Each week, GOOD Morning Wilton will run news of weekend results and scores from Wilton Youth sports teams. Please send all stories and updates, along with a photo to editor@goodmorningwilton.com by noon on Monday of each week. Stories received after the deadline may not be included. Results write-ups will be grouped by sport and published in the order they are received.
11th Annual Tyler Ugolyn Basketball Tournament
OLF Lady Falcons Beat St. Thomas Aquinas, 33-25, to Win Championship
Congratulations to Our Lady of Fatima School‘s Lady Falcons Basketball Team, which won the Annual Tyler Ugolyn Basketball Tournament and earned the “Champion” title on Friday, Feb. 9.
Every year, Our Lady of Fatima School holds the tournament to honor Tyler Ugolyn, an alumnus of the school who died during the 9/11 terrorist attack. The tournament which began in 1985 is celebrating its 33rd year, but was renamed 11 years ago in memory of Ugolyn.
According to Gerry Davis, Coach of the Lady Falcons, Tyler led his life in a way that the community hopes students will emulate.
“Tyler’s dedication to basketball, and more importantly, to his faith, was so impressive and resulted in his many achievements as an athlete and as a young man. We honor his memory and hope to instill the attributes of sportsmanship, leadership and faith in all of the children,” he says.
During last year’s tournament, OLF’s Father Reggie Norman echoed that sentiment.
“It is an incredible honor to host this tournament in honor of Tyler. He was a young man who serves as a shining example of what we strive to foster in our students,” he said.
Davis was joined by his son, Ryan Davis, as coach of the Falcons. The players are Lauren Davis, Molly McLaughlin, Mary Kate Doyle, Sofia Pace, Amelia Fleming, Liliana Benanti, Raegan Wauthier, Anais Salageanu, Chelsea St. Cloud, Haley Bembridge and Mary Highland.
Wilton Youth Basketball
6th Grade Girls Top Lady Orange, 38-35.
The 6th grade girls basketball team, sponsored by Servco Oil & Propane, notched another win on Saturday, Feb. 10, in a close game against Lady Orange. Ashley Masterson led the Warriors in points (10), rebounds (12) and blocked shots (3). Caroline Hage and Lauren Moe combined for more than a dozen rebounds. Each girl contributed 8 points and a couple of steals. Hage’s inside presence created opportunities for her teammates. Moe added a pair of blocks and an assist. Maddie Dineen ran the offense. She scored 6 points, made a steal and had an assist. Molly Hancock hustled for 5 steals as well as a couple of assists and 2 points. The difference in the game was the Warrior performance in the second quarter when Wilton out-scored its opponent by 6 points with help from the bench. Ella Mulfinger added 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a blocked shot during the key quarter. Riley Fitzgerald created energy on the court with her scrambling play for fast breaks, creating a steal and layup. Julie Collias helped the Warriors with her unrelenting, tenacious defense, resulting in a steal and an assist. In the final minutes of the game, with Masterson grabbing one of her 4 steals in the game, the Warriors held on to their lead to close-out the game 38-35. (Missing for the Warriors were Anisa Burrows and Marin Burke.)
5th Grade Boys Win Two Weekend Games
Teamwork, strong defense, forced turnovers, aggressive play and ball movement were the dominant themes of a weekend that resulted in two victories for the Wilton 5th grade boys travel basketball team.
On Saturday, the boys beat the CT Elite team 39-14 on the road in Trumbull. The game was a potent collaboration amongst the boys, with each member of the team scoring points. Grady Kaliski led the way with 8 points, followed by Liam McKiernan (7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist), Cole Siegel took control in the paint (6 points, 8 rebounds), Jack Schwartz (5 points, 1 assist), Matt Garcia (4 points), Luke Perna (3 points, 1 assist), Cael Dexter (2 points and 1 rebound) and 2 points each for Ryan Luchetta and Luke Ginsburg.
On Sunday, the boys handily beat Darien 21-10 at home. While it was a low scoring game, the boys demonstrated an impressive orchestration of ball movement, selflessness and aggressive play. Perna was fierce all game, forcing 4 turnovers and collecting 2 rebounds. Siegel racked up 13 rebounds, scored 2 points, forced a turnover and blocked 1 shot. Dexter grabbed 4 rebounds, scored 2 points and had 1 assist. Kaliski had 1 rebound, 1 point and forced 2 turnovers. McKiernan accounted for 1/3 of the team’s points, scoring 7 points and 2 assists. Garcia demonstrated impressive ball handling and scored 2 points. Liam Murphy came back strong from a double ear infection that kept him out of Saturdays game, scoring 2 points, forcing 2 turnovers and fighting for 2 rebounds. Ginsburg grabbed 1 rebound, scored 3 points and forced 1 turnover. Schwartz had a powerful day at the boards, bringing in 6 rebounds, feeding teammates 2 assists and scoring 1 point. Luchetta grabbed a turnover before exiting the game with an injured knee.
Wilton 5th/6th Grade Girls’ Come From Behind to Beat Weston, 25-22
The Wilton 5th/6th grade girls’ hoops team traveled to Weston, pulling off another come-from-behind victory. Wilton starters Grace O’Connor, Addison Dobson, Kaitlyn Sullivan, Grace Guglielmo, and Teagan Stengrim played tenacious defense with all five players causing turnovers and getting at least one steal each in the first frame. Mary Kate Doyle came off the bench to start the scoring for the Warriors, while Addison Dobson and Riley Casey added to the first half scoring. After the team faced an 8-point deficit at the half, Dobson, Guglielmo and Sullivan scored in the third quarter, closing the gap to six. Transitioning to a defensive press, the speedy Wilton guards caused turmoil while Emma Kelly clogged the inside, holding Weston to two buckets in the final quarter. O’Connor lit up the scoring with an end-to-end layup along with a couple of clutch free throws. Guglielmo added a field goal after an offensive rebound; and free throws by Guglielmo and Sullivan tied the game at 20. Caroline Luce blocked a shot and assisted Maddie Phelan on a jumper in the lane to give Wilton their first lead of the game. After Weston tied the game on the ensuing possession, Phelan then returned the favor to Luce with an assist to give Wilton the lead for good. Sullivan’s free throw with 13 seconds remaining sealed the game. After the game, coach Tyler Ratcliffe appropriately labeled them a “Fourth Quarter Team.”
Wilton 7th Grade Boys Win 2, Lose 1 Over Weekend
The Wilton 7th grade boys basketball team, sponsored by Wilton Hardware, headed into a three game weekend with the opportunity to prepare themselves for the playoffs and secure first place in their league.
The weekend started on Saturday with a non-league game against a tough Darien team that Wilton had defeated earlier in the season. The Wilton squad started slow and was down at the end of the first quarter 16-17. The first half continued to be a back and forth affair with Tommy McKiernan (30 points), Bailey Finn (15 points) and Spencer Liston (7 points) pacing the Wilton offense. As the offense was still finding its footing in the first half, the team continued to show energy and discipline on the defensive end of the floor with Alexander Reyes (2 steals/2 blocks), Ryan Preisano (2 steals/3 point), Andrew Roth (2 steals/2 points), and Griffin Turner (1 steal/2 points) applying pressure on Darien throughout the game. Wilton remained on the wrong side of the score at halftime 35-36. The second half saw Wilton begin to find its offensive rhythm with Jackson Duncan (4 points), Nicholas Walden (4 points), and Tommy Walsh (3 points) getting involved. The team finally took a lead heading into the fourth quarter 56-49 and did not look back. The team earned their 18th win of the season with a final score of 75-68.
The marquee event of the weekend was Sunday morning’s away game against Trumbull Gold for the regular season title. Trumbull came into the game without a loss in league play. Again, Wilton started slow struggling to get into an offensive flow. Trumbull opened any early lead by breaking the Wilton press and creating four easy baskets. Trumbull led at the end of the 1st quarter 10-17. In the second quarter Wilton relied on their defense to keep the game close with outstanding effort from Preisano (3 steals), Reyes (2 steals/2 points), Duncan (1 steal/1 defensive rebound), Walsh (1 steal) and Turner (2 defensive rebounds). Trumbull led at halftime 18-24. For the second time in the weekend, coach Kevin Hand delivered on his halftime adjustments and Wilton came out firing on offense led by Finn (19 points), McKiernan (11 points) and Walden (10 points). In the second half, the back court of Liston (4 points) and Roth (2 steals) helped steady Wilton throughout and led them to a third quarter lead of 32-28. With the regular season championship on the line, the Wilton boys dug deep with great defensive play and a real team effort that held Trumbull to 11 second-half points. As the final horn sounded, Wilton had won their 19th game of the season and was crowned the regular season champion with a 44-35 victory.
With the regular season championship in hand, the team entered the final game of the weekend looking to continue its winning ways and begin preparation for the 2018 FCBL playoffs. Sunday afternoon found Wilton matched up with long time rival New Canaan Black. Wilton came out strong playing toe to toe against the very talented New Canaan team. New Canaan led at the end of the first quarter 13-14. The teams continued to trade baskets during the 2nd quarter with Wilton delivering a balanced attack with scoring from Walsh (8 points), Duncan (6 points), Turner (6 points), Liston (6 points) and Finn (6 points). As the second half began, New Canaan appeared to find another gear in their offense and began to pull away from the Wilton boys. Wilton was able to make a few brief runs back into the game led by the defensive energy of Roth (2 steals/2 points) and Reyes (2 points/2 defensive rebound). Despite being down 21-37 in the third quarter, Wilton continued to show the effort on both ends of the floor that had led them to 19 wins in the season. Walden (5 rebounds/2 points), Preisano (2 steals), and McKiernan (2 steals/5 points) continued to play hard but New Canaan’s precision 3-point shooting proved too much for Wilton. The game ended with New Canaan taking home the victory 44-66.
Wilton 7th Grade Girls Run Off to 46-34 Win over Stamford Rivals
Wilton 7th grade girls have had an up and down year. Heading into this very important weekend where they were taking on their rivals Stamford, where they looked to put it all together. They did just that, playing with a mission and something to prove. Heather Plowright scored 8 straight points in the second quarter and Kelley Holmgren hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to go into the half tied. In the second half Molly McLaughlin took over hitting three 3-pointers and did a great job getting the rest of the team involved on the offensive end, making great passes to Lucy Corey and Charlotte Casiraghi, who both converted. Wilton began running away with the game in the second half where the defense, led by Mary Scally, Anna Joy, Hannah Fitzgerald and Kendall Shultz shut down Stamford and Wilton ran off to a 46-34 win.
Wilton 5-6th Grade Boys Lose Twice, to Greenwich Flame and Westport
The Wilton 5-6th grade boys’ team sponsored by Servco Oil started the weekend off slowly with a 20-38 loss to a strong Greenwich Flame team. The offense was led by Mason Andrews (10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal) and Cole Galante (5 points, 1 rebound). Defensively, Jack Williams (5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots), Luke DiRocco (3 steals, 3 rebounds), Declan Brokaw (1 steal) and Patrick Heffernan (2 steals, 4 rebounds) made Greenwich earn their win. Also strong on the boards were Will Fischer (3 rebounds), Justin Kammerman (3 rebounds, 2 steals), Henry Soojian (2 points, 1 steal, 2 rebounds), Stefano Cross (2 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound), and Tucker Farrell (1 steal, 1 rebound). Brody Hess was fearless driving to the hoop and drawing several fouls (1 free throw) but in the end Wilton was outmatched.
Late on Sunday night the team fell to a skilled Westport PAL team 28-49. There were some flashes of brilliance on offense by Hess (4 points, 1 steal, 2 rebounds), DiRocco (5 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds, 1 blocked shot), Heffernan (5 points, 3 steals), Cross (2 points, 4 rebounds), Farrell (2 points, 1 steal) and Fischer (6 points, 1 steal, 2 rebounds). Aggressive defense by Andrews (2 points, 3 steals, 1 rebound), Galante (2 points, 1 steal, 3 rebounds), Williams (2 steals, 3 rebounds), Soojian (1 steal, 1 rebound), and Kammerman (1 rebound) tried to contain Westport’s inside game.
Wilton Hoops 6th Grade Boys defeat Westport 55-39
On Sunday, Feb. 11, at home in the Middlebrook gym, Wilton’s 6th Grade Boys avenged last weekend’s tough loss to Westport and are now 2-1 versus Westport this season. In the game last weekend, Wilton blew a big lead in the fourth quarter but not this time. This time Wilton was in control for the entire game. Westport’s tenacious full court press led to more Wilton turnovers than Coach Jose would have liked to see but Wilton’s adjustments, improved decision making and heads-up passing ultimately got them through it and led to many easy baskets. Wilton big “men” Max Jarvie, Anderson Campbell, Kyle Roesser, Luke Umphred and Peter Reyes dominated the boards and the low post game combining for 24 rebounds and 32 points. Westport did not have an answer for their size, determination and physical play. Todd Woodring and Henry Roy were once again solid all around contributors with 6 points and 3 steals each. Their hustle and unselfish play also left them with 3 and 6 assists respectively, feeding each other and working the ball down low. Getting it done from behind the arc all 6 of Levi Kaplan’s points and 3 of Jack Minnich’s 5 points and were from downtown. When they weren’t launching 3’s they were working the ball around with quick passes and creating opportunities for their teammates. The team is looking forward to getting Wyatt Jones back for the next game who is out due to illness. Teamwork, hustle, rebounds and passing carried the day for the Wilton Boys and this team continues to improve every week.
Wilton Boys 7th/8th Grade Split Weekned Games
The Wilton Boys 7th/8th grade basketball team, sponsored by Caraluzzi’s, played Stamford JCC and Westport this weekend. Against Stamford, Wilton started strong, going up 13-3 after the first quarter on good shooting by Connor Robertson, and rode his 25 points and 11 rebounds to a 44-29 victory. In the second game, Westport applied lots of pressure. Wilton held up well, and the teams were back and forth in the first half, but Wilton’s inconsistent shooting and Westport’s pressure led to 36-48 loss. Wilton’s other bigs, Dylan Smith and Tim Martin, played solid inside, collecting 17 rebounds, making 7 steals, and contributing 8 points over the two games. Wilton’s guards, Dillon Mannix, Sean Wiseman, Conor Lillis, Will Sullivan and James Minnich moved the ball effectively to keep Stamford on their heels, adding 13 points, and making 10 steals. Swingmen AJ Preisano made two solid three pointers and Colin Tsai and Harrison Lent made midrange jump shots in both games and Jefferson Mitchell contributed 6 important points in his return against Westport. Wilton continued to battle hard for contested balls, leading to several key jump ball calls.
Wilton Blue 8th Grade Travel Basketball Trample Weston Gold 8B
The Wilton 8th grade boys travel basketball team, sponsored by Pinocchio Pizza, won its game over the weekend against Weston Gold 8B at Middlebrook. Wilton took a strong inside points lead in the first half thanks to Andrews, Cummings, K. Hyzy, and Lynch. Skilled passing and center drives by Masterson, Woodring and Eusube along with impressive assists and rebounds helped continue their lead. Outside shooters C. Hyzy, Silva and Murphy contributed multiple points throughout the game. The team’s combined strong offense and defense gave them a 54-36 win.