Stamford Stuns No. 2 Seed St. Joseph In FCIAC Playoffs

After needing to beat Fairfield Warde just to get into the FCIAC playoffs, seventh-seeded Stamford continued its momentum on Saturday.

Kelsey Cognetta scored 18 points and Kelsey Santagata added 13 for the Black Knights, who stunned No. 2 St. Joseph 44-25 in the quarterfinals.

St. Joseph leading scorer Nancy Stablein, who averages 18 points, went down with an injury in the opening minute of the game and did not return after not scoring.

Without Stablein, the Cadets' offense faltered as Stamford built leads of 15-2 after the first quarter and 26-5 at the half.

The Black Knights improved to 12-9 and will be play No. 3 seed Trumbull, which held off Trinity 42-36, in the first game of a semifinal doubleheader on Tuesday at Fairfield Ludlowe (6 p.m.). St. Joseph dropped to 17-4.

Erin Moore scored 20 points for the Eagles (18-3) in a game played at Fairfield Ludlowe. The contest was moved from Trumbull because the school is hosting the Class LL wrestling state championships this weekend.

Top seed Danbury and No. 4 Wilton will meet in the other semifinal at 7:30 p.m.

Alexa Pfohl scored 13 points and Victoria Pfohl added seven for Trumbull, which was 25-of-34 from the line, including a 12-of-14 effort from Moore.

The Crusaders, who lost the regular-season meeting against Trumbull 55-34, stayed in the game behind the board work of Ali Palma and Mackenzie Griffin, who combined for 21 rebounds.They also combined to score 41 points -- 22 by Griffin and 19 by Palma.

Trinity Catholic trailed by only four with under five minutes remaining, but Trumbull held on by hitting its free throws.

During the regular season, the Eagles, who are the defending FCIAC champions, defeated Stamford 52-33 on Jan. 10