FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The St. Joseph Cadets captured their first FCIAC girls basketball championship by pulling away in the fourth quarter and beating defending champion Trinity Catholic, 47-38, in the conference final on Feb. 27 at Fairfield-Ludlowe High School. 
Amaia Gritsko, St. Joseph
File photo by Wayne Beach
Michelle Gorman was named the MVP of the championship game after collecting 14 points, six rebounds and four steals. Teammate Jessica Jowdy had 20 points, four assists, three steals and four rebounds, while junior center Amaia Gritsko had eight rebounds, seven points and three blocks.
"It’s a great feeling for everyone," head coach Joe Cavallaro told FCIAC.net. "We always looked up at the banners on the wall in the gym and the girls said it would be great to get a banner from the FCIAC. So that was sort of our theme these last three games: Get a banner from the FCIAC."
St. Joe’s has won 18 of its last 19 games and swept through McMahon, New Canaan and Trinity in the conference tournament. The Cadets (21-1) are also the No. 2 seed in the Class LL playoffs and will begin play in the States on March 5.
Trinity Catholic (20-4) came back to defeat East Lyme in the opening round of the State Class L tournament.
The Cadets scored 11 straight points during a fourth-quarter run, which put them in front at 38-31. In all, St. Joe’s outscored Trinity 20-9 in the final frame. Kelly Anderson scored 16 points to lead the Crusaders, while Mackenzie Griffin had 11 point.
2. Pomperaug girls top Lauralton Hall for SWC title — Pomperaug senior Katlin Cizynski scored 19 of her 31 points in the second half as the top-seeded Panthers claimed the SWC girls hoops crown with a 65-60 win over Lauralton Hall in Weston on Feb. 27. The game was the rubber match between the two league rivals, who split their last two games.
Lauralton Hall was ahead 50-41 late in the third quarter, but the Panthers edged closer and finished the frame down by two at 50-48. In the fourth quarter, Kasey Dean hit a jump shot to tie the score and ignited a 13-0 rally for Pomperaug.
Lauralton came back to take a 55-54 lead with under four minutes to play, but Morgan Manz hit a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left to give the Panthers the lead for good at 63-60. Manz finished with 16 points for Pomperaug (22-1), while Nicole Welton and Gabrielle Holness added five apiece. For Lauralton Hall (21-2), Nicola Matero had 14 points, Devon Leahy scored 13 and Keylantra Langley scored 12.
3. New Canaan ices Darien for girls hockey crown — The New Canaan Rams ended a three-year drought and defeated the Darien Blue Wave, 3-0, in the FCIAC girls ice hockey championship game Feb. 27 at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford.
The Rams received an outstanding effort from freshman phenom Olivia Hompe, who scored the first two goals and assisted on the third. Hompe was named the game’s MVP. Senior goalie Charlotte Spitzfaden also had a spectacular performance, making 24 saves to post the first shutout in the history of the FCIAC final. Spitzfaden and classmates Shelby Barada, Maggie Burke and Kelsey Durkin helped win the league title as freshmen three seasons ago and are ending their careers back on top.
"It’s awesome," Spitzfaden said. "I have loved this team so much all four years and there’s nothing like going out with a win and getting this title back. We’ve worked so hard day-in and day-out this season and we all knew what we had to do to win this game."
"It’s going out the same we came in," Burke said. "Winning FCIACs — there are no words to describe it. It’s just fantastic. We definitely wanted to come back and prove that we’re the better team. Last year, I’ll give it to them, it was their day. But it’s been our day this whole season and this was ours to win. Everybody knew that coming in and we just crushed them."
Hompe fought through the defense for the game’s first goal at 2:04 of the first period, as Barada assisted on the play. In a penalty-laden second stanza, Hompe scored again when she one-timed a pass from Bea Eppler into the top left corner of the net.
In the third period, Hompe flipped the puck out of the defensive zone to Eppler, who had just come off the bench at the end of a Darien power play. Eppler skated in untouched, deked goalie Katharine Macomber (29 saves) and scored into the open side of the net, icing the victory at 3-0 with six minutes remaining.
In all, the Rams outshot the Blue Wave, 32-24. The two teams could meet again in the State final this weekend. In the State semifinals Friday night at Yale’s Ingalls Rink, Darien plays Simsbury at 6 p.m. and New Canaan plays Hall/Conard at 8 p.m. If the rivals both win, they will clash for the State championship at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Ingalls Rink.
4. New Canaan, Ridgefield meet for FCIAC boys hockey crown — New Canaan sophomore Ryan Begoon scored 11:24 into overtime as the Rams defeated the St. Joseph Cadets, 4-3, in the FCIAC boys ice hockey semifinals Wednesday night at Terry Conners.
The goal ended a back-and-forth contest, which saw each team score once in the first three periods. St. Joe’s took the initial lead on a goal by Pat Corcoran, assisted by Conor Crouse just 1:30 after the opening faceoff. New Canaan tied the game when Kris Nugent sent a pass to the left slot for Henry Corcoran, and Corcoran scored with 5:23 on the clock.
At 6:04 of the second period, Henry Corcoran carried the puck up the left side and fired a pass in front to Nugent, who one-timed it high into the net for a 2-1 New Canaan lead. The Cadets then tied the score with 1:38 remaining in the period, as Crouse won a faceoff in the New Canaan zone and sent an outlet pass to Pat Corcoran. Corcoran battled through a defenseman and scored from the right circle to make it 2-2.
In the third period, St. Joe’s went back in front on an unassisted tally by Brian Kelly with 6:41 to play. The Rams came right back to tie the score when McGinniss fired a low shot from the point. The puck was deflected to the left where Henry Corcoran collected it and crossed it over to Nugent for a clear shot at the net with 5:29 remaining.
The Rams dominated overtime, but Cadet goalie Zach Carrano made 15 saves in the period and finished with 53 overall. Eventually, the Rams gained a power play and cashed in. The winning series started with Andrew Leslie, who broke in from the right side. As the defense collapsed to the right, Leslie passed to Begoon for a clear shot and the game-winning goal.
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com.
