Photos by David Fierro: Eva Wilkerson, left and Ava Curto are senior captains of the Sacred Heart Greenwich varsity basketball team, which defeated Greenwich Country Day School, 72-48, in its FAA-opener on Dec. 10th, 2025.

Coming off a historic season in which it advanced all the way to the championship game of the NEPSAC Class A Tournament after winning the FAA Tournament title, Sacred Heart Greenwich’s varsity basketball team certainly seems primed to produce another memorable season.

Sacred Heart is 2-0 to start the new season, while showcasing the skill and talent of its starting five athletes and overall depth in each victory.

The Tigers of Sacred Heart’s second win of their 2025-2026 campaign came on Dec. 10th when another Tigers squad from Greenwich visited SHG. Holding an eight-point advantage following the first quarter, before leading by 18 points at halftime, Sacred Heart earned an impressive 72-48 victory over visiting Greenwich Country Day School in the FAA-opener for both squads.

Sacred Heart Greenwich, which finished 22-5 last season, including a perfect 11-0 against its FAA foes, received a game-high 19 points from freshman guard Addy Sipkin and 18 points from senior guard/forward Eva Wilkerson in its home win over Greenwich Country Day. The Tigers of Sacred Heart opened their season on Dec. 6, rolling to a 72-30 home triumph against Hotchkiss School.

“Two games in a row, our team has played with intensity for 32 minutes,” said Sacred Heart coach Ayo Hart, who was named the NEPSAC Class A Coach of the Year last season. “I’m proud of the way that no matter the score, their defensive intensity is high. They’re shooting the ball really well, their transitioning really well, their shooting confidently.”

Senior guard Ava Curto scored 14 points, nine of which came during the first half, while junior forward/guard Lucianna Parrotta added nine points for SHG, which led GCDS, 20-12 after the first quarter and 38-20 going into halftime.

“I feel good, we’re a young team, we’re getting there still but I think we play really great together and really good team ball,” said Curto a team captain. “I think that we’re going to develop really well and hopefully, by the end of the season we’ll be a full, complete team.”

Wilkerson, a mainstay on the varsity team since her freshman year and junior forward/guard Emma Mathews also a captain of the Sacred Heart squad, which has won the FAA Tournament title the past two seasons.

“We did lose a lot of players last year, but we have really great energy and intensity this year,” Wilkerson said. “We have a lot of young people, we have a young team. We’re just coming in each day, ready to work hard – our team is getting closer, so I’m feeling really excited about our team.”

Greenwich Country Day was paced by senior forward Lara Young’s 12 points. Freshman center Kaia Sutherland added 10 points for GCDS, which has exhibited steady improvement each season over the past few years, while qualifying for the FAA Tournament each winter.

“We are a young team and I’m super excited to see our progress,” Greenwich Country Day coach Elisa Brown said. “There were some great spurts that we had offensively and defensively. It gave us a chance to see where we are FAA-wise, as well as seeing that we have a lot of good pieces.”

Senior center/forward Mia Grant and junior guard Skylar Brokaw are Greenwich Country Day’s captains. GCDS registered a convincing 66-24 road win over Westminster School on Dec. 3rd and is 1-2 on the young season.

“Once we start getting into the flow of things, we’re definitely going to see an upturn as we get towards the mid-season,” Brown said of her GCDS squad.

Freshman guard Adrian Allegretti scored seven points, while Mathews contributed five points, including one 3-pointer for SHG (2-0, 1-0 FAA). Brokaw chipped in seven points, including a 3-pointer, while Jenaly Rodriguez had six points for GCDS. Rodriguez left the game after taking a hard fall to the floor with 1:21 remaining in the second quarter. She appeared to hurt her back and was sidelined the rest of the game, though she returned to the team’s bench and seemed in good spirits. Rodriguez should be back in action in Greenwich Country Day’s next game.

Parrotta was forced to leave the game in the second half for Sacred Heart, after sustaining what appeared to be a left ankle injury. Hopefully, she’ll return to action soon. A 3-pointer by Curto have Sacred Heart a 7-0 lead. The Tigers of SHG extended its advantage to 13-4, then GCDS went on a 6-0 run to close to within 13-10.

Sutherland swished a 3-pointer and Young made a 3-point shot from the left side, cutting Sacred Heart’s lead to 13-10, then the hosts capped the first quarter with a 7-2 spurt.

Wilkerson converted a free throw, Parrotta made a pair of foul shot, then nailed a jumper from the elbow and Wilkerson swished two more foul shots, making the score 20-12 after the opening quarter in favor of SHG.

“After the first two games, we’ve improved so much, not only on the court, but off the court too,” Wilkerson noted. “Our chemistry is getting so good.”

A 3-pointer from Sipkin from the left side put Sacred Heart ahead of Greenwich Country Day, 26-13, in the second quarter. Another shot from beyond the arc from Sipkin, this time from the top of the key, gave Sacred Heart a 31-15 lead later in the second quarter. Sipkin scored 10 first-half points for the victors, while Wilkerson shot 8 for 9 from the foul line for the game.

GCDS closed to within 31-20 on a 3-pointer from Rodriguez, but SHG ended the opening half by scoring seven straight points, with Allegretti making a 3-point shot and Curto and Parrotta converting layups.

“We just came out really slow, we didn’t have intensity until it was too late, but I feel this is good for the beginning of the season, so that we know what to expect in the future,” said Young of Greenwich Country Day. “This was our first FAA game. The FAA is always tough and I feel like this year even though the score deficit was immense, it shows that we can hang with them and it shows that we can grow the rest of our season.”

Sacred Heart entered the fourth quarter leading GCDS, 59-38, on its way to its second win in as many games this season.

“I’m pleased with how early in the season we look like a unified team,” Hart noted.

Said Mathews, who is in her third varsity season with SHG: “This is our first FAA opponent match, so we went into it wanting to make a statement to the rest of the FAA and show that we’re one of the best teams in the area and we wanted to make a statement early. Everyone contributed a little bit, which is a testament to our strength as a team.”

Among some of the graduates from Sacred Heart’s FAA championship team from one season ago were Jadamarie Henry, Aisha Hassan and Mackenzie Gillen. Henry is continuing her basketball career at Mount St. Vincent and Hassan is a member of the basketball team at the University of Arkansas.

Brianna McDermott, who was among some of the athletes who graduated from Greenwich Country Day’s 2024-25 squad. McDermott, who scored more than 1,000 points for GCDS, is a member of the College of the Holy Cross women’s basketball team.

In Greenwich Country Day’s loss to SHG, sophomore guard McKenna O’Neill scored four points, while Grant had two points and Rodriguez totaled six.

“We want to compete every game and we want to create chemistry from this young nucleus,” coach Brown said.

Up next for Sacred Heart is a home game against FAA rival Greenwich Academy on Dec. 17th at 4:30 p.m.

“Our ability to play as a team, share the ball and we work really well together on the court are some of our strengths,” Curto said. “We don’t have that much size, but our energy and effort – we have great energy and effort – we compete super hard.”

Indeed, Sacred Heart knows exactly where they want to be by season’s end.

“The goal is to do the same thing as last year, but win it all this time,” Wilkerson noted. “We have a really good dynamic this year, a lot of people can do a lot of different things.”

“Last season we made it to the FAA Championships and we won,” Curto said. “Hopefully, we can win three years in a row the FAA championship and make it as far as we can in NEPSACs.”

“There’s a lot of talent in the FAA this year, but I think we also proved that we hold a lot of that talent,” Mathews noted. “So, I think this year is going to be a big year proving how strong we are and we’re really excited to show that on the court.”

Greenwich Country Day’s McKenna O’Neill, left, in action while being guarded by Eva Wilkerson.