As quickly as the Greenwich High School girls basketball team has started each of its eight games so far this season, that’s how slowly its opponents have begun each matchup.

Besides being effective on offense, outstanding defensive play has enabled the Cardinals to jump out to fast starts against each opponent, while shutting them down. Through their first eight games, Greenwich has shut out three of its foes in the first quarter, a rare feat indeed, for any team.

Such was the case on Jan. 10 when Greenwich hosted Wilton in an FCIAC matchup. Greenwich held a commanding 14-0 lead on Wilton after the first quarter and proceeded to post an impressive 48-17 victory over the Warriors. The resounding win moved surging Greenwich’s record to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the FCIAC.

“Hopefully, we can keep the trend going,” Greenwich coach Megan Wax said of her team’s defensive excellence thus far this season. “We’ve been working really hard day in and day out. One of our pros is that we’re a really fast team and we’re really aggressive. This year we’re able to capitalize on everyone having that shock when they start the game of how in your face we can be and it forces them to be able to take more rushed shots.”

Along with holding Wilton to zero points in the first quarter, the Cardinals also shut out Hall High School and Bassick in the opening quarter on their way to decisive wins versus each squad. The Cards have limited six of their first eight opponents to 30 points or less.

Against Wilton, Greenwich led 25-11 at halftime, then took a 35-14 advantage into the fourth quarter after holding the Warriors to just three third-quarter points. Freshman center Zuri Faison led a balanced GHS scoring effort with 12 points, while junior guard/forward Madi Utzinger had eight points and senior power forward/captain Kate Baxendale added six points.

Following the Cards’ triumph against Wilton, Utzinger discussed the victors’ effectiveness and consistency on offense.

“At practice, we’re trying to move around and get open back doors or layups and that’s something we’re going to keep working on so we can get better and get more scoring opportunities,” Utzinger said.

Greenwich, which entered its game versus visiting Wilton off a hard-fought 50-45 overtime road win over formidable FCIAC foe St. Joseph, quickly imposed its will on the Warriors.

Utzinger converted a layup after Faison won the opening tip, senior guard/captain Alyssa Gath swished a 3-pointer from the left corner, Faison made a foul shot and freshman guard Elsa Xhekaj banked in a 3-point shot from the left side, putting GHS on top, 8-0 midway through the first quarter.

Faison grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, Utzinger and Baxendale made free throws and Utzinger scored on a putback, extending the hosts’ advantage to 14-0 at the end of the opening quarter, another dominant one to say the least for the Cardinals.

“We started off strong, we went up by 10 quick,” Gath said. “Defensively, we got a lot of steals and pushed the ball, which they couldn’t keep up with.”

The Cardinals’ aggressive man-to-man defense forced the Warriors into mostly rushed shots in the first quarter and forced several turnovers.

“We’ve played great teams, we’ve played great shooters, but we’ve forced them to rush their shots and so far it’s working for us,” Wax noted.

Wilton senior captain Mia Sommer accounted for the visitors’ first point of the game by making a foul shot with 6:41 left in the second quarter. Senior captain Cosette Lepore’s layup was the Warriors first field goal of the, occurring with 6:33 to go in the second stanza.

Junior guard/forward Mikayla Kiernan nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner, pushing Greenwich’s lead up to 17-3. Later in the quarter, Faison scored from deep in the low post, then grabbed an offensive rebound and scored while being fouled, making it 25-8.

Faison has been an force on both the offensive and defensive backboards for GHS, while displaying stellar low post moves.

“It’s really fun, I feel like I’ve been welcomed a lot by the seniors and everyone else on the team,” Faison said of her first varsity season. “It’s so enjoyable and it’s such an honor to play on varsity as a freshman.”

Gath spoke of the impact Faison has made in a short period of time.

“Zuri is great not only offensively, but defensively, she gets a lot of blocks,” Gath said. “The help defense, if someone gets by another defender, Zuri is always there, so she’s been a great asset to the team. I think that’s our key this year is our defense.”

Indeed, the Cards have exhibited a sound inside-out attack on offense.

“The addition of Zuri as a freshman in the post, coupled with Kate (Baxendale) and Madi (Utzinger) and Mikayla (Kiernan) can play the four. So, we’ve been able to stretch the court with our outside shooting and ball movement and then feed it into the post.”

“Overall, we have threats from multiple angles and when one thing is not working, we’re trying to become more aware of where the open person and how can we get them the shot we want,” Wax continued.

Greenwich’s strong start earned it a spot in the most recent GameTimeCT Top 10 Girls Basketball Poll. The Cardinals are also ranked second in the CIAC Class LL state standings with their 8-0 record.

Greenwich hosts Bridgeport Central tomorrow (Jan. 14), then travels to New Canaan on Friday (Jan. 17) for a 7 p.m. FCIAC matchup.

“I think our defense is improving and we’re getting stronger,” Utzinger noted. “We have really good rebounders, which is helping us get and push more opportunities for scoring. I am really enjoying this season and I can’t wait for more.”