By Allison Goldsmith
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Christina Anderson protects the ball from an Upper Cape Tech defender last Wednesday. |
I&M Sports Editor
The girls varsity basketball saw its nine-game winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon in a 51-42 loss at Cohasset. The Whalers defeated Upper Cape Tech 74-40 last Wednesday to extend the streak and earn a postseason berth.
Despite suffering their first loss since Dec. 15 at West Bridgewater, the Whalers improved their record to 10-2 last week (3-0 Lighthouse
Conference). Nantucket will wrap up its conference schedule with two games against Sturgis scheduled for Thursday on the road and Monday at home and a game with Provincetown at home on Tuesday.
But the Whalers have circled Saturday’s home rematch against Cohasset as this week’s top focus.
“We talk about getting better in the gym, but until you play good competition it’s hard to do that at practice. I think that the stretch of games we have coming up are only going to help us in tournament time,” head coach Willis Ferreira said of upcoming games against non-conference foes Cohasset, Harwich, Dennis-Yarmouth and possibly Martha’s Vineyard.
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Grace Ann Tornovish waits to put up the shot as an Upper Cape defender leaps for the block. |
“We needed a loss to put us back in perspective. The only difference between us and Cohasset is just the competition. They play a good team every night where we don’t. In a tight game, even when we were up 13 they didn’t go away like most clubs do when you get that lead. They just kept clawing back,” Ferreira said. “We haven’t had to play from behind a lot this year, so I don’t think we know what it takes to do that.”
Against Cohasset on Saturday, the Whalers got off to a good start, leading 18-5 at one point and 20-16 at the break. But in the second half, things started to fall apart for the generally put-together Whalers’ squad. The Skippers capitalized on a pesky full-court press as well as multiple offensive rebounds on each possession.
“We just played in the first half and then we started thinking too much as the game went on,” Ferreira said. “They out-rebounded us, so we tried to go a little bigger and they pressed us. When that happened, we didn’t have enough ball-handlers in the game and it just sort of snowballed from there.”
The Whalers expect a different game when the Skippers travel to the island on Saturday, Ferreira said.
Angela Paterson led the Whalers with 21 points, including two three-pointers. Shantel Hanniford scored seven, with eight rebounds and two blocked shots, but saw limited playing time down the stretch after a minor injury kept her out of action for a few minutes. The Whalers shot eight-for-18 from the free-throw line.
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Lia Newman takes the ball in the second half of the Whalers' game against Upper Cape Tech Wednesday. |
Against Upper Cape Tech last Wednesday, the Whalers came out with an intensity their head coach had been looking for in recent games. Nantucket streaked to a 19-1 lead in the first six minutes of play.
“Maryanne (Bradley) really got us going early with the defense. She was hustling, she made some plays and made some great passes,” Ferreira said.
In addition to Bradley’s play-making abilities, Paterson scored 10 straight points including two three-pointers to help the Whalers open the lead. The Rams instituted the press, which caused some problems for the Nantucket ball-handlers later in the half, but Upper Cape could only pull within 13 by the break at 33-20.
In the second half, the Whalers spread the ball around to 11 different scorers. Paterson led both teams with 18 points (five rebounds and four assists). Aileen Fredericks scored nine points, including a three-pointer and pulled down five rebounds. Bradley scored six points and contributed eight assists. Mandy Cahill scored eight and pulled down five rebounds. Erin Lindsay scored six, while Hanniford, Johnica Farmer and Calli Moore all scored five points each.
Reach Allison Goldsmith at sports@inkym.com |
