By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The girls basketball team has some work to do this week. After dismantling Lighthouse Conference foes Provincetown 62-21 Saturday and Sturgis 49-10 last Thursday, the Whalers will be matching up against some of their most difficult opponents of the season.
Head coach Willis Ferreira has acknowledged the relative ease of competition the girls’ squad has had over the first 15 games of the season, but is pointing toward the last five games to challenge the Whalers in preparation for the Division IV playoffs.
“The last five games they know are all quality games for us. We went through a stretch of being lackadaisical. It is easy to do. I was very happy at the end of the (Provincetown) game. I knew we could win the game, but I liked our effort. We are starting to communicate a little better,” Ferreira said.
The Whalers were scheduled to visit Chatham yesterday, too late for this edition of Sports. The remaining four games on the schedule include today’s home clash with Division II Dennis-Yarmouth, the only team to beat the Whalers this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
“They want to prove that they are a good basketball team. That is the one loss that we have,” Ferreira said. “Last year it seemed that every time someone beat us, we came back and beat them. We need to get back in that type of environment where the games are tough and they mean something. We have to prove something to ourselves. On paper we are 14-1, but we have to play like we are 14-1.”
On Sunday, the Whalers will visit Martha’s Vineyard for the Island Invitational. Nantucket drew games against Mt. Everett Saturday afternoon and Harwich Sunday morning. The Whalers will wrap up the regular season at Division I Sandwich next Wednesday.
This week the Whalers put the finishing touches on their fourth straight perfect Lighthouse Conference schedule (6-0) with ease.
“We talked about playing in some of these games it is hard to get motivated for, and I thought they came out the last couple games a little lethargic. I want them to play hard while they are on the floor. The schedule has been very soft, and I challenged them a little at practice. We wanted to come out in the first quarter of that game at P-Town and play 100 percent for eight minutes. I thought they came out with great effort and I was very excited,” Ferreira said.
Against a tough man-to-man aggressive defense, the Whalers came out firing at Provincetown. Shantel Hanniford had six of her 16 points in the first eight minutes of the game. Nantucket led 15-7 after the first quarter and blew it open to 37-9 at the half.
The Whalers dominated the boards. Hanniford pulled down 11 rebounds, most of which turned into baskets for the returning sophomore. Stephanie Espinoza collected 11 boards and five points and Bianca Brown had nine rebounds to go along with seven points. Aileen Fredericks had seven assists.
“She didn’t score, but she did a good job distributing the ball. We ran our offense for the first time all year. I think they finally understand what is at stake,” Ferreira said.
Angela Paterson led the Whalers with 20 points.
At Sturgis, the Whalers jumped out to an easy 27-0 lead at halftime. The Storm did not score a basket until the third quarter. Rayven Tillman scored seven of Sturgis’ 10 total points.
For Nantucket, Paterson led the way with 14 points and Hanniford chipped in with 10.
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