Sports Roundup: Girls Hoops Earns Last Second Victory Over Barnstable
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the girls basketball team following a huge road victory over a Division 1 opponent to keep their postseason hopes alive, the boys basketball team following a close loss to a Division 3 rival, and the boys hockey team following a home defeat to a Cape & Island's opponent.
Washington’s Free Throws Seal Victory For Girls Hoops Against Barnstable
The girls basketball team knows that from here on out, they have no room for error if they want to clinch a spot in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament. They faced a tall task Thursday afternoon when they traveled off-island to play the Barnstable Red Hawks, who are in Division 1 and hold a 6-10 record this season.
Nantucket lost to Barnstable 51-32 on January 24th on the island, but battled their way to a 41-40 victory on Thursday thanks to a 15 point performance from sophomore guard Grace Schroeder, another double-digit point performance from senior forward and captain Marin Mooney (10 points), and some late game heroics from freshman guard Chloe Washington.
With 5.2 seconds remaining, Washington was fouled and awarded two free throw shots with the Whalers trailing 39-40. She drilled both free throws, and Nantucket held onto the 41-40 lead to earn their biggest win of the season.
Nantucket head coach Angela Paterson said they played a majority of the game with their five starters and with the bench creating an energy that was felt throughout the entirety of the game.
“It was a physical back and forth game against a very good basketball team,” Paterson said. “We kept our heads in it from start to finish. The team knows each game is now a playoff game. They came out with intensity and never backed down.”
Nantucket is now 8-10 this season. They were ranked #45 in the latest MIAA Division 4 power rankings but should see their rating go up after beating Barnstable, who would be ranked 18th in the Division 4 bracket based on season ratings (average margin of victory + average opponent rating).
The Whalers will host Nauset on Friday, February 13th at 5 p.m. They played the Warriors on the road on January 20th and lost 33-26.
Nantucket also has a game on the road against the Sturgis West Navigators on February 16th at 3:30 p.m. to close out their season. If Nantucket wins both of these games, they’d improve their record to 10-10 and automatically qualify for the state tournament with a .500 record.
Boys Hoops Squanders Lead Late To Falmouth
The boys basketball team played one of their best quarters of basketball all year in the opening eight minutes of Wednesday’s home matchup against the Falmouth Clippers – leading 23-9 after one quarter. But the Whalers struggled to keep their offensive success going in the final three quarters - scoring just 32 points the rest of the way and eventually losing 61-55 to the Clippers, who are the #17 seed in Division 3.
"When you live by the three, you die by the three, right" Whaler head coach Willis Ferreira said. "They (Falmouth) did a good job of trying to get in our shooter's face and you know, we really don't have an answer. We don't really work a lot on trying to get the ball inside in that situation. When we make shots, we're very, very good. Then when we don't make shots, we look a little average. So that's just part of basketball. We had the lead most of the night, and you got to find a way to win – especially in your own building this time of year.”
The Whalers, currently ranked #27 in Division 3, still held a relatively comfortable lead at halftime 37-27 and led 46-43 after three quarters. But Nantucket’s offense failed to produce double digit points in either second half quarter (nine points in both quarters) while Falmouth’s offense was able to heat up just enough to make up the ground lost in the first half.
Sophomore Burke Lombardi and senior Vallon Jeanty each had 17 points. They each scored seven points in the second half – accounting for over 75 percent of Nantucket’s second half scoring (18 points as a team). It was Nantucket’s first home loss of the season (now 7-1).
"I'm really proud of the guys. We played hard. We did everything that I asked them to do," Ferreira said. "So there's no complaining on the effort part. We just didn't make enough shots. I thought we just lost because we didn't make shots when we needed to, and the other team had something to do with that, you know? Simple as that."
The Whalers are now 10-6 on the year and will be back in action on Friday, February 13th on the road against the Sandwich Blue Knights at 3:30 p.m. You can view more photos from this game here.
Boys Hockey Loses To Monomoy
The boys hockey team welcomed the Monomoy Sharks to the island Wednesday evening and lost 5-2 in a battle between two Cape & Islands, Division 4 foes.
"This is probably the most labored I've ever seen the majority of our players playing," Whaler head coach Jack Moran said. "They looked very tired. They weren't moving well. They just just couldn't get themselves together to do what they needed to do. They knew it, you know, and they started struggling. Bad positional play, bad puck handling. They just weren't operating on all cylinders tonight and it showed. We want to try to keep it as close as we could. Obviously, we wanted to win. I was hoping for at least another goal the last few minutes, and we could get that three goal deficit gone. Maybe we'll be okay. I don't know. We were just one half step behind.”
Monomoy, ranked #13 in Division 4, took an early 2-0 lead that was cut to 2-1 following a snipe by senior forward and assistant captain Canton Jenkinson midway through the second period as he cut to the middle of the ice and found some open space.
After Monomoy responded and scored a couple of quick goals late in the second period to make it 4-1, Jeremy Jenkinson made it a 4-2 game just three minutes into the final period.
Nantucket is now 4-8 this season and currently ranked #27 in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament bracket. They will have a very busy schedule to close out their regular season and are back in action on Friday, February 13th against Plymouth North at 2 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 basketball is at #27 in the Division 3 bracket and has a 10-6 record.
Boys hockey is at #27 in the Division 4 bracket and has a 4-8 record.
Girls hockey is at #34 in the Division 2 bracket and has an 0-7 record.
Girls basketball is at #45 in the Division 4 bracket and has a 8-10 record.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, February 13th:
The boys hockey team will be at home playing Plymouth North at 2 p.m.
The boys basketball team will be on the road playing the Sandwich Blue Knights at 3:30 p.m.
The girls basketball team will be at home playing Nauset at 5 p.m.
Saturday, February 14th:
The girls hockey team will be at home playing Boston Latin Academy at 2 p.m.
The boys basketball team will be at home playing Cape Cod Regional Technical HigH School at 2 p.m.
Sunday, February 15th:
The boys basketball team will be at home playing East Boston at 11 a.m.
The girls hockey team will be on the road playing Winchester High School at 12 p.m.
The boys hockey team will be at home playing Pembroke High School at 2 p.m.
Monday, February 16th:
The boys basketball team will be at home playing Sandwich High School at 12:30 p.m.
The girls basketball team will be on the road playing Sturgis West at 3:30 p.m.
The boys hockey team will be at home playing the Abington Green Wave at 5:15 p.m.
Tuesday, February 17th:
There are currently no games scheduled for this date.