Sports Roundup: Boys Hockey & Girls Hoops Lose Close Matchups At Home
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the boys hockey team after they nearly came back from a three goal third period deficit to defeat a Cape & Island rival and the girls basketball team following a game at home where they were given just 13 free throw attempts to the opposing team's 37 free throw attempts, and still nearly won the game. This sports roundup also includes more photos from both of these games, updated MIAA power rankings, and the weekend sports schedule.
Boys Hockey’s Third Period Comeback Bid Falls Short Against SJP
The boys hockey team welcomed the St. John Paul II Lions to the island on Wednesday for a nighttime matchup and nearly pulled off the third period comeback after falling into a 3-0 hole against their Cape & Island rival after two periods. Nantucket lost 3-2 but had the Lions – who are ranked #11 in the latest MIAA Div. 4 power rankings – on their heels until the final horn sounded.
“One of the things that we just got to get a little better at is getting the puck off our stick when we're in the zone attacking," Whaler head coach Jack Moran said. "A lot of times, guys will get it on their stick, and they'll do a little dribble with it before they rip the shot, and just that split second is what we just needed. We were like a second behind on a couple of instances where we had the opportunity to score, and we just missed. It would have made the world of difference in the game.”
Senior captain Jeremy Jenkinson finished the game with one goal and one assist - scoring the Whaler’s first goal with just over five minutes to play in the game. His brother, senior assistant captain Canton Jenkinson, made it a 3-2 game 15 seconds later with 4:50 remaining in regulation.
“They played well," Moran said of his team. "Much better than the last time we faced these guys. And I really want to give these guys a lot of credit. We were down two zip and then three zip and then you can see their heads starting to hang a little bit but in between periods we're like, 'Look, guys. You're well within this. You've done this before. You've been behind before. You can make a charge at this, just don't give up on yourselves.’ Then we got those quickies and I'm like, 'Here we go. Here we go.' I thought it was going to happen, but we just couldn't get it together down there.”
Nantucket will be back in action on Saturday, January 31st when they travel to Bourne to play the Canalmen at 1 p.m. Nantucket beat Bourne on the island 3-2 on December 17th. You can view more photos from Wednesday's game here.
Girls Hoops Loses Close Matchup To Sturgis West
The girls basketball team lost to the Sturgis West Navigators 37-32 Thursday evening in a close game despite being on the wrong end of many calls that left Sturgis West receiving 37 free throw attempts to just 13 for Nantucket in the game – including 16 free throws for the Navigators in the first quarter to zero free throw attempts for the Whalers.
“What I was most proud of is our team held their heads, and they fought through the entire game," Whaler head coach Angela Paterson said. "They didn't give up, and they very much could have given up, and they didn't. It was tough. Calls were not going our way. There were blatant fouls missed, a bunch of blatant fouls where we could have had way more foul shots than we had.”
Despite the large discrepancy in foul shots, the Whalers faced the adversity head on and nearly completed the comeback - battling the Navigators to a one possession game in the final minute.
“They're a physical team and they're a good team too," Paterson said of Sturgis West. "Number 24 on their team was great. We were having difficulty in the first half stopping her. Luckily, some foul calls went our way where she ended up fouling out, but Marin (Mooney) did well defending her. But again, what I always say about our team is we don't give up. We fight until the last second, and that's what we did today.”
Nantucket was led by freshman point guard Ruby Steadman, who was sensational all night and finished with a career-high of 18 points. She continues to grow and develop her game as the season goes on.
"She was driving to the hoop," Paterson said. "She was in foul trouble the whole game, but still held her head, was able to get through the foul trouble and still, at the end of the game, kept us in it the entire time.”
The girls are right back at it on Friday, January 30th when they host the Sturgis East Storm at 5 p.m. You can view more photos from this game here.
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 in the Division 4 bracket and has a 3-6 record.
Boys basketball is at #30 in the Division 3 bracket and has a 6-4 record.
Girls hockey is at #34 in the Division 2 bracket and has an 0-7 record.
Girls basketball is at #49 in the Division 4 bracket and has a 4-9 record.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, January 30th:
The girls basketball team will be at home playing the Sturgis East Storm at 5 p.m.
The boys basketball team will be on the road playing the Monomoy Sharks at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 31st:
The boys basketball team will host the Falmouth Clippers at 12:30 p.m.
The boys hockey team will be on the road playing Bourne High School at 1 p.m.
The boys and girls swim teams will be on the road for a meet against Sandwich High School at 1:15 p.m.
Sunday, February 1st:
There are no games scheduled.