Receiving a balanced scoring effort, while playing tenacious defense against Westhill High School, led to another win for Greenwich High School’s girls basketball team, which has plenty to be pleased about heading into the Holiday.

Holding a 12-point first quarter lead, the Cardinals upped their margin to 18 at halftime on their way to recording a resounding 53-17 triumph over visiting Westhill in an FCIAC matchup.

The one-sided win, their second in three games so far this season, improved Greenwich’s record to 3-0.

“It was a great win, I love team wins and I love games where everyone contributes positively on both ends of the court,” said Greenwich coach Megan Wax, who also coaches the school’s varsity field hockey team. “I really felt that was accomplished today.”

Receiving six first-half points from Juliette Pelham and four points apiece during the first two quarters of play from senior forward/center Riana Xhekaj, senior point guard Ayanna Davenport and sophomore guard Anna Lenschow, the Cardinals held a 14-2 lead on the Vikings after the first quarter and were ahead, 26-8, heading into halftime.

While Greenwich was solid on the offensive end, it’s 2-3 zone defense was stellar throughout Friday night’s home FCIAC game.

“I think our defense was great today, especially with communicating,” said Xhekaj, a senior captain. “Megan (Geiger) did a great job in of letting us know when she was in help and when she had my back. “We’re so excited and very happy what we’re 3-0 obviously and we hope to continue our streak.”

As was the case in their first two games of their 2023-2024 season – victories over Wright Tech and Joel Barlow – the Cardinals got points from numerous athletes and made the opposition’s defense move by consistently moving the ball around the court.

“I thought the offense was great, we had good ball movement, we had good passing all over the place – to the middle, getting it to the block,” said Megan Geiger, also a senior captain.

Indeed, passing is one of the Cardinals’ points of emphasis.

“Last year, we talked about quick ball movement and our team got there, that was one of our strengths last year and I wanted to continue that,” Wax noted. “We are meeting that expectation.”

Layups by Davenport and junior forward Kate Baxendale gave the Cards a 4-0 lead on the Vikings with 4:25 to go in the opening quarter. Geiger swished a jump shot at the 3:50 mark, making it 6-0. Westhill’s first points of the game came from leading scorer Cayla Meek, a guard. Her basket cut Greenwich’s lead to 6-2 with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter – the closest the Vikings would come against the Cardinals on this night.

Gathering the ball in the low post, Xhekaj backed her way toward the basket and scored, then sophomore guard Madi Utzinger converted a fastbreak layup off a steal by Davenport, putting GHS ahead, 10-2, in the first quarter.

“We played really well on defense and offense,” Utzinger said. “We were boxing out, which is something we really worked on in practice and we were pushing the ball.”

Pelham went coast-to-coast for a layup and Davenport stole the ball and scored in transition, giving Greenwich a comfortable 14-2 advantage going into the second quarter.

“I’m glad that we started off passing and I really liked how everyone got their hands on the ball and had a finish,” Davenport said.

Meanwhile, Greenwich’s effective 2-3 zone caused a pair of 35-second shot clock violations on Westhill, which was challenged to get clear looks at the basket on a number of its possessions.

“We’ve been working a lot of defense, probably focusing more than ever on the timing, spacing and making sure that we’re covering the lanes,” Wax said. “I thought we executed it really well today.”

In the second quarter, Pelham made a pair of baskets, Lenschow made a short jumper off an inbounds pass and Davenport scored after creating a turnover, putting the home team on top, 26-8, at halftime.

Sophomore Emma Lange scored six Westhill’s eight first half points. Lange made two 3-pointers for her six first-half points. Once the third quarter commenced, Greenwich quickly added on to its commanding lead.

Baxendale began the third quarter by grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring against the Vikings’ man-to-man defense, while Davenport and Pelham continued to thrive in transition. The Cards scored the first 14 points of the third quarter, rolling to a 40-8 advantage.

“Ayanna did a great job of keeping her eyes up and hitting the fastbreak,” Wax noted. “She did a great job of initiating that.”

Said Davenport of her role as the squad’s point guard: “It’s very fun, it’s nice to get my hands on the ball and run the court.”

Indeed, Wax appreciates how Davenport has run the floor and initiated the offense.

“Being a point guard is extremely challenging, so she’s doing a really great job of being able handle the pressure that comes with it, while executing at a high level and seeing what you need to see,” the Cardinals coach said.

Led by Geiger and Xhekaj, Greenwich was able to get second and third shots against Westhill, snaring a number off offensive rebounds.

“Megan is fantastic, we were celebrating her after the game for her boxing out and her ability to track down rebounds and she’s always so aggressive,” Wax noted. “Same with Riana for finishing at the rim and posting up well and Kate did a great job of finishing.”

“We’re all good scorers and we’re all able to finish at the rim and our shots,” Utzinger said.

Ahead for GHS is the Bethel Tournament, which takes place on Dec. 27 and Dec. 29. The Cardinals are scheduled to play New Britain in the first round of the tournament on Dec. 27 at Bethel High School at 3 p.m.

“We’re prepping for our upcoming tournament in Bethel, so we hope to keep the momentum going,” Geiger said.

In each of its three wins to start the season, Greenwich’s depth has been a considerable advantage.

“Off the bench we were amazing,” Geiger noted. “We had tons of shots, great defense and we all just locked in and it showed.”

Said Greenwich senior captain/forward/center Julia Monteiro, who is working her way back to action from an injury: “I liked to see the girls get off the bench and pick up the pace and energy. They had a lot of good shots and it was exciting to see them get involved.”

Greenwich’s first home game of the new year will take place on Jan. 3 against Fairfield Warde at 7 p.m. They will then visit Brien McMahon in Norwalk on Jan. 5.

“We still have a lot to work on, but I have hope that we will get to practice and work on those things,” Davenport said. “We are improving on many things that we lacked on at the beginning of the season and we have hope for the future.”