Sacred Heart Greenwich’s varsity basketball team entered the 2025-2026 season with five FAA regular season titles and three FAA Tournament championships to its impressive resume, but one title had eluded the Tigers over the years – the NEPSAC championship.

Not anymore.

Sacred Heart Greenwich made school history when it played rival Loomis Chaffee School in the NEPSAC Class A Basketball Tournament final on March 8th at Noble & Greenough School in Massachusetts. Excelling in the winner-take-all game from start to finish, second-seeded Sacred Heart earned a historic 53-46 win over top-seeded Loomis Chaffee School for its first NEPSAC basketball championship.

The Tigers, who finished their season with a sparkling record of 21-7, garnered their first NEPSAC Class A Tournament championship by receiving a strong performance from everyone who took the court in the title tilt against the Pelicans – a team that defeated them in the 2025 NEPSAC Class A tourney final.

Senior guard Eva Wilkerson scored a team-high 17 points for Sacred Heart and was presented with the NEPSAC Class A Tournament MVP following the squad’s championship win. Junior forward Lucianna Parrotta scored 12 points, grabbed a number of rebounds and made key plays on both ends of the court, while freshman guard Adrian Allegretti came up clutch in one of her first starts of the season, totaling 12 points on four 3-pointers. Ava Curto, a senior guard/forward, added nine important points and junior forward Emma Mathews swished a 3-pointer for three points for the 2025-2026 NEPSAC champion Tigers.

“It feels surreal, I’m pretty much on Cloud 9,” Sacred Heart head coach Ayo Hart said. “I feel so happy. I’m happy for the girls. To be able to have it end like that and culminate, particularly against a team like Loomis, it feels great.”

Sacred Heart’s memorable victory ended Loomis Chaffee’s four-season reign as NEPSAC Class A Tournament champions. In the championship game, the Tigers played from in front most of the way. A layup by Wilkerson, followed by a 3-pointer from Allegretti gave SHG a 12-5 lead on Loomis with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter. Curto converted a foul shot at the 2:11 mark, making it 13-5 in favor of the Tigers.

“We came out of the gates really strong, which we have done consistently all year,” coach Hart noted. “The energy was there.”

Hart noted that appearing in last season’s NEPSAC final served as a significant learning lesson for her team.

“Last year was our first year in the finals at Loomis,” Hart said. “Having been there and done that last year, our nerves weren’t there as much. Those girls who played in the championship game last year were able to calm the newcomers. We came out comfortable and believed.  This year they genuinely believed they could win if they did the things they needed to do.”

In a game of runs, the Pelicans closed the opening quarter with a 5-0 spurt to close to within 13-12. A low scoring, defensive-minded second quarter concluded with the score tied at 21-21. Curto scored on a fastbreak layup off a Wilkerson steal, then Curto made a foul line jumper while being fouled and sank the ensuing free throw, making it 18-16 in favor of SHG late in the second stanza.

With the score deadlocked at 18-18, Allegretti made a 3-point shot, her third of the game, putting the Tigers on top, 21-18. Senior Lauren Wright’s 3-pointer for Loomis Chaffee evened the score at 21-21 heading into halftime.

“She was playing with so much confidence,” Hart said of Allegretti. “Adrian stepped up so big, I can’t say enough about her. That may be a career high, she was 4 for 4 from three-point range.”

After scoring 21 points in the first half, the Tigers scored 20 alone in the third quarter, outscoring the Pelicans, 20-12. The third quarter was, indeed, pivotal as the Tigers opened a 41-33 advantage. A basket from Wright and two foul shots gave Loomis a 25-21 lead early in the third quarter, then Curto buried a 3-point shot, bringing Sacred Heart to within 25-24. Pelicans senior Isabelle Cruz made a 3-pointer, giving her team a 28-24 lead, then the Tigers seized the game’s momentum.

Allegretti’s fourth 3-pointer cut Loomis’ lead to 28-27 and Mathews’ 3-point shot from the left side gave the Tigers the lead for good in this NEPSAC title game at 30-28 around the five-minute mark of the third quarter. Receiving the ball in the middle of the lane against Loomis’ zone with her back to the basket, Wilkerson spun and converted a layup, giving SHG a 32-28 edge, capping an 8-0 run. Wilkerson, the MVP, who concluded her Tigers career with more than 1,000 points, flourished in the low post in the winning effort.

“We don’t have a true, traditional back-to-the-basket player,” noted Hart, who was assisted by coaches Carol Leib and Kim Augustine. “I truly believe the game is played inside/outside. Every player learns how to post up and learns how to defend the post. Eva is so proficient there because we’ve worked since sixth grade – she’s been working on the footwork of a post and it was nice to see her have success there. She’s smart, she knows where angles are.”

Ahead 32-31, the Tigers extended their lead with Parrotta swishing a 3-point shot from the left wing and Wilkerson driving to her left and scoring. Wilkerson’s two foul shots with 2:44 to go in the third period culminated a 7-0 run, putting the Tigers ahead, 39-31. With the score, 41-33, in favor of SHG going into the final quarter, once the quarter began, Parrotta made a pull-up jump shot, then made another basket, giving Sacred Heart a 46-42 lead. Wilkerson then scored on a fastbreak layup off a steal, making it 48-42 with just over 3:30 remaining in the fourth period. The Tigers’ MVP also scored off a strong move in the low post, while being fouled, giving the team a 51-42 advantage with 3:00 left to play.

“Eva was huge, she stepped up exactly when we needed her in every way possible,” Hart said. “She got some key steals for us. She had six steals in the game and it wasn’t just the steals, it was when they happened.”

Trailing 51-42, Loomis got to within 51-46 on baskets from Cruz and Wright, but a pair of clutch foul shots from Parrotta put SHG on top, 53-46, sealing the win and the squad’s first ever NEPSAC title.

“She had 10 rebounds and 12 points,” Hart said of Parrotta. “I thought she played phenomenally. She went toe-to-toe with their big girls, she rebounded, she hit threes, she handled herself well.”

Curto, Allegretti and Mathews also made significant plays throughout that contributed to the team’s win, while Lily Sullivan, Sarah Pastula and Hazel Hantman provided key minutes off the bench for the victors.

“Ava has put in so much time in the gym and weight room,” Hart noted. “She absorbs contact and really did hit some clutch shots. Ava changes the game a lot, she does those ‘X’ factor things that go under the radar. Her ability to drive and draw the defense and come up with deflections helps a lot.”

“Emma is a shooter and since she is such a good shooter, the defense has to respect her,” Hart said of Mathews. “She is a shooter who has the green light for us. As a defender you have to respect her and that opens up so much more for us on offense.”

Curto, Mathews and Wilkerson each served as the captains of the Tigers’ championship squad. Wilkerson will continue her basketball career at the Division I level at Towson University. Curto will play basketball at the collegiate level at Trinity College.

Defense was key for the Tigers in this championship showdown against the Pelicans, who posted a 50-38 win over SHG during the regular season. Sacred Heart played mostly man-to-man defense, but sprinkled in a 2-1-2 halfcourt zone trap and also played zone at times.

“The defense could be one of the highlights,” Hart said. “We played man and three different types of zones. We had to make some adjustments and I like the fact that our girls adjusted. Eva did a phenomenal job hawking the ball – we scored 16 points off turnovers, so to capitalize on the turnovers was great”

Taking care of the basketball also aided the Tigers’ cause in the championship matchup.

“We only committed 11 turnovers, that is a good number for us,” Hart noted. “Our defense was also definitely key. We only had 10 fouls and we were battling for loose balls, we were diving on the floor, for 50/50 balls.”

For the season, Sacred Heart finished with a standout record of 21-7. And victory No. 21 was one they truly won’t forget.