GHS Girls Basketball Falls Hard to Darien

The girls' basketball team suffered a 49-25 loss to host Darien in the first round of the LaVista tournament Tuesday afternoon.

Neither the host Blue Wave nor the Cardinals could find a groove early, enduring cold spells at the start of the game.

However, they eventually loosened up and Darien held a 14-11 after the first quarter.

Darien coach Gary Peterson's team began to find the basket more, as Meg Marren had the hot hand on a number of short-range opportunities. The sophomore, who netted 17 points, was looking smooth with easy open jumpers, mostly from the top of the paint.

"They were getting the ball to me and I had a lot of good looks," Marren said.

Cardinal sophomore Caroline Barrett knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early to keep it close, but the Blue Wave turned up the defensive pressure, forcing the Cardinals into more turnovers as they tried to move the ball low.

Darien didn't capitalize on all the resulting fastbreak chances, but finished the half with a 28-18 advantage, following freshman Emily Stein's 3-point buzzer-beater.

The second half brought more of the same, with both teams struggling to convert on chances underneath.

The Cardinals' offense, which had been generating shots from the outside, went in to a tailspin, managing just three and four points in the remaining two periods, respectively.

The third stanza ended with the Cardinals trailing, 44-21, after Darien scored 16 points in its best offensive quarter, which included a 10-0 run to finish.

Sophomore Kate Bushell's 15 points helped the Blue Wave lock up the game  before things slowed down in the fourth.

"We passed well and that resulted in some open shots," Bushell said.

Darien tacked on just five points in the closing period after Peterson cleared his bench, but the Blue Wave still outscored the Cardinals.

"In addition to having a poor shooting night, we were flat-footed on defense all night," Greenwich coach Daniella Morgan said.  

Greenwich senior Tori Dobson thought something else was missing.

"We played without heart tonight," she said.  "I don't know why, unless it was just a case of getting discouraged after the poor shooting."

Greenwich was scheduled to take on New Canaan in Wednesday's consolation game at Darien at 5 p.m.

In Tuesday's first game, New Canaan suffered a 39-37 loss to Foran, which hit the winning shot at the buzzer to advance to the championship against Darien.

Caroline Barrett led Greenwich on Tuesday with eight points and Dobson added seven.