Greenwich High girls basketball team earns impressive home win vs. Stamford

By David Fierro on February 5, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

**Photo by Dan Utzinger**: Greenwich High School sophomore point guard Elsa Xhekaj, left, dribbles toward the basket during a varsity basketball game against Stamford High School at Greenwich High School on Feb. 3, 2026. GHS won, 53-36.

Undefeated at home Greenwich High School’s varsity girls basketball team was involved in an ultra-tight game against visiting Stamford High School on Feb. 3rd, holding a slim one-point edge heading into halftime.

Yet though the first half saw both teams enjoy their moments, the second half solely belonged to the Cardinals.

Opening a 10-point lead after a strong third quarter, Greenwich outscored Stamford by 14 points in the second half on its way to recording a well-earned 51-36 home win in an FCIAC matchup. The victory raised the Cardinals overall record to 12-2 and improved their FCIAC mark to 8-1.

Greenwich’s only FCIAC loss came when it visited rival Trumbull on Jan. 28 and was dealt a 55-35 defeat. So far this season, boasts a record of 8-0 at home. Against Stamford, Greenwich received 16 points apiece from senior guard/forward/captain Madi Uzinger and sophomore center Zuri Faison.

**Photo by Dan Utzinger**: Greenwich senior forward/captain Mikayla Kiernan, right, goes up for a shot in a win vs. Stamford.

“It was a very intense game and a really hard-fought game,” said Utzinger, who is having a sensational senior season. “We played really hard and worked really hard.”

Sophomore point guard Elsa Xhekaj totaled 10 points, while senior forward/captain Mikayla Kiernan swished two 3-pointers for six points for the victorious Cardinals.

“We played hard, we played as a team,” Xhekaj said. “We had a good talk at halftime and brought it back together. We’re all friends on and off the court and we’re all bringing it together on the court, passing the ball and stuff like that.”

The Black Knights (10-4, 5-4 FCIAC) were paced by 15 points from senior guard/captain Taylor Roncoroni and seven points from senior guard Jalynn Presley. The first quarter ended with GHS leading 16-10. At halftime, the score was 23-22 in favor of the Cardinals following a hot-shooting second quarter by Stamford.

**Photo by Dan Utzinger:** Greenwich High School senior guard/captain Madi Utzinger drives to the basket during a varsity basketball game against Stamford High School. Utzinger scored 16 points in the Cardinals’ 55-36 win.

“Stamford is a really great team, they have a lot of aggressive defenders and also know how to push the pace really well,” Cardinals coach Megan Wax said. “In the first half, we had a tough time adjusting ourselves to the intensity with which they were playing and we were getting ourselves frazzled. But at halftime, we were able to calm down, talk through it, make the adjustments we wanted to see, came out and had a great third quarter.”

After Faison scored from the low post to start the third quarter, Roncoroni converted a 3-pointer, tying the score at 25-25. She made five 3-pointers to keep the Black Knights’ offense going. Greenwich then went on a pivotal 13-0 run and was in control thereafter.

A Faison foul shot, a basket and free throw by senior guard/captain Juliette Pelham, a layup from Xhekaj and a 3-pointer from Xhekaj put the Cards in front, 34-25, midway through the third quarter. Utzinger nailed a shot from beyond the arc and Faison made a free throw, upping the hosts’ advantage to 38-25 at the 3:03 mark of the third quarter.

**Photo by Dan Utzinger:** Greenwich sophomore center Zuri Faison takes a shot in the paint vs. Stamford High School. Faison scored 16 points in the Cardinals’ 53-36 victory on Feb. 3, 2026.

“Stamford is a pretty good team and I knew it was going to be a good matchup,” said Faison, who has produced a sparkling sophomore season. “We just had to keep a good mentality and headset, play as a team and work together.”

The Black Knights climbed back into the game behind the 3-point shot making by Roncoroni. Consecutive 3-pointers by Roncoroni brought Stamford to within 40-34 late in the third period.

Kiernan gave GHS a 9-point cushion at 43-34 heading into the final quarter by swishing a 3-pointer from the left corner. The Cards regained a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter behind six points from Utzinger.

**Photo courtesy of Dan Utzinger**: Senior forward Mikayla Kiernan takes a 3-point shot for the Cardinals vs. Stamford.

“We adjusted to how they were playing us and our mindset was to go each play at a time, not worry about the past and we did that well in the second half,” Utzinger noted.

Indeed, Greenwich’s offense efficiently flowed in the second half against the Black Knights, who mostly played man-to-man defense.

“We were cutting a lot more and moving a lot more on offense and using each other, which really helped us,” Utzinger said.

Kiernan had six points and Pelham had three points for GHS, which played a solid man-to-man defense and stifling 1-2-2- zone.

**Photo courtesy of Dan Utzinger**: Cardinals senior forward Maddie Young takes a 3-point shot against visiting Stamford.

“We just had to come together, keep our composure and play together and stick together as much as we can,” Faison said of the Cardinals’ overall effort. “Our man is good, our 1-2-2- may be better.”

Since losing to Trumbull on the road, Greenwich has won two straight games and visits Danbury tomorrow (Feb. 6th) at 7 p.m.

“I’m glad to get back on track and move in the right direction,” Wax said.