Led by Raposo, ‘Canes snap six-game skid, win two in a row

Matt Metcalf
Posted 1/15/15

It wasn’t all that pretty, particularly down the stretch, but the ‘Canes were able to get back in the win column on Monday night, snapping a losing streak of six-straight league games. …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Led by Raposo, ‘Canes snap six-game skid, win two in a row

Posted

It wasn’t all that pretty, particularly down the stretch, but the ‘Canes were able to get back in the win column on Monday night, snapping a losing streak of six-straight league games.

Despite a shaky second half, the Warwick Vets girls’ basketball team was able to hang on for a 27-21 win over Rocky Hill.

Vets’ guard Emma Nason scored the first two points of the game, but then the Mariners answered with six-straight points, taking a 6-2 lead.

Over the next eight minutes, Nason and Kat Raposo took over the game, sparking a 14-0 ‘Canes’ run to take a 16-6 lead.

Highlighting Vets’ run was a streak of seven-straight points from Raposo, hitting a three-pointer and finishing off nice feeds from Nason and Victoria Ferri in transition.

Due to the run, Vets was able to take a 16-8 lead into the half.

Raposo led Vets with eight points in the first half, while Nason scored six. Mackenzie Hough had the other basket in the opening 16 minutes of play.

“We extended out a little bit further than we usually do and it gave them (the guards) a chance to run,” Vets’ head coach Owen Paquet said.

Not only was Vets’ offense on its game on Monday, but so was its defense, forcing several contested misses from Rocky Hill in the first half.

To start the second half, Vets’ offensive rhythm continued to flow, as the ‘Canes were working the ball in and out, getting the ball into the post and finding the open player.

“We worked on interior passing, it’s a must to open up the exterior,” Paquet said. “We want to try to get those wings an open shot. We’re working on swinging the ball from strong side to weak side actively. We want to give our player a pass where she can catch and shoot and it’s been paying off.”

On the first possession of the second half, Raposo made a nice pass into the post for Ferri, who got fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws to give Vets a 17-8 lead.

The ‘Canes were also much better on the glass on Monday night, as they worked hard for some second-chance points.

Two minutes into the second half, Nason collected an offensive rebound and put it back in to make it a 21-8 game.

Three minutes later, Ferri did the same thing, as she was able to hit the glass and get an easy layup to extend Vets’ lead to 25-10.

From there on out, however, the wheels began to fall off a bit for the ‘Canes.

Rocky Hill ended the game on an 11-2 run, as Vets, who lacks experience in real-game situations, struggled to take care of the ball with a lead in the final minutes.

The ‘Canes were able to hang on for the win, as the lead they had built was too much for Rocky Hill to overcome, but it wasn’t the way Paquet would’ve liked to see his team close out a game.

“We went back to our old selves in the second half,” Paquet said. “We weren’t executing at the basket down the stretch and we were turning the ball over. We can only do so much in practice with those types of scenarios.”

Raposo ended the game with a game-high 14 points for the ‘Canes, while Nason scored eight. Ferri was third on the team in scoring in the win with three points.

Ann Coaty led Rocky Hill with a team-high nine points.

The ‘Canes played rival Toll Gate on Tuesday night and grabbed their second-straight win, topping the Titans 29-20, behind a game-high 17 points from Raposo.

Vets, now 3-6 in Division III-South, will be back in action next Thursday at 3:15 p.m. at Central High School, who is in second place in D-III-South at 6-1.

Comments

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