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The Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference girls basketball season is only five games old, but several story lines have already developed.
Trinity Catholic and New Canaan appear to be two teams that will be in the chase for the championship. The Crusaders (4-0 in the FCIAC) are led by Mackenzie Griffin. In a 50-43 win over St. Joseph Tuesday in an FCIAC finals rematch, however, the Crusaders showed they are more than a one-girl team. Erin Sottosanti, Ali Palma and Jovan Kingwood are among those who made key contributions for the Crusaders (4-1), who dropped a non-league game to Lauralton Hall.
New Canaan (4-1) lost to Danbury, but led by smooth point guard Sarah Mannelly could be a team that makes some noise in the league playoffs. As the Rams showed in Tuesday's win over Darien, they also have a supporting cast that can take the scoring burden off of Mannelly.
Ridgefield and Trumbull are also 4-0 in the league, and Danbury and St. Joseph are 4-1.
The middle of the pack is where it gets interesting. Staples, Norwalk, Brien McMahon, Stamford, Westhill, Darien, Greenwich and Wilton have all shown promise. Any one of them could make the playoffs. Eight teams make the playoffs, which means there will be a mad scramble at the end of the season. There will be a lot of games over the next few weeks that help separate the pretenders from the contenders.
Among the most intriguing teams is Norwalk. Emma Oyomba is averaging 16.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game, putting her among the top 15 in the state in each category. The Bears face big games in early January against Danbury and New Canaan, which could reveal a little more about where the team stacks up among league contenders.
Most teams will be involved in non-league holiday tournaments next week. The FCIAC regular season resumes on Jan. 4.
Which teams do you think will make the girls basketball playoffs in the FCIAC?
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