Trumbull, CT — The emotion was all over the faces of the Ludlowe players and coaches as the final seconds ticked off in the FCIAC girls basketball championship game Thursday. Not only was Ludlowe winning its first FCIAC title in school history, 52-42 over St. Joseph, it was completing an unbeaten run to the title and doing so with one of its best players sidelined for much of the game with an injury. “All of my emotions from the last 12 years of me playing basketball is all coming back to me. We have all worked our entire lives for this,” Ludlowe center and FCIAC championship MVP Caitlin Finnegan said. “We had to get mad and fight for our teammates and this was robbed from Kaleigh (Sommers) and we just wanted to play the best game we could for her.” Sommers, Ludlowe’s 6-foot All-FCIAC guard, was injured in the second quarter and did not return to the game, though she was on the bench for the second half with her ankle wrapped. Finnegan scored 14 points and dominated the paint with her defense and rebounds. Phoebe Shostak and Rory Kudzy both added 13 points for the Falcons. Ludlowe (23-0) had never played in an FCIAC championship game, but entered the championship as one of two unbeaten teams in the state. The last team to finish the regular season undefeated and win the FCIAC title was Norwalk in 2019. Ludlowe, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, quickly turned a seven-point halftime lead to a 39-28 lead after three quarters. No. 2 seeded St. Joseph would not go away, cutting the lead to 44-39 with 3:10 to play before Ludlowe closed out the game by making free throws. St. Joseph was the defending FCIAC champion, but lost most of its team to graduation and were not expected to get this far in the preseason. “This is one of the proudest moments of my coaching career,” St. Joseph coach Chris Lindwall said. “When you look at where we came from, to be able to execute a whole new game plan in one day is incredible. The kids really responded and they are one of the most coachable teams I ever had and they gave me everything they got.” Ludlowe coach Sara Kinsley played for the Falcons as a player and was holding onto the championship trophy tight after the game. “There isn’t a word to describe it, I am just so proud of these girls,” Kinsley said. “When things got tough, they don’t care how they get it done, they just get it done. I am so proud to bring this first FCIAC championship back to Ludlowe. This is a historic group and we are not done yet.” With Sommers out, the other five seniors rallied the team at halftime and it was seniors Finnegan and Kudzy carrying them to the title in the second half. “The leadership in the six seniors is sometimes taken for granted but they all came together so hard in that locker room,” Kinsley said. “They knew they had to finish the job and they knew they were playing for something even bigger than a championship, we are playing for our teammates and playing for what it means to be a Falcon.” ST. JOSEPH 8 4 16 14--42 LUDLOWE 10 9 20 13--52 ST. JOSEPH: Gigi Gracia 2 0-0 4; Erin Donegan 4 2-2 12; Abby Savoie 0 0-0 0; Erin Lovett 5 5-6 15; Grace Montelli 3 0-0 6; Maggie Wetmore 1 2-2 5. Totals: 15 9-10 42 LUDLOWE: Rory Kudzy 3 4-12 13; Amelia Keresey 1 1-2 4; Kaleigh Sommers 1 0-0 2; Phoebe Shostak 3 5-6 13; Caitlin Finnegan 7 0-1 14; Taylor Mehta 0 0-0 0; Madison Roman 2 2-5 6. Totals: 17 12-26 52 3-point field goals: L—Kudzy 3; Keresey; Shostak 2. SJ—Donegan 2 https://www.ctinsider.com/gametimect/girls-basketball/article/ludlowe-girls-basketball-wins-first-fciac-17802089.php