On Friday, February 26, the Stamford High girls basketball team traveled to Fairfield Ludlowe High School to take on the Fairfield Warde Mustangs in a battle for the FCIAC title. In a hard-fought battle, the girls came out victorious with a score of 56-48, making them the FCIAC champions for the first time since 1979.

The girls allowed the one seeded Mustangs to hang around for just about the entire game. At halftime, they were only up 21-20.

This small lead could partly be blamed on the rough first half performance by St. John’s-bound guard Tiana England. However, in the second half, England put the team on her back and the Lady Knights lead 40-28 by the end of the third quarter. During this quarter alone, England scored 11 points and put her explosive capabilities on display.

When it came down to the last minute of the game, Fairfield Warde caught up and brought the score to 49-43. However, the Lady Knights made that the closest they would come. Thanks to great free throw shooting, the Black Knights sealed the deal and soon after were officially crowned FCIAC champs.

England ended the night with 19 points, and had some assistance from Center Alexa Kellner, sophomore, who chipped in with 14 points and Guard Camille Martinez, junior, who had 13.

After winning the title, England said, “This season has been full of accomplishments for our team, the biggest being winning FCIACs because at the beginning of the season, no one believed we would make it this far. This goes to show when you have a common goal and are all determined to make it happen, the outcome is in your favor. We have a special team and I’m glad we were able to make history together.”

The argument can be made that this Lady Knights team has the best chemistry in the FCIAC.

Captain Mackenzie Brown, senior, couldn’t help but also rave about the hard work that they put in as a team. “Winning FCIACs has really been a testament to all the hard work we’ve done as a team,” Brown said. “We work hard everyday in practice and it’s paid off. All of the girls came ready to play and it was great to get the win over Warde, being that they’re one of our biggest rivals.”

Since the win, the girls, who are the fourth seed in the state tournament, won the first round of states against Ledyard High School, 66-36. They will take on Ridgefield High School at the Kuzco Gym on Thursday night at 7 p.m., as they look to advance through the second round against a tough Tigers team. During the regular season, the Tigers handed the Black Knights one of their two losses during the season.

This game will be a tough battle, and our Lady Knights will need the support of the Black Knight Nation.