Merger has Pilgrim ready to compete in D-II

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 12/8/16

After years of struggling in Divisions I and II, the Pilgrim girls' basketball team was able to get back on its feet following a couple of seasons in D-III. The Pats went 25-10 across two campaigns to go with as

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Merger has Pilgrim ready to compete in D-II

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After years of struggling in Divisions I and II, the Pilgrim girls’ basketball team was able to get back on its feet following a couple of seasons in D-III.

The Pats went 25-10 across two campaigns to go with as many playoff appearances. Now, with the closure of Warwick Vets and the addition of several key players, Pilgrim makes the move back to Division II with its eyes set on competing for a title.

Second-year head coach Scott Bayha made no mistake that there is some unfamiliarity with what D-II holds, but the Pats should have the pieces in place to make a run.

“The Vets girls made a huge difference,” Bayha said. “[At] Pilgrim, we lost six seniors last year, all who played a ton of minutes. Sometimes, all the minutes. I think getting these Vets girls has put us, hopefully, in the top half of Division II. I don’t know how good Division II is, [but] I’ve had a coach come in here and say ‘You guys are good.’”

The Pats went 12-5 in 2015-16, but lost most of their scoring output during the offseason. Leading point-getter Hannah Page and fellow guards Mercedes Faust, Alexia Martins and Hannah Ambrosia both departed the program after graduation. Pilgrim lost inside presence as well with the exit of Erin Plowman and Kendra Tantimonico.

It’s not often that a squad gets to fill its largest voids with talent from its archrival.

Vets transfers Kat Raposo and Caitlyn Fallon should provide immediate remedies. Raposo will start at point guard for the Pats, and Bayha knows the danger she poses in that position.

“We’ll facilitate a lot through her, but I know when I coached Pilgrim, I keyed on her,” Bayha said. “I imagine teams are going to do the same.”

Raposo hurt Pilgrim down the stretch during a 43-34 overtime victory in January, but her damage paled in comparison to center Caitlyn Fallon. Fallon, Vets’ 6-foot-1 post controller, practically set up an entire office under the boards. She came away with 12 points, 16 rebounds and nine blocks.

Now, she’s suiting up in black and white for Bayha. Teaming together with incumbent forward Crystal Armstrong and newcomers Sara Langevin and Grace Maguire, both 6-foot freshmen, Pilgrim’s size will be the best its seen in years.

“[Fallon] almost can grab rim,” Bayha said. “Crystal Armstrong, I think, will be a leader. Her basketball IQ is huge. Caitlyn, just watching her play last year. We lost to Vets last year. She was one of the reasons, because she just dominates down low. She can dominate a game. Her aggressiveness is off the charts. She’s an unselfish basketball player.”

That confidence down low extends out to the frontcourt, where Raposo will be joined by another familiar face, junior transfer Mackenzie Hough.

Some foes-turned-friends will line up beside them. Jeriann Evans, who missed all of last season because of a wrist injury, will be logging several minutes a game this year. Her sister, Karly, and Mary Mullane, who saw time during the postseason, will also factor into the game plan.

Bayha also noted that he will need minutes off the bench from sophomores Lexi Brown, Marilyn McKay and Kailey Giarusso, who have filled similar roles.

“They’ll probably swing again just because of the numbers we have now,” Bayha said of those three sophomores. “If Vets didn’t come, they were going to be playing 40 minutes a game. Last year, when I saw the freshmen coming in, I told our sophomores ‘We’re going to be really good.’ We’re good now, but in three years, I think we could be really good.”

The pressure in D-II South should be allayed somewhat with some recognizable opponents on the schedule. Middletown, Narragansett and Central all ascended from D-III with Pilgrim and each find themselves on the Pats’ schedule, along with North crossovers Mount Saint Charles, Tolman and Classical.

D-II mainstays East Providence (11-7), Exeter/West Greenwich (3-15), Rogers (10-8), Prout (9-9) and West Warwick (6-12) will comprise the rest of the subdivision along with relegated Westerly (0-18 in D-I).

While Pilgrim hasn’t seen too many of those units in recent history, it’s equally difficult to scheme for the Pats. They’ve managed to merge the strongest assets from Pilgrim and Vets, a mixture that no one has seen yet.

“This year, I think we’ve got enough parts to go around because we combined schools that, if they key on any one of our girls, that team’s going to be in trouble,” Bayha said. “With our height, if they start crowding us down low, outside we’ve got the strength to beat them, and vice versa.”

Bayha added Caitlin Rochelle to his coaching staff as well. Her experience as a women’s basketball player at CCRI has already paid dividends in helping the two schools come together as one.

“To have a college women’s basketball player on my staff is awesome,” Bayha said. “What she’s seeing, it’s just connecting and relating to the girls. It’s been awesome.”

The Pats open the D-II slate against Woonsocket (1-17) on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m., but they face their first non-league obstacle tomorrow. Pilgrim hosts rival Toll Gate, which remained in D-III, at 6:30 p.m.

“It’s like PC/URI, it’s always going to be close,” Bayha said of Pilgrim’s impending tilt with the Titans. “I know they’re going to bring their A-game. It’s a great early matchup. I’m a little nervous, I think they’re going to be right up there in D-III. It’s going to be a big test for us.”

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