Overtime

Fairfield Warde girls basketball coach Dave Danko took advantage of his bye tonight to scout Stamford High School’s game at Fairfield Ludlowe. He was pretty impressed by what he witnessed.

Informed that Stamford star Fiona O’Dwyer had put up a career-high 33 points as she was removed from the game in the closing minutes, Danko looked at Daphne Elliott and Sabrina Siciliano, his two star players, and said, “That’s the best player we’ve seen all year.”

What made the performance by O’Dwyer, a 5-foot-10 senior, all the more impressive was the manner in which it was accomplished. O’Dwyer was not trying to carry the team or looking to put up big numbers. Quite the contrary. Her scoring came within the normal flow of the Black Knights’ offense. She looked for open teammates and often passed up open shots.

O’Dwyer’s points came in all aspects: 3-point shots, post-up moves, putbacks and drives. Stamford coach Curtis Tinnin was genuinely shocked after the game when told of his star player’s point total because this came in a game in which the Black Knights did not run up the score.

And O’Dwyer dominated in other aspects: she rebounded, chased down loose balls and played relentless defense.

Tonight also proved the Black Knights, in a down year in which after Warde there are a number of teams that appear bunched up, are as good as their 8-1 record and a legitimate threat to get to the FCIAC championship game.

Besides having a go-to player in O’Dwyer, Stamford is one of the league’s best defensive teams. It held Ludlowe, which is far from a cellar-dweller, to just one field goal during a 19-minute span, and to just three points for the first 14:30 of the second half.

With few dominant players in the league this year, the ability to play good defense is an even greater weapon, and the Black Knights really get at it on the court.

And most nights Stamford does not need O’Dwyer to carry the team, though she is capable of doing it. Tonight Katie Pape was Stamford’s next highest scorer with just 5 points. But Pape and Lauren Beluk, who had 3 points, are also four-year starters and part of an ensemble in which several players are capable of putting up double figures on a given night.

Blend it all together and this is the Black Knights’ best team in years and one that rightfully has its sights set on getting to the FCIAC final and, if the season plays out as expected, taking its best shot at Warde.

If the Black Knights were to go on and shock the conference by winning their first title since 1979, Danko will not be the only one impressed.

History tells us not to speak in absolutes in high school sports, but after watching the Fairfield Warde girls basketball team’s 81-44 rout of Westhill last night, it is hard to see the Mustangs not winning the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference title. They have the best 1-2 combo in the league and have a relentless press that forces turnovers and leads to easy baskets.

Last night they limited the Vikings to just one shot during a nearly three-minute span in the first quarter, forced seven turnovers and went on a 17-2 run. Westhill turned the ball over 25 times in the first half.

Daphne Elliott, who is averaging 23 points a game and put up 17 last night, is clearly the conference’s best player. Her outside shot is much more accurate and she is stronger than a year ago. Most people don’t know her cousins include current UConn guard A.J. Price and Jamelle Elliott, a former star and now assistant coach with the UConn women.

Complementing Elliott is 6-foot center Sabrina Siciliano, who equalled her season average with 17 points last night and is the point person to the Mustangs’ press. Most of her baskets came off of turnovers.

What will make Warde even more formidable is if other players step up, as Alex Aufiero did last night when she scored a career-high 19 points.

In a year in which the FCIAC is weaker than at any time in recent memory, it is hard to see the Mustangs not cutting down the nets next month. They are prone to struggle a little with their half-court defense, but opponents have had difficulty beating the press and having the chance to set up.

Take Warde out of the equation and you could have one heck of a playoff race, with teams like Danbury and Stamford, among others, battling in what would make a compelling tournament of fairly equal teams.

But as last night proved, unless someone catches them on an off night, the Mustangs most dangerous opponent might be themselves.

Though he has been a key part to the Trinity Catholic High School boys basketball team’s 8-0 start, junior guard Remy Pinson, a transfer from Rye High School in New York, has often operated beneath the radar. That is due to the fact that Pinson has been content to blend in to the state’s No. 1-ranked team, willing to cede the stage to the team’s two heralded stars, center Tevin Baskin and guard Eric Jean-Guillaume.

That selfless philosophy has obscured the fact that Pinson is quite capable of playing a headlining role, as he demonstrated during tonight’s 74-61 win over Danbury.

Pinson scored 17 first-half points, including nine in the first quarter, when the Crusaders were uncharacteristically lazy on defense and got into a shooting contest with the Hatters, coming out on top, 22-19.

Pinson finished with five 3-point shots.

On a different team, with different needs, Pinson could easily put up 20 points an outing, as he proved tonight. But with Baskin and Jean-Guillaume, and even Takari Smalls, capable of carrying the offense, Pinson has had the luxury of concentrating his efforts in other areas.

His ballhandling and poise were key factors that helped Trinity avoid an upset to St. Joseph at its Northeast Classic holiday tournament. At other times it has been his defensive play.

While Pinson’s performance may not always be as demonstrative as some of his teammates’, he has earned raves from opposing coaches who have scouted the Crusaders for his polished play.

Pinson is the latest contribution to the Trinity program from Rashamel Jones, Stamford’s all-time top male scoring leader. Jones coached Pinson in AAU ball. When Pinson decided he wanted to find a team that would serve as a better stepping stone to a college career, Jones steered him to his alma mater.

And if the Crusaders are going to realize their goals of winning a state title, you can be assured Pinson will play a large role. It just might not always be evidenced in the box score.

Just a little deviation today from the usual subject matter. I just got back from the gym and ESPN was on. Several times it hyped that tonight its NBA announcers would be calling the Duke-Davidson contest, while Dick Vitale would be handling an NBA game between the Heat and the Nuggets.

That, in a nutshell, is why, with a few exceptions, ESPN cannot be taken seriously. It should refer to itself as The Worldwide Leader in Narcissism. The network thinks it is bigger than the events it covers.

According to the promotions, we should not tune in to the Duke Davidson game to see Stephon Curry go up against one of the country’s top programs. And the reason to tune in to the Heat-Nuggets is to hear Dick Vitale work an NBA contest.

ESPN’s announcers thus are more important than the games. It would rather switch broadcasting teams at the expense of giving fans the analysts with the most expertise on their sports.

Actually, Dick Vitale and the NBA is the perfect marriage: a boring league with an annoying shill.

ESPN seldom practices real journalism anymore. Most of its programming is banal and repetitive.

But the fact that the network would pull a stunt like tonight’s is perfect evidence at how ESPN keeps devolving into self-parody.

And why, unless there is a game on I want to watch, about the only way to enjoy ESPN is with the sound off at the gym.

The Westhill High School girls basketball team has been discovering that it has been spoiled the past four years, carried by the star backcourt of Julie Becker and Jess Williams, with center Diana Delva accompanying them for the first two seasons. It earned the program four straight trips to the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference final, just the fifth team to accomplish that feat.

Now they are all gone, and the Vikings have struggled this season to score. Still, as tonight’s 52-48 victory over Trinity Catholic proved, in what is shaping up as a down year for the FCIAC, you can win with a strong defense.

Westhill had lost six straight times to Trinity — including the past three league finals — and 10 of their previous 11 meetings.

Westhill blew an early 7-0 lead tonight but overcame a 10-point third-quarter deficit by pressuring the Crusaders into a tempo faster than they preferred, forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. Leading the way was Adriana Miller, who did her best Walt Frazier impersonation with a series of quick steals that resulted in layups or trips to the foul line. She finished with a team-high 17 points, including the team’s last eight points of the game.

In a season with few dominant teams, or dominant players, a special niche can go a long way. For the Vikings, that is defense. It carried them to a hard-fought win tonight and they will need to continue to ride it to improve on their current 4-4 mark and earn a spot back in the FCIAC Tournament.

In my shameless plug for the week, the seventh annual Bobby Valentine Celebrity Wine and Food Tasting is just a week away, on January 12th, from 6-9 p.m. at the Greenwich Hyatt.

I only say shameless because I am on the charity’s board of directors. Seeing that the money raised goes to scholarships for deserving student-athletes at Stamford, Westhill and Trinity Catholic High Schools, as well as youth sports in Stamford, this plug isn’t shameless at all.

Here are the confirmed list of celebrities scheduled to attend:

Ralph Branca-Brooklyn Dodgers

Gerry Cooney-Boxer

Bob Hyland-NY Giants

Brian Kelley-NY Giants

Lee Mazzilli-NY Mets

Randy Minniear-NY Giants

Karl Nelson-NY Giants

Bob Ojeda-NY Mets-1986 World Champions

Tom Paciorek-Major League Baseball

Steve Thurlow-NY Giants

Steve Trachsel-NY Mets

Willie Upshaw-Major League Baseball

Wesley Walker-NY Jets

 

Entertainment personalities scheduled to attend:

Gary Dell’Abate-Howard Stern Radio Show

Jim Nantz, CBS Sportscaster

Karl Ravech-ESPN sportscaster

Chris Russo-Sirius XM Sports Radio

Dana Tyler-WCBS-TV news anchor

Tony Lip-The Sopranos

It is a great night that features some of the best local restaurants and national wineries, as well as live and silent auctions.

Here is a link to the website for more information: http://www.mickeylionefund.org/

By the way, many of the area’s best high school athletes are volunteering their time to help out at the event. There will be players from Stamford High’s football, baseball, field hockey, girls basketball and softball teams, Westhill’s field hockey, softball, girls soccer and girls tennis teams, Trinity Catholic’s volleyball, softball and girls basketball teams, as well as New Canaan’s and Darien’s football teams.

This is just another example of the quality of our local athletes.

Stamford High School’s boys basketball game at Norwalk on Friday has been moved up from 7 p.m. to 4. Stamford athletic director Pete Samperi said he is complying with Norwalk’s wish as the home team to change the starting time.

The decision is probably in response to the brawl that took place two weeks ago when Stamford hosted Brien McMahon at the Paul Kuczo Holiday Tournament.

Samperi reiterated that there are still currently no plans to change the starting times for any of Stamford’s home games.