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.

Wilton Youth Basketball

7th/8th Grade Boys

The Wilton 7th/8th grade boys team, sponsored by GOOD Morning Wilton, finished off the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 20, with a double header against two non-divisional opponents.  The first game played against the Redding 8th grade A team was a foul-plagued, hard-fought game. Led again by their big man, Maden Herve—who had an all around commanding presence on the court including 14 pts., 6 boards, and 6 blocks—and Ben Wiener—who had a nice game at point guard with 7 pts.. and 2 assists—the Wilton boys stayed close throughout, with tough defense from Niko Kouvaris, Sean Sullivan and Jermaine Vincent. In the end, the size of the Redding team overmatched the tenacity of Wilton’s younger squad and the boys went down in a 57-45 battle.

Game two against a visiting Milford team was a different story. Paced by Herve’s 15-pt, 8-rebound effort and outside shooting from John McMahon (8 pts. and 4 boards) and Andrew Travers (6 pts. and 5 rebounds), Josh White added 3 pts. with an assist and Ryan Kaufmann added 4 pts. with 2 rebounds, and the boys were able to jump out to a commanding double-digit lead by half time. Wiener was again a master at distributing the ball to the open man, coming up with 6 assists. E.J. Faso was a defensive intimidator in the middle, and in the second half late buckets by Sam Strazza (3 pts. and 4 rebounds) and Davis Cote (3 pts. with 2 assists), the Wilton team was able to hold off a furious charge and come away with a season-ending victory by a score of 49-38. On to the playoffs…go Wilton!

5th Grade Girls

The Wilton 5th Grade girls’ team, sponsored by Little Pub, faced two tough competitors this weekend and were victorious for both games.

The girls’ visited Stamford on Friday night, Feb. 19, and came away with a 27-15 victory. Stamford had the early lead in the first quarter but with solid performances and improved defense, the girls were able to control the rest of the game. Aly Rappaport (4 points, 2 steals, 4 rebounds) dominated under the net while Heather Plowright (4 points, 2 steals, 4 rebounds) and Kelly Holmgren (4 points, 2 rebounds) were aggressive in their play. Strong play from Isabel DiNanno (2 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds), Lucy Corrie (2 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds), Anna Joy (1 steal, 3 rebounds) and Molly Snow (2 points, 4 steals, and 2 rebounds) helped Wilton with their victory.

On Sunday, Feb. 21, the girls’ played a very close game at home against Trumbull. Ava Fasano (2 points, 3 steals, 5 rebounds) and Emerson Pattillo (2 points, 2 steals) played hard and kept Wilton alive in the game. At the third quarter, it was a tied game. Mary Scally (6 points, 1 steal, 7 rebounds, 1 block) scored in the 4th quarter to solidify the 10-8 win for Wilton.

5th Grade Boys

In a much anticipated rematch, the Wilton 5th Grade Boys, sponsored by Abercrombie Burns McKiernan & Co. Insurance, sought revenge for an early season loss in Danbury. This time on their home court, the Warriors showed improvement in every facet of their game, and soundly beat the Hatters 50-40.

Leading the way offensively was Ryan Preisano and Tommy Walsh with 9 points apiece, while Tommie McKiernan added 8 points along with a game-high 5 assists. The team’s strong defensive showing of 15 steals and 29 rebounds was led by Peter Grandolfo, Jackson Duncan, Griffin Turner, Alexander Reyes, and Preisano, and limited the Hatters’ scoring opportunities.

The biggest difference was the Warrior’s consistent ability to break the full-court press and convert several fast breaks, as well as a picture perfect steal and coast to coast layup by Will Sullivan. Spencer Liston’s hustle and heads-up play created key second chance baskets, and center Andre Wiest’s tireless battle in the paint, resulted in 3 steals, 3 boards, and 4 points to round out the Warrior’s impressive league victory.

Coaches Torres and McKiernan have the team peaking at the right time, and looking to make some noise in next week’s tournament.

5th/6th Grade Girls

The 5th/6th grade Wilton Girls, sponsored by The Wilton Deli, had a great weekend of basketball. They dominated both opponents, winning Saturday’s contest versus Redding-Easton 31-21 and Sunday defeating Brookfield 20-1. The girls displayed great patience on offense, making solid passes to find open shots all over the court. Grace Williams had 15 points across both games, and Megan Hanny had 12 points. Katherine Cronin had a nice Birthday Basket, and Kathleen ‘Clutch’ Lamanna came through with 4 points. Strong rebounding and great passing on the fast break lead to some easy layups for the girls, as Katie Umphred returned with 8 points Saturday after a long injury. Allie Giller, Jaime Leventhal and Natasha Dinshaw also contributed baskets. The Warriors played aggressive, disciplined defense and created countless turnovers and bad shots for the opponent. Great hustle by Maddie Ratcliffe and Sawyer Pendergast helped hold Brookfield to only 1 point on Sunday. Georgia Russnok and Charlotte Casiraghi came through again with several steals and wore down their competitors offensive attempts all weekend.

6th Grade Girls

Wilton 6th Grade Girls, proudly sponsored by Servco Oil, found themselves on the short end of the stick in their last two regular season games.

On Saturday, Feb. 20, Wilton played Ridgefield in a very competitive game, with Ridgefield pulling out a 6-point victory. Key baskets by Amelia Hughes, Ellie Coffey, and Morgan Lebek kept Wilton in the game. Ellie Copley, Erynn Floyd, and Bella Andjelkovic played tenacious defense and cleaned up the boards.

Sunday’s one point loss to Newtown does not tell the story of the game, as Wilton dominated but was unable to get buckets to drop. Leah Martins played her usual great all-around game, scoring, rebounding, and providing numerous assists. Olivia Rossi, Catherine Dineen, and Gracie Kaplan provided a spark on both ends of the court. After a tough weekend the girls are looking forward to making a nice run in the tournament next week.

7th Grade Boys

Wilton 7th Grade Boys basketball team, sponsored by Ackerly and Ward, won a pair of non-league games this past weekend. On Saturday, Feb. 20, Wilton defeated Weston 46-17 in a game that featured a dominating defensive performance and balanced scoring (9 of 10 Wilton players scoring points). Wilton played a stifling 2-3-zone defense that propelled the team to a 32-3 halftime lead. Wilton’s offense was led by Alex Cocoros’ 11 points (2 assists); Matt Gulbin’s 9 points (2 assists); Michael Coffey’s 6 points (8 rebounds); Kyle Burns’ 5 points; Chase Autore’s 4 points (4 rebounds); Jimmy McKiernan’s 4 points (2 steals); Matt Murphy’s 3 points (3 rebounds); Owen Lillis’ 2 points (2 assists); and Mack Kepner’s 2 points (3 assists, 3 rebounds).

On Sunday, Feb. 21, Wilton again had 9 of 10 players score in defeating Ridgefield 74-45. Wilton was led by strong performances from Trevor Martines (13 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds), Burns (12 points), Murphy (10 points, 3 assists, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots), and McKiernan (9 points). Scoring contributions also came from Gulbin with 9 points, Coffey’s 8 points, Cocoros’ 5 points, Kepner’s 4 points, and Lillis’ 4 points (2 assists, 2 steals).

Wilton is now 27-5 overall. The team will play Newtown in the quarterfinals of the AA Division of the FCBL this Saturday.

8th Grade Boys

The Wilton 8th grade boys basketball team, sponsored by Pain and Spine Specialists of Connecticut, closed out their regular season with two tough home games this past weekend.

On Saturday, Feb. 20, the boys took on the Greenwich Flame. Behind a balanced attack led by Andrew Smith (13 points, 4 rebounds), Kyle Hyzy (9 points, 9 rebounds), John Walsh (6 points, 3 rebounds), and Patrick Cummins (6 points, 3 rebounds), Wilton led 15-14 after one quarter. The great play continued in the 2nd quarter as Wilton stepped up defensively led by Tucker Walden (4 steals), Reilly Sullivan (2 points, 2 steals) and Parker Ward (3 rebounds) the Warriors led 29-28 at the half. But playing without Drew Phillips, who was out with an injury, Wilton struggled in the 2nd half. Lewis Cropper (3 points, 3 rebounds) and Noah Levi (2 points 5 rebounds) helped keep things close in the 3rd quarter but the Flame pulled away late and beat the Warriors 56-43.

On Sunday, Feb. 21, the Warriors took on Westport. Wilton again played without Philips, but this time they were able to put together a solid effort for all four quarters and march to a well deserved 50-39 victory. Led once again by the excellent shooting of Smith (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Walden (10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Ward (6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Walsh (8 points, 5 rebounds,) the Warriors jumped out to a 38-30 lead at halftime. Hyzy (2 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals), Cropper (6 points), Levi (4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Sullivan’s quick hands (4 steals) helped the Warriors pull away in the 2nd half and cruise to victory.