Red Raiders Topple Blue Knights Again, Run Record To 4-1

By: Tom Moran Jr.
Published: 01/04/13

For the second time in less than a week, the Barnstable High girls’ basketball team took care of their longtime Cape rival Sandwich, bringing home the 52-44 win from the SHS gym on Wednesday.

The Red Raiders were coming off a 70-56 win over the Blue Knights and made it two-for-two with the win that boosted their record to 4-1 on the season.

Although a plethora of turnovers by both clubs kept any kind of certainty out of predicting the final outcome, the Red Raiders took a lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter that they protected until the final whistle had sounded.

After Colleen Kenney got the Red Raiders on the board with the putback of an offensive rebound and the Blue Knights pulled even at 2-2, guard Molly Bent fired in a three to put Barnstable in front to stay with just 2:36 gone in the contest.

Bent and Kenney wound up doing all the scoring for the Red Raiders in that first quarter, combining to outscore the home team by a 14-9 margin.

Kenney and Bent stayed hot as the second quarter got underway with Kenney connecting for six points and Bent for four points to extend the BHS lead to 22-13.

The Blue Knights tried to stay close but a hoop from down low by CeYanna Soares and a Bent jumper sent the Red Raiders into the halftime break sitting on a 29-23 lead.

Turnovers kept both teams from making any inroads on the scoreboard as the clubs traded baskets which was much more beneficial for the Red Raiders as they were able to maintain a comfortable lead throughout the third quarter.

Bent, Kenney and Soares were the BHS offense in the quarter with Soares’s putback of an offensive rebound pushing the Red Raider lead to its biggest margin of the game at 37-25.

The Blue Knights would not go away however with a 3 by SHS guard Lea Adams cutting the Barnstable lead to 41-34 heading into the final quarter.

Being able to hold the lead was one thing, getting comfortable against the Blue Knights was another as the Sandwich girls used an 8-4 run in the late going to trim the once double-digit lead to just 47-44 but a steal by Bent and the resulting fastbreak lay-up proved to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back as the Red Raider used a hoop by Kenney and a free throw by Stephanie Martin to push the score to its final resting place.

Leading the Barnstable offense on the night were Bent with 28 points and seven rebounds, Kenney with 16 points and seven rebounds and Soares with seven points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

First Of Three

In the first of three meetings with longtime Cape rival Sandwich, the Red Raiders held off a third-quarter charge by the Blue Knights and went on to post the 70-56 win at SHS last Friday.

The Blue Knights got on the scoreboard first with a 3-point shot from the top of the arc by guard Erin Gendreau only to have the Red Raiders counter just seconds later on a three by Bent to pull even and then took the lead for good when Soares converted a steal into an uncontested lay-up.

The home team tried to stay close but three buckets by Soares (20 points and seven rebounds), another three by Bent and a fast-break lay-up by Rice pushed the Red Raider lead to 20-10 as the first quarter came to a close.

With Soares and Kenney combining to control the backboards, the Red Raiders had no problem maintaining their double-digit lead as both Kenney (11 points and 10 rebounds) and Hailey Johnson got into Barnstable’s offensive flow.

Trailing 38-28 as the third quarter got underway, the Blue Knights began to chip away at the BHS lead and closed to within 52-49 in the stanza’s final minute.

The comeback died a quick death however as the Red Raiders forced their hosts into turning the ball over on their next three possessions and turned all three into points of their own to re-establish a double-digit lead that lasted until the final whistle.

Bent again paced the Barnstable attack with 31 points, six rebounds and nine assists and Rice had another solid outing, scoring six points and making three steals.

Raiders Complete Sweep

The Red Raiders completed a sweep of their season series with longtime rival New Bedford with a 52-46 win over the Whalers at the BHS gym on December 20.

After besting the Whalers on their home court just two days earlier, the Red Raiders had a tougher time coming out on top but a 41-point, 11-rebound, four-steal effort by Bent gave the Barnstable squad its winning edge.

Bent got some help from Soares with two points and nine rebounds, Dombrowski with two points and five rebounds, Martin with three points and six steals and Rice with four points and three assists.

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