Sacred Heart Greenwich put the bow on another ultra-successful regular season with another outstanding performance on its home court on Feb. 19.

The Tigers sealed their 2024-2025 regular season by earning a convincing 72-57 win over a strong Storm King School squad, capping an impressive 17-4 campaign. With another winning season in the books, the Tigers now turn their focus to the Fairchester Athletic Association Basketball Tournament, which commences on Feb. 24.

Sacred Heart is the No. 1-seeded team in the eight-team tournament after going undefeated in league play during the regular season. SHG hosts eighth-seeded neighborhood foe Greenwich Academy in the FAA Tournament quarterfinals on Feb. 24 at 4:30 p.m. Coached by Ayo Hart, the Tigers are the defending FAA Tournament champions and they also won the FAA regular season title one season ago.

In their win over visiting Storm King School on Feb. 19, the Tigers received double digit scoring from four players. Junior guard Eva Wilkerson turned in another outstanding effort. Wilkerson scored a team-high 16 points, grabbed a team-best 20 rebounds, had three assists and made two steals to help lead the Tigers to their 17th win of the season.

Sacred Heart led Storm King, 17-12, after the first quarter and was ahead, 40-23, at halftime. Storm King closed to within six points at 60-54 in the fourth quarter, but SHG closed the game strong, posting a double-digit triumph.

“I thought our energy was good on both ends of the floor,” Hart said. “We got the looks we wanted, we got our transition shots, we got into the paint a lot. We moved the ball really well.”

Sophomore guard Lucianna Parrotta scored 15 points, eight of which came during the second quarter and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Tigers. Teammate Aisha Hassan, a senior point guard, added 13 points, nine of which came in the opening half for Sacred Heart, which received 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals from senior forward/center Jadamarie Henry.

“They are a really good team, they definitely gave us a good run, but our offense was great today,” Henry said following the Tigers’ win versus Storm King. “We had great ball movement, great shooting and we got a lot of good looks.”

Henry captains the team along with Wilkerson and senior guard Mackenzie Gillen. Emma Matthews, a junior guard, registered nine points, including a trio of 3-pointers and garnered four rebounds in the winning effort.

Junior guard Ava Curto (five points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals) and eighth grader Adrian Allegretti (two points, one rebound) rounded out the scoring for the Tigers.

Guard Sophia Lee scored a game-high 24 points, which of which she poured in during the second half for Storm King. Her perimeter shooting enabled the visitors to cut into Sacred Heart’s lead in the final quarter.

“We gave up a lot of 3’s when they made that run and that worried me, but I like the way we handled it,” Hart noted. “Our team responded. We changed our defense and what we were doing to not give up the three. We had contributions from a lot of people. Storm King had some great shooters and also moved the ball well, so I’m proud of our team.”

After Storm King converted a 3-point shot to pull to within 60-54 of SHG, Matthews swished a 3-pointer from the right side and Henry grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, putting the Tigers ahead, 65-54. Fouled on the play, Henry made the ensuing foul shot, giving the hosts a 66-54 advantage with 5:20 left to play.

“The emphasis on that was not letting up,” Henry said of the Tigers’ mindset. “Even though we had the lead the whole game, we knew we couldn’t let up and take our foot off the gas. Just keeping the pressure up and the intensity throughout the whole game is one of our main goals every time we play. So, we make sure to be aware of that.”

Leni Rodriguez scored 11 points for Storm King, which trailed 68-46 heading into the fourth quarter.

“I think we came out pretty strong in the first half definitely, but they started hitting some 3s,” said Parrotta, who also had five assists and three steals. “Defensively, we did really well though, hey didn’t get many inside points.”

Last season saw Sacred Heart defeat rival St. Luke’s School in the championship game of the FAA Tournament. They, of course, are intent on defending their FAA title.

“We’re definitely super excited, we are the No. 1 seed in the FAA, so that’s going to be exciting, just packing the gym and having good momentum going into the playoffs,” Henry noted. “We are coming off a really great season and we’re regular season champs, so that is going to hype us up going into our first game.”

“We’re feeling good, we won last year, we were undefeated and that is going to help us,” Parrotta said.