Strong start lifts Pats over ‘Canes

Matt Metcalf
Posted 1/13/15

The Pilgrim girls’ basketball team capped off its week against intra-city rivals with a 46-10 win over Warwick Vets on Thursday night.

The Pats had previously beaten Toll Gate just two nights …

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Strong start lifts Pats over ‘Canes

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The Pilgrim girls’ basketball team capped off its week against intra-city rivals with a 46-10 win over Warwick Vets on Thursday night.

The Pats had previously beaten Toll Gate just two nights prior, using a 30-point second half to roll past the Titans, 42-13.

“When the schedule came out and we saw that we had two city games in the same week, it was exciting,” Pilgrim head coach Ian Smith said. “It was a nice opportunity. Fortunately, things went in our favor.”

On Thursday night, however, Pilgrim did much of its damage in the first half.

An and-1 by Pats’ point guard Hannah Page just over two minutes into the opening half gave Pilgrim the first points of the game.

Vets would quickly answer on the next possession, as Emma Nason came down the floor and nailed a three to tie the game.

Unfortunately for the ‘Canes, that would be the only offensive production the team got in the first half.

After that point, it was all Pilgrim.

Alexia Martins made a jump shot to stretch the Pilgrim lead to 10, before Page stole the ball and went in for a layup to put the Pats up, 17-3, with 4:30 left in the first half.

Page took control in the opening half, finding teammates in transition, hounding Vets on defense and scoring seven first-half points.

“She’s a tremendous athlete and she can change a game,” Smith said. “When I put her back in the game (in the first half), I said ‘make sure you change this game,’ and she did. I think we were up 13-3 and then we scored four to six points right away that she was solely responsible for.”

The Pats would ultimately end the first half on a 24-0 run, taking a 27-3 lead into halftime.

“That’s something that we’ve been talking about since last year,” Smith said. “We need to make runs, and when we do, we need to make them last as long as possible.”

The run continued into the second half, as Pilgrim scored the first five points after the break.

Vets’ point guard Katherine Raposo ended the 29-0 run with 11:15 to play in the game with a free throw, making it 32-4.

Raposo was a catalyst for Vets in the second half, as she pushed the pace and tried to be as aggressive as possible to cut into her team’s large deficit.

“Kat’s the heart of the team right now,” Vets’ head coach Owen Paquet said. “She’s shown that she has what it takes to compete at a high level.”

Overall, the second half was much better than the first for the ‘Canes. Pilgrim still carried the play, but it only outscored Vets 19-7 after halftime.

Raposo scored all of her team-high five points in the second half, while Victoria Ferri also added a pair of free throws.

It was evident that Vets, now 1-6 in Division III, just ran into a team with a little bit more experience on Thursday night.

“They have a little more skill and experience, definitely,” Paquet said. “We’re still progressing as a team. Individually, we’re doing better, but as a team, we’re just not showing the progression needed to compete with a team like that.”

Pilgrim had a balanced scoring attack in the victory, as nine girls scored, but no one got into double-figures.

“We’ve been talking about the fact that we don’t necessarily have any one person,” Smith said. “To get that many players in the scoring column, it’s exactly what we’re looking for.”

Vets will now look to get back to work and find some more success with the remainder of its league schedule looming.

“Hopefully we can find a little bit more success against Rocky Hill on Monday night, who has no JV team,” Paquet said. “I’m looking forward to playing a more competitive game.”

Vets hosted Rocky Hill at 4 p.m. on Monday, but results were unavailable at press time.

The ‘Canes will also host Toll Gate tonight at 7 p.m.

Pilgrim is now 4-1 in D-III, as it won, 46-36, at Block Island on Saturday as well.

Annotti led three Pilgrim players in double-figures with 12 points.

Page also had 11, while Kendra Tantimonico had 10.

The Pats will host Rocky Hill at 6:30 p.m. tonight, as they look to continue their hot streak.

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