The first half of the season tested the members of the Greenwich Country Day School girls basketball team’s patience and resolve, as several close losses and led to a rough beginning to the Tigers’ 2024-2025 campaign.

However, coach Elisa Brown’s team remained confident in their ability to turn their season around and once 2025 began, they experienced a resurgence. Winners of six of their last seven games, Greenwich Country Day now has an overall record of 7-11 and a 3-4 mark in the Fairchester Athletic Association with one league game remaining.

Greenwich Country Day, which is currently in fifth place in the FAA as the league tournament draws near, earned its latest victory on Feb. 12, posting a convincing 64-30 win over neighborhood foe Greenwich Academy. The visiting Tigers led from start to finish in this FAA matchup, seizing an absolutely commanding 28-1 lead after the first quarter of play.

“Before the game we said we wanted to get out there and hit the gas right away,” GCDS senior guard Brianna McDermott said. “We’ve been working on our press in practice and trying to execute it.”

The Tigers certainly achieved the quick start they were hoping for against the host Gators. Excelling on both ends of the floor, they created turnovers, pushed the tempo and consistently scored in transiton.

McDermott, a 1000-career point scorer, totaled 19 points, including three 3-pointers, to power Greenwich Country Day. Freshman guard/forward McKenna O’Neill added 13 points, seven of which came in the first half for the victors.

Indeed, coach Brown is pleased with how her Tigers have fought through the adversity they faced early this season, leading up to their current success streak. Greenwich Country Day has won six of its last seven games.

“We’ve finally found our groove, energy-wise, they’re really locked in,” Brown said of her squad. “We had a hard first half and I think that translates into being ready for the second half of the season. We had a very tough schedule, but we’re still in the mix of everything.”

Junior center/forward Mia McCauliffe-Grant had eight points, all of which came during the Tigers’ impressive first half run and sophomore Skylar Brokaw had all of her six points in the first two quarters in the winning effort.

For Greenwich Academy, junior forward Mirabel Rodgers scored eight points, as did junior guard Madison Hurns. Mallory Walker, a junior center, added seven points for the Gators, who despite the loss, have displayed marked improvement so far this winter.

The Gators have six victories on the season and have an FAA record of 1-7. They will be seeded eighth in the FAA Basketball Tournament.

“We were playing against a really good team with really good players and Division I commits,” GA coach Jordan Griffith said of facing GCDS. “Give them credit, they’ve done what they can to build a really solid program, they almost got Sacred Heart this year. They’ve had close games with the top teams in the league.”

Junior forward Lara Young and junior forward Iyla Brown added four points apiece, while freshman Jennaly Rodriguez had five points for the Tigers, who led the Gators, 42-11 at halftime and 54-21 after three quarters of action.

GCDS visits School of the Holy Child in Rye, N.Y., on Feb. 19, then visits Millbrook School on Feb. 21. The FAA Basketball Tournament commences in two weeks.

“I think going into playoffs we know what we we’re not so good and how to fix that,” O’Neill said. “We’ve shown that in games like today and games in which we’ve had good overall performances collectively as a team.”

“In the playoffs, I think we’re going to have to use our teamwork, talk, not get down on each other and play as a team,” O’Neill continued. “That’s when we play our best.”

Zoey Taylor had four points and Reagan Gray had two points for Greenwich Academy, which hosts Masters School on Senior Day on Feb. 19.

“In the second half, we came with the mentally that we have to be better,” Hurns said. “We didn’t come out with enough energy in the beginning. So, the second half was a reset, it was like a new game. Next week we have our Senior Day game, so we want to win that for our seniors and honor them. For playoffs, we want to come out and work as hard as we can.”

Said Griffith, whose GA squad is playing without starting point guard/captain Ruby Montanez, who is sidelined with an injury: “We did a better job of competing in the second half. But at the end of the day, you have to tip your hat to GCDS. We have girls who are fighting through this tough stretch and staying mentally strong.”

Senior Nina Ferry and freshman Ryan Milim had two points apiece for GCDS, which played a stellar man-to-man defense, while mixing in full-court pressure.

“I think that’s going to be a crucial part of our playoffs – being able to defend the ball,” McDermott noted. “So, we wanted to go out and apply pressure really quickly.”

The Tigers have received a balanced scoring effort during their recent run of success.

“We look our best when everyone is contributing offensively,” McDermott said. “Making sure that everyone is a threat and capable is important. We are also super confident in our defense.”

“The team is jelling,” coach Brown said. “I think it was a great, full-team effort. We are in great spirits right now and everything is starting to click.”