Saturday at The Sun

Greenwich celebrates their championship 

Saturday was a day and an experience I will never forget. 

It was Championship Saturday for winter sports for the CIAC in Connecticut. 

I was fortunate enough to be asked by Rob Adams if I wanted to join him, Dan Murphy and Sean Adams for the Division I basketball championships they were calling at Mohegan Sun. 

I helped out with social media and tried to help out "producing" in any other way I could. Thanks to Rob for having me along for the ride. 

We saw the Greenwich Cardinals girls' basketball team defeat Northwest Catholic 51-46. It's the first championship for the Lady Cardinals. 

Greenwich was led by Zuri Faison who had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Madi Utzinger with 16 points of her own. Utzinger's layup with 26 seconds to play was the difference. 

Congrats to all the players and coaches on the championship. 

In the boys' championship, the West Haven Blue Devils* defeated the Staples Wreckers 79-72 in triple overtime in a tremendous game that we are going to talk about for a while. 

*Apologies for initially calling West Haven the Blue Knights in my Tweet. 

West Haven was led by Aaron Johnson's 27 points and Loshon Roman's 20. Mason Tobias led Staples with 21 and Dihlan Lowman had 17. 

It was a tremendous season for Staples, who finishes at 26-1. Congrats to great friends and people, Wreckers Head Coach David Goldshore and assistants Jake Sullivan and Joe Black. A program that had had a ton of success over the past few years, including winning back-to-back FCIAC Championships in 2024 and this season. 

There were also Unified games played throughout the day, including games at halftime of the Greenwich game. It's awesome to have these kids have this cool opportunity. 

As for our experience, it was nice to get up to Mohegan Sun early, walk around and hang out with friends. 

We were able to get some food. We had donuts from Krispy Kreme. I think this was my first time having Krispy Kreme and it was pretty good. Then, we had a late lunch/early dinner at the Pepe's Pizza. 

There's likely no reason to tell you this but as much as the day is about the games, it's also about the experience for everyone. 

Great job by everyone involved with the CIAC, including Dave Schulz and John Holt, among others. 

A tremendous day 

Rob, Dan, me and Sean (Photo courtesy of John Holt)

Fairfield Rivalry Basketball

Sacred Heart vs Fairfield University Men's Basketball

This blog post is not completely what you think it is about by reading the headline. Maybe you figured that out by the photo. 

Yes, we will talk about Ludlowe vs Warde basketball from Friday night. 

However, first we go back to Thursday when Sacred Heart hosted Fairfield University in men's basketball at the William H. Pitt Center on the SHU campus. 

The Pitt Center was renovated prior to the 2024-2025 season. We know I do not like change, and I enjoy nostalgia, but it was cool to see the new arena. Different than the old one, but very nice. 

There were also plenty of Town of Fairfield people there, including Triple Double Basketball, who played at halftime. There were fans of both schools, and students from both Universities at well. It felt like a community event and that's what a town rivalry game, even at the college level, should be. 

Fairfield came away with a 92-87 victory. The Stags had a double-digit lead, but the Pioneers cut into the deficit late in the fourth quarter, but could never get the game tied, or take the lead. 

The game getting completive made for a fun atmosphere. I see a lot of basketball, but mostly at the high school level. It was fun to watch some good local college basketball. 

You can read Chase Coburn's recap of the game here. 

Now we get to Friday. 

The annual Ludlowe vs Warde basketball doubleheader took place at Ludlowe High School. 

The girls' game was first up. Warde came away with a 50-38 victory. Sofia Hardiman led the Mustangs with 13 points. Ivy and Ava Feay had 10 points apiece for Warde as well. (H/T to @WardeGBB on X for the stats.)

Ludlowe and Warde girls' basketball action. 

The boys' game was back and forth and close throughout with Ludlowe coming away with a 60-57 victory. The Falcons were led by 25 points from Carlo Noecker and 13 points from Lorenzo Stabilini. Warde was led by Ryan Tully's 25 points. 

The doubleheader was used as Coaches vs Cancer games to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Players wear Coaches vs Cancer T-Shirts, players and coaches get donations and fill out Coaches vs Cancer cards in honor of who they are playing for. Additionally, funds were raised though other activities during the games. 

It's an important cause that I am happy we recognize and support. 

It was another wild, fun night. In fact, two fun nights of basketball. 

**This blog post, and this blog, is my personal blog and does not represent my job in the Fairfield Schools Athletic Department and do not represent anyone other than myself. 

FCIAC Girls Basketball Quarterfinals and some wrestling notes

Stamford and New Canaan FCIAC quarterfinal action

It was FCIAC girls' basketball quarterfinal Saturday. 

Eight teams, four games. All at Staples High School in Westport. 

Both Ludlowe and Warde were represented in the tournament. 

Ludlowe, the number six seed, opened the day versus the three-seed Ridgefield. 

It was a close game throughout, but Ridgefield was able to come away with a 10-point win, 45-35. 

For Ludlowe, Kate Cimador finished with 19 points and Hayden McBean finished nine points. 

The next game was number two Stamford and number seven New Canaan. The Rams were able to come up with the upset victory, 47-42. 

Then it was Warde's turn. 

In the second quarter, Trumbull opened up a 16-9 lead before Warde went on a run to take a 18-16 lead with 1:28 left in the half. 

At halftime, the Mustangs held a one-point advantage, 20-19. 

The third quarter was extremely tight and low scoring. Emmy Carley hit a fadeaway buzzer beating jump shot to knot the score at 26 after three quarters. 

Trumbull got a lead as large as five with two minutes to play but Warde would come back to tie the game at 33 with under one minute left. Both teams had chances to win with under 20 seconds left but couldn't convert and the game would go to overtime. 

In the extra session, Warde would take a three-point lead with under one minute to play and the Mustangs would hold on for the three-point victory. 

Ryanne Gulbin led the Mustangs with 19 points. 

Warde advances to the FCIAC semifinals, where they will play the top-seed, St. Joseph, who defeated Wilton in the nightcap, on Tuesday at 6pm at Trumbull High School.  

********

In other playoff action, congrats to Warde Wrestling on winning the Class LL State Championship. 

In addition, congrats to Ludlowe's Dylan Sherman who won the Class L Wrestling Championship at 144 pounds. 

Ludlowe/Warde Basketball 2024 Edition

The crowd at one point in the night. It would get bigger than this. 

Friday night was the annual Ludlowe vs Warde girls' and boys' basketball doubleheader. 

This year, the games took place at Ludlowe as they rotate ever year. 

This was a big discussion, as Ludlowe is a lot smaller than Warde and with online tickets, the game was a sellout. Now, it's often been a sellout when at Ludlowe, but it sold out earlier in the week due to the pre-sale of tickets. 

It made for a crazy packed gymnasium but overall, I thought everything went very smooth. 

As for the games, it was a split decision. 

Ludlowe won the girls game, coming away with a close, hard fought 29-26 victory. 

In the boys' game, Warde came out on top, 50-36. 

The crowd was terrific for both games. From the Nest (Ludlowe student section) to the Stampede (Warde Student Section), to the youth basketball players, parents and other Fairfield community basketball fans.

The games are also Coaches vs Cancer fundraiser games as money is raised in a variety of ways including but not limited to the players raising money in advance, the concession stand at the game and a 50/50 raffle. I've heard a lot of money was raised for cancer research, which is phenomenal. 

Great job by everyone. From Athletic Director's Todd Parness and Gina DiGiacomo to the rest of the staff, parents who were involved, players, coaches, fans and all of the other support staff. It was a crazy day and week, but happy to get it over with and move on with the rest of the season. 

A great night of basketball and a great night for the Town of Fairfield. 

Warde Basketball Saturday

It was a Saturday of Warde basketball. 

The Mustangs hosted Ridgefield in a girls and boys basketball doubleheader. Games were played at all three levels. Freshman, JV and varsity. 

On the girls' side, the teams came into today 1/2 game apart (Ridgefield has played one more game) overall and the same FCIAC record. The Tigers were 10-3, 6-2 in the conference. The Mustangs were 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the conference. 

For the boys, both teams were unbeaten in league play at 6-0 and Ridgefield again 1/2 game better than Warde at 10-1 vs 9-1. 

I went over to Warde to watch both varsity games. 

Both games were very good games with Ridgefield coming away with wins in both games. 

It took overtime and a late three in regulation for the Tigers to come away with a 52-47 victory. 

Ridgefield three ties the game with 1.6 left in regulation. #ctgb pic.twitter.com/X0Hv1FNJRl

— Shawn Sailer (@ShawnSailer) January 27, 2024

In the boys' game, Ridgefield led from start to finish, coming away with a 59-56 victory. 

It was good to get to watch both of Warde's basketball teams play. I don't often get to see them play as most games conflict with Ludlowe games. I see the Warde boys a couple times a year, but rarely ever get to see the Warde girls, other than when they play Ludlowe or in the holiday tournament. 

It's always different for me at a Warde game than a Ludlowe game but good to see and talk to many people at Warde. From people I see more often at work, to people I don't see as much. 

Looking forward to another exciting week of basketball with the Ludlowe/Warde doubleheader on Friday at Ludlowe. Girls game at 5pm, boys game at 6:30pm. 

100 Wins

Team Photo Following John Dailey's 100th win 

Friday was a special night at Ludlowe. 

Ludlowe boys' basketball head coach John Dailey picked up his 100th career win in the Falcons 49-29 victory over the Westhill Vikings. 

The win for the Falcons is their eighth of the season, clinching them a state tournament berth. Ludlowe sits with an 8-2 record at the midway point of the season. Lots of basketball to play in the regular season before the postseason. 

Making the state tournament is always great, but even more special after not making it the last couple of years. 

It was very cool to have the 100th win for Dailey also be the eight win of the season. Lots to celebrate for the Falcons. 

It's been 10-years for John with many highs and some tougher seasons, as every coach has. 

So many players who he's coached any many assistant coaches who have been with him. Too many to name without forgetting some important people. However, a very cool part of this is Darren Lee, who played for John on the 2014-2015 state quarterfinal team, now coaching with him. 

Darren (No. 10) playing for John, now coaching alongside him. 

It's been a great week for the Ludlowe basketball coaches as Sara Kinsley, the head girls' basketball coach, picked up her 100th win last Friday, January 12, in the Falcons victory over Danbury. 

The girls team currently sits at 7-4, 5-2 in the FCIAC. 

Two terrific coaches who are even better people. Two people who put so much time, effort and care into their programs. A lot more than people see. 

Lots of great things happening with the Ludlowe basketball programs. 

Should be a fun remainder of the season. 

A Special Season Ends

The CIAC basketball state championships are held this weekend at Mohegan Sun Arena. 

Ludlowe, the number two team in the state at 26-0, faced the top team in the state, Hamden, also 26-0 coming in. 

Unfortunately for Ludlowe, the game did not go in their favor. Hamden came away with a 63-48 victory to capture the Class LL State Championship. 

Congrats to the Green Dragons on the victory and finishing a perfect 27-0. The first perfect season in CIAC girls basketball history. 

For Ludlowe, it was a tough ending, but an amazing season. The best in school history. 

The Falcons went had a perfect regular season, won the FCIAC Championship, and made it to the state championship game. 

Individually, Madison Roman was named FCIAC Player of the Year. 

Back to tonight. Rory Kudzy led Ludlowe with 19 points. 

Congrats to the entire team on an amazing season. Tremendous careers for the six seniors. Kaleigh Sommers, Caitlin Finnegan, Madison Roman, Rory Kudzy, Amelia Keresey and Caroline Keresey. Great players, even better people. 

Congrats as well to Sara Kinsley and her coaching staff, Jay Purzycki, Lou Bunosso, Frank Anile-Santiago and Rob Kinsley, on a job well done! 

A historic season. A special season. A special group. 

Falcon Pride!