The defending champion Toll Gate girls basketball team has faced an uphill battle in the early going this winter and dropped to 0-2 on Monday night when it fell 41-16 to Exeter-West Greenwich. Addison Eddy led the Titans with seven points.
Toll Gate fell to visiting Burrillville 26-22 in the season opener last Friday night. Lyndsey Allen led Toll Gate with eight points, including a pair of 3’s. Although the Titans fought back and climbed within three points with 20 seconds remaining, Burrillville would get a free throw to put the game out of reach.
The Titans are fresh off their Division III championship run but were bumped up to DII while graduating nearly their entire lineup. Returning senior Mary McNulty is set to be the leader for this young group as she emerged as a key piece to the team’s title run last winter in the paint.
“She has to step up as a leader this year. We lost our whole starting lineup and we got moved up to Division II. We’ll need her to lead,” said Toll Gate coach Bob Enright, who is taking over for former coach Jim Areson.
With a new starting lineup, one that features players with little varsity experience, Enright and his staff are hoping to teach the fundamentals and stress tough defense while the offense finds its way. With McNulty up front, Allen on the outside and Eddy running the point, Enright sees some potential.
“We have to start from the bottom, so we’ve been working on defense first. Lindsey Allen has a lot of talent and she’s going to help us out. Mary is going to get her points, I want to try to free her up a bit. We need to shoot more on the outside. Offense will be the battle,” said Enright.
Considering the mass roster change and jump up in division, the Titans are looking to rebuild but compete in each game this winter.
“For us to take that next step and be DII team, we’re going to need everybody. Everyone is going to need to step up. We just want to be in the game, we want to have a chance,” Enright said.