The run to the Sun continues for Greenwich High School’s varsity girls basketball team.

The third-seeded Cardinals are one win away from traveling to Mohegan Sun for the championship game of the CIAC Division I State Tournament after earning a tough quarterfinal-round victory against East Catholic in a back-and-forth battle that was decided in the final minute of action.

Sophomore center Zuri Faison scored a game-high 17 points, senior forward Mikayla Kiernan added 10 points and senior guard/forward Madi Utzinger had nine to help lead third-seeded host Greenwich to a hard-fought 44-41 win over sixth-seeded East Catholic in the Division I quarterfinals on March 12th.

The triumph propelled Greenwich into the Division I Tournament semifinals, where it will face 10th-seeded Hamden at Trumbull High School on March 16th at 4 p.m. Hamden made it to the state semifinals by edging second-seeded New Britain, 52-51, in the quarterfinals. The Cardinals and East Catholic were tied 15-15 at halftime, then the hosts outscored the visitors, 16-7, in the third quarter to open a 31-22 lead.

“I’m so excited, it’s so amazing,” said Utzinger, one of the Cardinals’ captains. “We’re just going to go one game at a time and hopefully, we’ll make it to Mohegan Sun. But we just have to work really hard in the semifinals.”

Elsa Xhekaj, a sophomore guard, totaled six points, while playing strong defense and senior guard Juliette Pelham had two points, while also adding stellar defensive play for the Cardinals (23-2).

“This one was a bit of a nailbiter for sure,” said Pelham, a captain. “It was very well-played, the other team was a very competitive, aggressive team, they were very good competition. We played our hearts out like we always do.”

This marks the second season in a row that Greenwich has earned a berth in the state tournament semifinals. Last season, the Cardinals were defeated by Southington in the Class LL Tournament semifinals. This winter, the Cardinals have the added momentum and confidence that came with winning the FCIAC Tournament championship. Greenwich topped Staples for the FCIAC title, 65-49, at Fairfield University.

“We stuck together as a team,” Faison said. “I’m so excited, last year we went to the Final Four and we’re back this year. I’m glad we made it this far.”

At the start of the fourth quarter, a 3-pointer from Kiernan from the left corner gave Greenwich its biggest lead at 34-22. Kiernan swished two key 3-point shots against East Catholic’s 1-2-2 zone.

“Mikayla was clutch,” GHS coach Megan Wax said. “We knew we would have to hit some 3s to get them to step out a little, so that we can hit the blocks and get the looks that we wanted there.”

Baskets in the low post by Faison gave the Cards leads of 37-32 and 39-32, but the Eagles closed to within 44-41 in the final minute of play. East Catholic had an opportunity to tie the score on the game’s last possession but missed a 3-point shot from the right side in the final seconds and the Cardinals held on for the win and a return trip to the state semifinals.

“I always have trust in my team, I always have trust in my teammates,” Pelham said. “They always come through. It definitely had my heart beating a little faster.”

East Catholic was led by senior center Urielle Afoakwa-Abrokwa, who scored 16 points. Sophomore guard Morgan Bridgeforth added 12 points for the Eagles, who led GHS, 10-6 after the first quarter.

“We as coaches are unbelievably proud of them,” Wax said of her squad. “Their perseverance in this game – we knew it was going to be a battle. East Catholic is an extremely talented team. They have girls that are respectively, the best in those positions that they play. They’re intense, they’re physical, we knew all this going in. I’m proud of the team for sticking together through it, I’m proud of how hard they fought, even when they were outsized in a lot of positions. We’re really excited, this was a great team win.”

The matchup between Faison and Afoakwa-Abrokwa in the low post was, indeed, one to watch.

“She’s a really good center, I was looking forward to playing her throughout the season,” Faison said of going up against the East Catholic center. “I’m glad we got to matchup against each other. It was fun, it was more of a mental game. She’s really good in the post, so I just had to try not to foul her.”

Trailing to start the second quarter, Greenwich cut the Eagles’ advantage to 12-11 on an Utzinger foul shot and went ahead, 13-12, when Utzinger scored off a pass from Xhekaj. Faison grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, putting GHS on top, 15-12.

Afoakwa-Abrokwa scored in the post, while being fouled, then made the ensuing free throw, tying the score at 15-15 going into halftime.

“We adapted to the way they were playing,” Utzinger noted. “They were a high, aggressive team in their 1-2-2, so we knew we had to pass in, pass out, hit our shots. Our shots weren’t falling in the beginning, so I think our shots falling in the third and fourth quarter was helpful.”

The pivotal third quarter saw the Cards get on track on offense, while continuing their strong man-to-man defense. A pair of baskets by Faison gave Greenwich leads of 17-15 and 19-17. After an Eagles free throw, Faison scored again in the paint and Utzinger converted a shot, making it 23-18 in favor of the home team.

Kiernan scored off a layup, then buried a 3-pointer from the left corner, giving GHS a 30-22 advantage late in the third quarter.

“The key to our offense was getting it to the middle, because we knew if we got it to the middle, we could break their zone and get layups off that and that’s what we did,” Kiernan noted. “I feel like we played really well offensively and defensively. Obviously, we started out a little slow in the second half. Our defense showed up and that’s what won us the game.”

The Cardinals had solid possessions throughout the second half against East Catholic, which played a zone defense the majority of the matchup.

“We just had to slow things down, because once we got the lead we had to use our clock a lot,” Faison noted. “Slowing down really helped.”

Greenwich gained the momentum during the all-important third quarter.

“Coming into the game, the first quarter, everyone’s nerves was a little high,” Wax said. “Everybody was playing really tense. At halftime, we took the opportunity to reset ourselves. We talked about things that we see are open and things we want to start attack.”

“We know that when we play great defense we are so much more confident offensively,” Wax continued. “We were getting rebounds; we were getting them to have some turnovers and that always ignites a fire in us.”

Xhekaj helped keep the Eagles’ point total in check, recording several steals throughout the game.

“We have to use our IQ and just go for it and I ended up getting steals,” Xhekaj.

As for advancing to the state semifinals for the second straight season?

“It feels amazing, I’m only a sophomore, but I love this team, so we just have to go into the next game with the same intensity,” Xhekaj said.

Overall, Greenwich has won 13 straight games entering the Division I semifinals.

“I love the experience, every time we win a game and start cheering, it’s so good,” Xhekaj noted.

Greenwich’s next opponent, Hamden, has a record of 13-10 and has played well in the Division I Tournament. They defeated Southington in the opening round and New Britain in the quarterfinals.

The Cardinals will be playing for their first appearance in the state tournament final and first trip to Mohegan Sun since 2016.