Trumbull Girls Basketball Charges Into FCIAC Title Game

The defense might not have been perfect, at least according to the high standards of girls basketball coach Steve Tobitsch, but it certainly was good enough to propel the Eagles into the FCIAC championship game.

Kelly Coughlin scored 16 points Tuesday as top-seeded Trumbull dethroned defending FCIAC champion 57-46 in a bruising semifinal battle at Webster Bank Arena.

The win sets up a one vs. two battle in Thursday's title clash as No. 2 seed  Ridgefield advanced with a 51-33 victory  over New Canaan in Tuesday's first semifinal.

"Everything starts with our defense," Tobitsch said. "I was a little disappointed we didn't hold them under 40 for  the game. We want to hold teams under 10 every single quarter, and that means you hold them under 40 for the game.
When you hold teams in the 30s, you give yourself  a great opportunity to win games."

The 46 points actually is the most the Eagles (21-1) have given up in a game this season. Still, they gave a good St. Joseph team fits with their trapping defense, forcing 14 turnovers in the first half.

Erin Moore was a force inside, scoring 15 points. She was deadly from the line, making 11 of her 12 free throws to help Trumbull maintain a comfortable lead in the second half.

St. Joseph (15-7) took a 16-13 lead on Nancy Stablein's two free throws with 5:30 left in the second quarter, but the Eagles ended the half with a 15-0 spurt.

The Cadets went nearly nine minutes without a field goal as Trumbull extended its margin to 35-19 on point guard Victoria Pfohl's 3-pointer with 5:16 left in the third quarter.

"I thought for the first half, they were a lot more physical than we were," St. Joseph coach Joe Cavallaro said. "We  had a run there for the last four of five minutes of the half where we didn't handle the pressure at all. We had all
kinds of problems with the press and gave them more and more confidence."

"We do play physical because we practice hard and we're aggressive," Pfohl said. "That's just the way our team is."

Still, the Eagles did have trouble putting away the Cadets, who pulled within 37-31 on Jessica Jowdy's two free throws with 1:37 left in the third quarter.

Pfohl answered with a huge 3-pointer to give Trumbull a 40-31 lead and the Eagles maintained a double-figure lead for most of the fourth period.

"My teammates are great," Pfohl said. "We have great post players and we also have great shooters. It makes my job look easy because I know I can always count on them for everything. When one person is not hot, the another one is."

St. Joseph closed within 48-40 on a jumper by Amaia Gritsko, who scored a team-high 13 points, with 3:55 remaining, but  that was as close as the Cadets got. Jowdy added 11 points for St. Joseph.

Trumbull now looks forward to Thursday's clash with Ridgefield (17-4). On Feb. 4, the Eagles posted a 53-39 win at Ridgefield that was easier than many anticipated, but they are expecting a tougher test this time.

"I think Ridgefield is a very good team and they match up to us very well," Pfohl said. "We both have a lot of guards and not many post players, but overall I think it will be a very good game."

"I think it's definitely going to be a close game all the way through," Tobitsch added. "Ridgefield's tough, they're physical. I definitely expect a tough test Thursday, but I think we'll be confident and aggressive, like we are in every game."