The semifinal-round of the FAA Basketball Tournament was a roadblock for Sacred Heart Greenwich in recent seasons, but Thursday, the Tigers overcame the obstacle, earning a berth in a game they’ve have their sights set on playing in all winter – the FAA final.

It took a balanced scoring effort, effective defensive play and clutch performances from several athletes off the bench for the top-seeded Tigers to edge fifth-seeded Hamden Hall in a semifinal matchup featuring numerous lead changes.

Freshman guard Lucianna Parrotta led four Sacred Heart players in double figures, scoring 13 points in the hosts’ well-earned 53-49 win over Hamden Hall Country Day School in the FAA semifinals. The victory moved the Tigers into the championship game of the FAA Tournament, where they will host third-seeded St. Luke’s School on Saturday at 3 p.m. The seven-time defending FAA Tournament champion Storm advanced to Saturday’s final by defeating No. 2-seeded Greens Farms Academy in Thursday’s other semifinal-round matchup, 60-51.

Saturday will mark Sacred Heart’s first appearance in the title game of the FAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season. That season, coach Ayo Hart’s first year at the helm, Sacred Heart lost to St. Luke’s in the championship game. The past two seasons, SHG was eliminated by St. Luke’s in the FAA semifinals.

“I’m so excited, I’ve never been to the finals, this team hasn’t been to the finals since 2019, so it’s been a while and we’re really excited,” Sacred Heart senior point guard/co-captain Madison Hart said. “Our goal this year was to win the FAA Championship, so we’re one step closer to that.”

Madison Hart scored 11 points and her twin sister Victoria, also a guard, sparked SHG off the bench with 10 crucial points. Tigers senior guard/co-captain Payton Sfreddo added 10 points, while being tightly guarded throughout by the Hornets.

“I don’t think it was our prettiest game, but a win is a win and we got it done,” said Sfreddo, who reached the 1,000 career point milestone this season. “It was a battle all the way through, but we persevered. Hamden Hall is a really good team. They’re a totally different team from when we played them earlier in the season.”

Sacred Heart registered a convincing 58-28 victory against Hamden Hall when the squads met during the regular season. However, one of the Hornets’ leading scorers, Emma Ollauson, was unable to play in that game. Also, junior guard Eva Wilkerson, who was sidelined with an injury against Hamden Hall on Thursday, competed in the January matchup versus Hamden Hall.

“They came with a lot of intensity,” Sfreddo said of Hamden Hall. “They played super hard, there are some really good players on that team, so for us to stick with it through all the ups-and-downs – I’m really proud of this team.”

Junior forward Mackenzie Mori scored a game-high 25 points to pace Hamden Hall (5-5 record in the FAA). Mori scored her 1,000th career point during the first half.

Victoria Hart banked in a runner in the lane just before the buzzer sounded ending the opening quarter, giving SHG a 9-8 lead in what was a defensive-minded first frame of action. Baskets from Victoria and Madison Hart gave the Tigers a 13-11 edge with 5:49 remaining in the second quarter. Parrotta swished consecutive 3-pointers putting the hosts on top, 19-14 at the 4:15 mark of the second quarter.

A 3-pointer from the right side by Victoria Hart and a basket in the lane from Madison Hart, extended Sacred Heart’s advantage to 28-22, yet the Hornets scored the last four points of the second quarter to close to within 28-22 at halftime. Mori totaled 11 second-quarter points for the visitors and reached the 1,000 career point plateau.

Ollauson scored 16 points for Hamden Hall, which led during several parts of the second half. A jumper by Reilly Chemovetz and a layup from Mori put the Hornets ahead, 35-31 just over three minutes into the third quarter.

Junior forward Jadamarie Henry converted a foul line jump shot, a layup, then nailed a shot from the left corner, giving her six important points off the bench and putting the Tigers on top, 43-42 the final minute of the third quarter. Henry, Victoria Hart and senior guard Olivia Leahy were especially key off the bench for the victors.

“I was very happy with our bench,” SHG coach Ayo Hart said. “We always talk about the depth of our bench. What makes us so good as a team is that we can count on anyone.”

The fourth quarter was a tight, tense, physical affair, with Sacred Heart scoring just eight points and Hamden Hall being limited to only four. Both squads exhibited stellar man-to-man defense, making each other work for open shots.

Chemovetz made a pair of foul shots with 6:17 to go in the fourth quarter, tying the score at 47-47. Hamden Hall went scoreless for almost four minutes after that, while Sacred Heart got baskets from Sfreddo and sophomore guard Ava Curto to take a 51-47 lead.

“It was 47-47 for the longest time,” Ayo Hart noted. “Our defense carried us. That’s what helped us.”

The Hornets cut the Tigers’ edge to 51-49 when Mori made a foul line jumper off the dribble. After being fouled, Parrotta calmly sank two foul shots with less than one minute to play, making it 53-49.

“It was a great team contribution, so I couldn’t have been happier,” Avo Hart said of her squad’s performance.

Indeed, the Tigers knew they would play in a different type of game than their regular season matchup against the Hornets.

“They were missing a player when we played them the first time earlier in the season, so they were a completely different team in this game,” Madison Hart noted. “But we knew that coming out and we did a good job of staying composed under the pressure, especially at the end.”

Sfreddo grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots, Parrotta pulled down five rebounds and had three steals, Curto had five rebounds and two steals and Madison Hart totaled five assists, three rebounds, four steals and two blocks in the winning effort.

Victoria Hart tallied four rebounds, four blocks, two assists and two steals, while Henry posted six rebounds for the Tigers, who are 10-0 in the FAA this season (including the postseason).

“We’ve had games where we’ve won by 20 or 30, so it’s good to have these games where it’s close,” Victoria Hart said. “It helps to have some pressure on us to know that we can win in the finals.”

Victoria Hart helped Sacred Heart’s offensively with key baskets during each half.

“It was definitely easier for me to make the shots, because they were face guarding Payton, face guarding Lucianna and Madison, they were playing pretty tight D,” Victoria Hart noted. “So, it was easier for me to drive to the hoop and get those shots.”

“It was key for us to be cutting to the paint as much as we were, because they knew that we could shoot the 3,” Victoria Hart continued.

Curto made a basket for two points, while Leahy hit a free throw for Sacred Heart, which is familiar with playing St. Luke’s in the postseason. Saturday marks the first time the Tigers and Storm will play against each other in the FAA Tournament final since the 2018-19 season.

“I’ve never done it, I’ve never made it to the finals during my career at Sacred Heart, so it’s a huge win a lot of us who have been on the team a long time,” Sfreddo said. “For us to be seniors and make it to the final of the FAA is really heartwarming, really special and we’re super excited.”