Close to earning victories its previous two games, before falling short, the Greenwich High School girls basketball team finished the job on Saturday.

Flourishing in the second half, the Cardinals posted their first win of the season, using solid play on both ends of the court to defeat visiting Norwalk, 47-42.

Junior guard Kristin Riggs scored a team-high 15 points and junior forward Kayla Anderson tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cardinals (1-3). Greenwich, which lost close games against New Canaan and Darien, trailed Norwalk, 22-16 at halftime. But the Cardinals outscored Norwalk 15-5 in the third quarter to take a four-point lead heading into the final quarter.

“It was definitely a good overall team effort,” Greenwich coach Chrys Hernandez said. “It’s nice to get that first win under our belt. It was another close game for us, it was a 2-point game down the stretch.”

The return of Anderson who was sidelined with an injury for the Cardinals’ previous two games, helped spark the squad.

“Having her back was a game-changer, not just in terms with her presence inside, but her leadership,” Hernandez said of Anderson.

Sophomore guard Sophia Sergio added nine points and pulled down eight rebounds to contribute to the winning effort. On her way to scoring a team-best 15 points, Riggs shot 10 of 14 from the foul line for the victors. She drew fouls with aggressive drives to the basket.

“Norwalk played us in a spread 2-3 zone and we talked about not settling for shots on the perimeter,” Hernandez said. “She (Riggs) did a really good job of penetrating to the basket. She handled the pressure went to the line and made key free throws.”

Greenwich, which converted 19 of 33 foul shots, received four points apiece from freshman forward Julia Monteiro and junior forward Camila Jablonski.

“We came on the court after halftime really focused on our defense,” Hernandez said. “We had four steals in the third quarter and scored 10 points in transition.”

Up next for the Cardinals is a home game against Fairfield Warde Monday at 5 p.m.

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