gave their all, considering how we started the season (0-2), look where we are."

It was the first loss for the second-seeded Crusaders (19-4) since Jan. 26 and they had their 10-game winning streak snapped. The top-seeded Cadets improved to 21-2 in claiming their first FCIAC crown.

"I think we played extremely well," St. Joseph's fifth-year coach Joe Cavallaro said. "We showed a lot of poise and only had 11 turnovers the entire game."

The Cadets were led by MVP Michele Gorman, who scored 14 points, including 11 in the second half and was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Jess Jowdy paced St. Joseph with 20 points, four assists and no turnovers.

Kelly Andersen came off the bench to score 16 points for Trinity. Mackenzie Griffin tallied 11 points and seven rebounds and Eileen Ornousky had six points and six rebounds.

"We're just all really disappointed," Ornousky said. "We really thought we could take it but St. Joe's played great and they're a great team."

It was back-and-forth through three quarters with two ties and three lead changes, with no lead more than five points.

The Cadets put full-court pressure on the Crusaders from the outset, which led to several turnovers and took Trinity out of its rhythm in the halfcourt offense.

"No one played like they could've played today," Trinity guard Clare O'Leary said. "Kelly Andersen stepped up for us but they did stop us on offense. They took us out of our own game and we didn't know how to get back into it.

"We're all very proud of ourselves, considering everyone doubted us this year because there was no Jeana (Trimboli) or Da'Shena (Stevens)," added O'Leary, who is a cousin of Gorman. "We proved everyone wrong and showed them we could get here."

St. Joseph jumped out to a 9-4 lead with 3:43 remaining in the quarter. Trinity rallied, and after a basket by Ornousky with 55 seconds on the clock, the Crusaders had a 10-9 lead going into the second quarter.

Andersen carried her team in the second, scoring eight points. She hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Trinity a 16-11 lead with 5:15 left in the quarter.

"Kelly has it in her," Kriz said. "She's been very, very hot in practice and the situation showed itself and she stepped up big time."

A basket by Ornousky in the post off an assist from Cayleigh Griffin (10 rebounds) with 1:12 on the clock put the Crusaders out in front 20-15.

A basket by Jowdy seconds before the buzzer cut Trinity's lead to 20-17 at halftime.

"I thought we played really good in the first half," Ornousky said. "We were all looking for each other and everyone was hitting their shots."

The Cadets came back to tie the score, 25-25, with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter off a basket by Gorman and they took a 27-25 lead on a layup by Jowdy with 2:03 on the clock. A jumper by Andersen (1:50) and a basket by Ornousky (50 seconds) gave the Crusaders a 29-27 lead through three quarters of play.

Trinity took a 31-27 lead with 7:47 left in the game following a basket by Andersen off an assist from Erin Sottosanti. That was the last field goal the Crusaders would score in the quarter until 33.8 seconds remaining.

An 11-0 run gave St. Joseph a 38-31 lead with 2:17 on the clock. Jowdy and Gorman each had four points during their team's surge.

The Cadets went out in front for good at 32-31 after a jumper by Jowdy with 5:14 left. Trinity went into an offensive funk from there, missing shots and turning the ball over.

"You've got to give them credit," Kriz said of the Cadets. "They played solid defense and I guess we didn't react well enough to it."

Cavallaro said he saw how much the Crusaders struggled at times with Ridgefield's full-court press in the FCIAC semifinals and that's conducive to his team's strength.

"Getting into a full-court game after making baskets was the difference," he said. "We were able to force them into 20-plus turnovers."

Two free throws by Mackenzie Griffin cut the lead to five, 38-33, with 1:47 remaining. The Crusaders were forced to foul down the stretch and St. Joseph went 9-of-16 from the free-throw line to salt away the victory.

"After tonight, they'll realize what they did for a season and how they came together as a unit," Kriz said. "It's a tribute to all of them, especially to the leadership of the seniors."

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