By Andy Hutchison

TRUMBULL — Looking for a win Monday over a Trumbull High squad ranked higher in FCIAC standings, the Staples girls basketball team got the job done with a 50-44 victory.

With the road win, the Wreckers moved into eighth place in the conference standings. If they defeat Danbury on Wednesday, they’ll earn a spot in the FCIAC Tournament. That road game gets underway at 7 p.m.

Staples is one of three teams with an 8-6 FCIAC record, and holds the tiebreaker over one of those, Fairfield Ludlowe, by virtue of its win 44-42 win over the Falcons on Feb. 9. Danbury is 5-8 in conference play and out of conference playoff contention. 

The Wreckers on Monday notched their 10th win overall.

Trumbull came into the contest with nine conference wins and, at 9-5 in FCIAC action, holds the No. 6 spot as the regular season winds down.

Against Trumbull, Sarah VonDohlen led the Wreckers with 26 points. Marley Belzer and Freya Harvey both scored nine. 

The Wreckers trailed 7-6 after a defensive-minded first quarter and the game was tied at 17 apiece at the half. Staples doubled its point total in the third and went ahead 34-29 heading to the fourth.

Staples Coach Paco Fabian noted that Emma Asiel and Reese Rein played great defense against Trumbull standout Sheri Oberhand (17 points).

(Game schedules are subject to change; click for the latest CIAC updates.)

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