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By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The girls varsity basketball team qualified for the Division IV postseason tournament this week by steamrolling over Lighthouse Conference opponents Cape Cod Academy and Provincetown.
The Whalers beat the Seahawks 57-8 at home Thursday and topped the Fishermen 50-13 on the road Saturday to clinch the playoff berth by picking up their 10th win of the season.
Just past the midway point of the 20-game regular season, the Whalers have streaked to a 10-1 record, 3-0 in the league.
The Lighthouse Conference games have been tough to swallow for both the Whalers and their opponents this season. In three games against Sturgis, Cape Cod Academy and Provincetown, Nantucket has outscored the opposition 172-35.
“I would like to get them out of the way as soon as possible. They are very difficult to play because you can’t do what you prepare to do and I think it is frustrating for everybody. But a win is a win and we are tournament-bound,” head coach Willis Ferreira said.
The Whalers have won their last seven straight since losing to Cohasset Dec. 29. Now, with a playoff berth already wrapped up, the girls’ squad can focus on improving its skills by working hard at practice in order to earn a top seed in the Division IV tournament, Ferreira said.
“Our practices are tougher than these games. We have to continue to get in better shape. We don’t have a lot of players, so we have to be in good shape to go up and down the court,” he said. “I know we can do some things when we get up and down the floor, but can we score a basket when we need to in the half court? Those are the types of things we have to work on.”
The Whalers have some tougher competition on tap this week, with a visit to Chatham scheduled for Thursday before a game at home against Division II Nauset Saturday. Nantucket defeated the Blue Devils 68-28 Jan. 5 and two days later edged the Warriors 43-41 in one of the toughest games on the schedule to date.
Lighthouse woes
Against Provincetown Saturday, the Whalers came out struggling and despite having multiple shot opportunities, could not put the ball in the basket.
Neither team had scored three minutes into the first quarter. But once the Whalers got into a groove, they never looked back, sprinting to an 18-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and 34-5 at halftime.
Junior varsity players Dacia Beans and Drew Moore saw some time in the varsity game as Ashley Clinger and Andrea Moore were both sidelined by injuries. The already short-staffed girls squad benefited from the contributions as Beans dropped four points and Moore added a basket.
The Whalers spread the scoring around to all nine players on the bench. Bianca Brown led all scorers with 10 points and Angela Paterson chipped in with seven in the win.
“P-Town didn’t quit. They just didn’t score. They played hard. They were pressing us and they were trying to do something, where I thought Cape Cod Academy made it a joke,” Ferreira said.
CCA defeated Provincetown by 20 points earlier this season, but struggled mightily against the Whalers. After falling behind early, the Seahawks seemed to allow the game to get out of hand. Cape Cod Academy scored only one basket per quarter even as the Whalers held back on both sides of the court.
All nine Whalers contributed in the scoring column.
The Whalers used a full-court press early in the game to take a 12-0 lead in the first quarter. Nantucket scored eight points off offensive rebounds in the first eight minutes. Even after taking off the press and slowing things down, the Whalers had a 21-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 39-4 lead at the half.
Nantucket scored only 17 points in the second half as they opted to work on passing and finding the open shot. Shantel Hanniford and Jessica Halford led the way with 10 points and six rebounds each. Paterson chipped in nine points, while Clinger scored eight and Lindsay Fry added seven. Brown pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, while Grace-Anne Tornovish contributed five assists.
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