By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — Down by as many as 19 points, Staples girls basketball team never lost hope, chipping away to overcome No. 5 St. Joseph of Trumbull, 62-60, in an FCIAC tournament quarterfinal thriller Saturday.

“It was amazing. It’s a tribute to the girls’ toughness. I’m so proud of them — it’s unbelievable,” Staples Coach Tommy Sparks said.

With the win, the Wreckers face another daunting task as they challenge top seed Ridgefield in Monday’s semifinals at neutral site Trumbull High starting at 5:30 p.m. (Game schedules are subject to change; click for the latest CIAC updates.)

St. Joseph looked to avenge a late-season loss to the Wreckers as the Cadets built a commanding lead early on. They held a 41-26 advantage at halftime and led, 54-40, going to the fourth.

“At the half we knew we were playing pretty well. They were making really tough shots and we were missing easy shots. We stayed confident and executed,” Sparks said. “We started to play with some energy. We started to play with some fight.”

Staples forced several late-game turnovers and its pressuring defense made things difficult on the Cadets, limiting them to just two field goals and six points in the final period. 

Chloe Smith scored 22 of her 23 points in the second half, including 13 in the final period alone.

“We have so much energy on the team,” said Smith, noting that support from the bench spilled over onto the court.

Smith added that a key to the turnaround was attacking the basket and pressuring the Cadets. Smith did most of her damage in the paint, but also was a threat from the outside with a pair of 3-pointers.

Even though the Wreckers trailed by 14 going to the fourth, Sparks liked where his team stood all things considered. It did not take long for things to go from lopsided to very interesting. 

Staples opened the fourth on a 9-0 run, with Riely Gullans, Smith and Sadie Katzner scoring. Katzner came off the bench and provided a spark with some big plays down the stretch, including forcing tie-ups, steals, assists and four key points in the fourth.

The teams traded hoops, the Cadets getting their first points of the fourth midway through the stanza, and it was a seven-point game with less than three minutes to play.

Katzner’s steal led to a pair of Smith free throws making it 58-53 Cadets with 2:56 left. Freya Harvey connected on a right-corner 3-pointer 17 seconds later and it was a two-point game.

Sparks said he was proud of Katzner for making big plays and igniting the team.

A steal by Smith near mid-court and her subsequent layup tied things with 1:09 to play. 

The Cadets called timeout, but there would be no stopping the Wrecker momentum. Harvey stole the ball and set up Katzner for a layup and Staples’ first lead of the game at 60-58 with just 46 seconds to go.

The Cadets missed a pair of free throws with 38 seconds to go. Harvey rebounded and set up Smith for a drive to the basket making it 62-58 with 26 seconds remaining.

St. Joseph hit two foul shots with 17 seconds left, but the Cadets could not come up with a late steal and failed to foul, allowing the Wreckers to hang on and advance.

Harvey finished with 11 points, hitting a trio of 3-pointers along the way. Ella Harrington scored nine, all in the first half, to help keep the Wreckers somewhat in the game. Addie Talbott (five points) and Emma Asiel both hit 3-pointers.

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.