Balanced Pats edge Knights

By Matt Metcalf
Posted 2/4/16

After a two-game letdown with losses at Warwick Vets and Narragansett last week, it seems as if the Pilgrim girls’ basketball team has righted the ship.

Pilgrim has since put together two …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Balanced Pats edge Knights

Posted

After a two-game letdown with losses at Warwick Vets and Narragansett last week, it seems as if the Pilgrim girls’ basketball team has righted the ship.

Pilgrim has since put together two consecutive wins, with its latest coming via a 42-39 victory over Central at home on Monday night.

After scoring just 14 points in the first half and taking a two-point deficit into the break, the Pats picked up their offensive play in the second half.

Pilgrim got contributions from multiple players to outlast the Knights, with Hannah Page scoring a team-high 10 points. Kendra Tantimonico also chipped in with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Karly Evans scored nine points and Erin Plowman totaled seven points and nine rebounds.

“We say it’s not the team with the best players, it’s the players with the best team,” Pilgrim head coach Scott Bayha said. “We pride ourselves on whoever’s open scores. We don’t push shots. Whoever’s open is our best option. If we continue to play that way, we can play with anyone, I feel.”

The game was big in the sense that it had potential playoff implications, as both teams came in at 6-5 in the Division III standings.

“I think that puts us ahead of [Central] now at 7-5, so that’s huge for us because we were tied,” Bayha said.

Central put Pilgrim on its heels early with speed and athleticism, scoring the first five points of the game within the first minute and a half.

But a Tantimonico offensive rebound and put-back two minutes in ended the mini run, cutting the Pats’ deficit to 5-2.

And that’s how the remainder of the first half played out, with Central holding on to a miniscule lead as Pilgrim remained close.

A running jumper in the lane by Evans cut Central’s lead to 14-11 near the three-minute mark, and Plowman converted on an and-1 a couple of minutes later to trim the Knights’ advantage to just 16-14 going into the locker room.

Central point guard Lisbeth Santos drilled a 3-pointer on the first possession out of the break to increase the lead to 5, but Pilgrim would battle back.

And with 12:55 to go, Page collected an offensive board and scored on as easy lay-in to give the Pats their first lead of the game, 20-19.

Four minutes later, Central would swing the lead back in its favor when Brendalee Olivo drilled a 3 to give the Knights a 26-24 lead.

The Pats again battled, however, getting key buckets in the following minutes.

Mercedes Faust nailed a mid-range jumper to give Pilgrim a four-point lead, 32-28, with 3:30 left.

But that didn’t last long, as the two teams continued to trade baskets down the stretch.

Santos, who scored a game-high 13, came up with a critical 3-point play on an and-1 with 2:08 left to tie the game at 34.

Page would hit one of two free throws on the next possession to push Pilgrim ahead by 1, before the Pats got a key stop on the other end with under a minute left. Plowman came down with the defensive board and got fouled, sending her to the line in search of ballooning the lead.

Pilgrim would get some additional breathing room with the help of Central head coach Vincent Scandura, too.

Scandura refused to send his players to line up for Plowman’s first of two free throws. After going back and forth with the referee, arguing that his players didn’t need to line up until the second free throw, Scandura was given a technical foul.

Plowman would hit both of her free throws and Tantimonico hit one of two technical free throws to stretch the lead to 4.

Jada Littlejohn did her best to keep her team in the game, swishing an NBA-range 3-pointer late for Central, but clutch free throws from Page and Evans helped to seal the deal.

Pilgrim will be back on the court tonight at Central Falls at 7 p.m., searching for its third consecutive win.

After a tough stretch, Bayha is pleased with the way his team has bounced back.

“Sometimes you have to reach bottom to come back up, and I think we did offensively, we hit bottom,” Bayha said. “I think it came down to passing, and we’re passing the ball more now. We don’t have a basketball player that can create like [Littlejohn], we have a team, and we didn’t play team basketball for a while and it showed.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here