Sports Roundup: Boys & Girls Hoops Win At Home
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the boys basketball team after another victory, the girls basketball team after beating Rising Tide, the boys hockey team, and the girls hockey team.
Boys Hoops Beats Gardner, Improves To 6-2
The boys basketball team played one of their most complete games of the season on their way to a 77-57 victory over Gardner High School on the island Saturday morning – earning the praise of Whaler head coach Willis Ferreira.
"I think that's as good as we've played this year on both ends of the floor," Ferreira said. "Those two kids were good, 11 and five. They were fabulous. I mean, as good as we've really probably faced this year. They did a lot of stuff to us defensively, switched things up. And I thought our guys just played with so much poise today. There were very few times where we took really bad shots. I thought we passed the ball good. I thought we were patient on the offensive end. Just overall, I think, it's the first time really in a long time, that we've played that type of basketball on both (ends of the court)."
The first quarter was low scoring with Gardner taking a 15-13 lead into the second. But even when the Whalers weren’t scoring, their energy was high and it felt like it was only a matter of time before they went on one of their mid-game runs they’ve frequently pieced together this year.
To begin the second quarter, the Whalers jumped out to an 8-0 run in the first 1:12 of the quarter to force a Gardner timeout and extended their run to 14-0 before Gardner was finally able to stop the bleeding and make it a 27-17 game with 4:46 left in the first half.
"Defensively I thought we were pretty good," Ferreira said. "We gave up a couple things there for a little bit. I thought we matched (five and 11's) intensity. When you're playing at home, you got to come out and punch people in the mouth. It's a long day for them. You got to try to tire them out. You got to try to use their legs, right? I just thought our kids really came in and played really hard today, really proud of their effort today.”
Nantucket led 40-29 at half and then extended their lead to 59-41 after three quarters. Sophomore guard Burke Lombardi led the team with 23 points, but senior guard Vallon Jeanty had 16 first half points and 21 total in the game.
"For us to be 6-2 right now, and again I thought that was our best performance, but we can get better," Ferreira said. "We shot the s**t out of it. When we're doing that and getting to the rim and getting some easy buckets too, we're tough because we got numerous guys. I know a lot of people worry about Burke, but Vallon and Gaven (Smith, 14 points) can shoot it.”
Nantucket will try to improve to 7-2 when they travel to Nauset for a matchup with the Warriors on Tuesday, January 13th at 3:30 p.m. You can view more photos from this game here.
Girls Hoops Beats Rising Tide
The girls basketball team continues to develop and improve their game – piecing together one of their best all-around performances of the season Friday evening in the form of a 47-14 win over the Rising Tide Herons on the island.
"We were able to get the players that don't have as much varsity experience in the game and they showed that they can play hard,” Whaler head coach Angela Paterson said. “That team got a little scrappy towards the end, and (my players) held their own. It's a confidence booster for the team. We're going to Monomoy on Monday, and we're going to have to switch gears into that. So I think this was a good way to work on plays, work out some kinks and also realize what we do need to work on for Monomoy.”
Nantucket came in as the #41 seed in the first MIAA power rankings of the winter, but are playing some of their best basketball as of late and will try to improve their record to .500 (3-3) when they play the Sharks on Monday at 4 p.m. You can view more photos from this game here.
Boys Hockey Loses To East Bridgewater In Overtime
The boys hockey team traveled to the Bog in Kingston to play the West Bridgewater Wildcats Saturday afternoon and lost 4-3 in overtime.
Senior captain Canton Jenkinson finished the game with two goals and an assist while his brother and fellow senior captain Jeremy Jenkinson tallied two assists. Jasper Soares scored and added an assist. Sawyer Holland also had an assist.
Nantucket led late in the third period before a late power play goal by the Wildcats tied the game. West Bridgewater would go onto score 1:15 into the overtime period after both sides agreed to play for a win rather than settle for a tie.
Nantucket, despite being 1-4, is #23 in the first MIAA power rankings of the winter due to their strength of schedule. They will try to earn their second win of the season when they host the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins on Wednesday, January 14th at 5:15 p.m.
Girls Hockey Loses To Boston Latin Academy
The girls hockey team lost on the road to Boston Latin Academy 7-1 Saturday afternoon. Sophia Yelverton was the only Whaler goal scorer, but it was her first career varsity goal.
Nantucket will try to win their first game of the season on Saturday, January 17th when they host Ursuline Academy at 11 a.m.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Monday, January 12th:
The girls basketball team will be on the road playing the Monomoy Sharks at 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, January 13th:
The girls basketball team will be at home playing Cape Cod Academy at 5 p.m.
The boys basketball team will be on the road playing Nauset at 3:30 p.m.
The boys and girls indoor track teams will be on the road for a meet against St. John Paul II at 3 p.m.
Current MIAA power ranking positions (Top 32 make the state tournament + any teams with a record of .500 or better):
Boys hockey is at #23
Boys basketball is at #26
Girls hockey is at #34
Girls basketball is at #41
For more coverage of Whaler sports, follow our sports Instagram page here. To view the latest MIAA state tournament power rankings, follow this link.