As the seconds ticked by, the points added up for Sacred Heart Greenwich’s basketball team, which converted its shots at a torrid pace during the first quarter of its FAA game against visiting Greens Farms Academy on Wednesday.

By the time the first quarter ended, the Tigers already had 31 points on the scoreboard, an 18-point lead and were well on their way to keeping their perfect FAA record intact.

Swishing shots from the start, senior guard/forward Payton Sfreddo scored a game-high 29 points, 14 of which came in the first quarter, for Sacred Heart in its convincing 67-49 home victory over Greens Farms Academy in a matchup involving undefeated FAA teams.

With the wire-to-wire win, the Tigers raised their record to 11-3 overall and 6-0 in the FAA, taking over sole possession of first place in the league. Greens Farms sports an overall record of 7-6 and is 3-1 in FAA play.

The hot-shooting Tigers held a 31-13 lead on the Dragons after the first quarter and entered halftime with a 40-27 advantage.

“We came ready to play today, we really wanted this win – we were two of the last undefeated teams in the FAA, so we wanted this win for our confidence and for the midseason, going into postseason play,” said Sfreddo, the Tigers’ leading scorer, who made 3-pointers and totaled 14 first-quarter points versus the Dragons.

Shooting guard Lucianna Parrotta, a freshman, scored 11 of her 16 points during the first half and converted two 3-pointers, while senior point guard Madison Hart registered eight points and paced the way defensively with several steals for SHG.

“It feels good, GFA always comes ready to play and we’ve lost to them many times in the past, so everyone came in super locked in and focused and really wanting to win,” Hart said. “We’re undefeated in FAAs and that was a huge deal for us today, wanting to maintain that streak.”

Center/forward Cheyenne Brand recorded a team-best 20 points and forward Ryley Tate Padien added 14 points for Greens Farms, which closed to within eight points in the second half, after trailing by as many as 22. Sacred Heart set the tone from the start in this FAA matchup, thanks to outstanding perimeter shooting and its ability to push the tempo offensively, resulting in several fastbreak layups.

“Needless to say, we were pumped up in the first quarter,’ SHG coach Ayo Hart said. “We had a goal to try to limit their 3s, we know Greens Farms is a good 3-point shooting team. So, when they came out and their three first shots were 3s, I was a little worried. But we were matching them.”

Sfreddo drove to her left and made a layup, giving Sacred Heart a 16-9 lead with 3:45 remaining in the first quarter. Later in the quarter, a basket by Madison Hart and 3-pointer by Parrotta put the hosts ahead, 21-13. The Tigers then concluded the first quarter with 10 more unanswered points, making it 31-13.

Sfreddo snared an offensive rebound and scored, then nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing and Parrotta made a left-handed layup, giving the Tigers a 28-13 advantage. Sfreddo capped her outstanding 14-point first quarter by converting a layup while being fouled. She made the ensuing free throw, putting the Tigers on top, 31-13.

“The first quarter was incredible, to score 31 points as a high school team, that’s incredible,” said Sfreddo, a co-captain. “The energy we came out with, the intensity, – all of us couldn’t miss. It was awesome to see the energy come into play.”

Madison Hart knew the Tigers were primed for another strong game entering the FAA matchup against rival GFA.

“I feel like our mindset coming into the game was what helped us, especially starting off the first quarter so strong,” Madison Hart said.

“I feel like we were running really hard, everything was clicking. We were making a ton of shots, we were getting easy looks. It started with our warm-up and that sort of helped us going into the game.”

It would be difficult for most teams to keep the scoring pace the Tigers had in the first quarter going and the hosts managed nine points in the second quarter, as GFA cut into its deficit.

Still, Ayo Hart liked what she saw from her squad, which exhibited stellar defense and intensity throughout.

“Even when their team went on runs, we never got rattled,” the Tigers coach said. “We just kept our heads down and kept on working and tried to get different shots, because the 3s weren’t falling. We were able to get into the paint and able to capitalize on the line.”

Senior guard Olivia Leahy scored six points off the bench, including a 3-pointer, while sophomore guard Ava Curto contributed five points, with a 3-point shot for the victors.

“On the bench, on the court we were talking the entire time,” Leahy said. “We were never rattled, we stayed composed and we really picked each other up.”

“Coming off our loss against Kent on Monday, it really motivated us,” Leahy continued. “Facing off against GFA today, we were both the only undefeated teams in the FAA, so we wanted to keep that undefeated record and just push through and get a solid win.”

A layup off a steal from Tate Padien, a fastbreak layup by guard London Powell (seven points) and a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Tate Padien brought the Dragons to within 48-40 with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter.

However, once the final quarter began, the Tigers regained their double-digit lead. Madison Hart made a free throw, then made a steal that saw her dive to the floor and get the ball, passing it to Parrotta for a layup, making it 52-40 with just over six minutes left to play.

A Leahy 3-pointer, followed by a foul shot by Sfreddo and a fastbreak, also by Sfreddo gave Sacred Heart a 58-40 advantage.

“It was definitely a physical battle,” Madison Hart said. “We really wanted it and it showed in the way we played. We got a ton of 50/50 balls.”

Said Victoria Hart, who helped spark the Tigers’ effective 2-1-2 zone defense: “We played a lot of zone today and it was good for us to get steals – especially on the wings, we were able to get the fastbreaks and the open layups.”

“Defense was definitely the key to this game, because of all of our steals and countless rebounds,” Victoria Hart added.

Senior center/forward Maddie Hooper had three points for SHG, which outscored GFA, 19-13 in the fourth quarter. Julia Johnson had five points for the Dragons.

“It was an up-and-down game,” Sfreddo noted. “Even when they cut it close, we stayed calm. We had trust in our teammates and we never dipped in energy, even when they had runs.”

Sacred Heart is back in action Saturday against visiting Taft School at 3:30 p.m.

“I’m super excited about how well we are playing,” Madison Hart said. “Everyone is super locked in and ready to play. Everyone put in a lot of work in the offseason and that’s shown in our growth this year.”

Indeed, Sacred Heart’s strong, consistent play so far this season stems from the manner in which it practices.

“Practices have been really awesome, we’ve all been working super hard just all different moves,” Sfreddo noted. “Everyone is a super high-level player, so to play against them in practice 1-on-1, just makes everyone better every single day.”