Red Raiders Girls Hoopsters Outlast Visiting Dartmouth To Earn Berth In Tournament

By: Tom Moran Jr.
Published: 02/25/11

Frenzied. Frenetic. Freewheeling.

Alliteration aside, any of the above adjectives could be used to describe the action when the Barnstable High School girls’ basketball team earned a berth in the Division 1 South Sectional tournament with a 59-57 Senior Night win over Old Colony League rival Dartmouth last Friday at the BHS gym.

With the win, the Red Raiders posted their ninth win of the season to gain entry to the tourney field and also denied the Indians a share of the 2011 league title.

The excitement level in this girls’ basketball matchup was at maximum level from start to finish as the Red Raiders battled back from an early deficit, opened up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and then had to survive a furious Dartmouth comeback bid that came up just short.

“The girls played great tonight,” said BHS coach George Bent. “They beat us pretty good at their place so it was nice to return the favor.”

The night did not get off to a good start for the Red Raiders as the Indians shot out of the gate and grabbed a quick 9-0 lead.

Guard Althea Ramos got the Barnstable offense going with a long jump shot after which an Olivia Costello three and a Kaylee Deluga lay-up cut the Dartmouth lead to 9-7 but the visitors countered with an 8-1 run that re-established their nine-point advantage (17-8).

BHS center Tayler Wornum pulled her team closer by knocking down four straight free throws to make it a 19-12 game going into the second quarter.

The Red Raiders began to make inroads on the DHS lead midway through the second quarter with Ramos getting things started by putting back an offensive rebound, then keeping it going by coming up with a steal and finding fellow guard Molly Bent for the uncontested lay-up that cut the Dartmouth lead to 25-24 with 1:40 remaining in the half.

The Barnstable comeback stayed on track as Bent dropped in another lay-up, forward Rogetta Donalson drove the lane for two and Wornum canned one of two free throws to give the Red Raiders a 28-26 halftime lead.

Dartmouth forward Molly Brown scored from down low and teammate Lauren Pires added a free throw as the visitors went back in front 29-28 but a Donalson putback, a Bent jump shot and a Ramos jump hook from the lane put the Red Raiders in front 34-29.

After guard Darian Silva pulled the Indians to within a point (40-39) with her three from the left wing, the Red Raiders closed out the quarter with a Donalson baseline jumper, a driving lay-up by Costello and a Bent jump shot to expand the lead to 46-39.

The Red Raiders kept the hot hand on into the fourth quarter as Costello knocked down a three from the right wing, Deluga assisted on a Ramos lay-up and Ramos put in a free throw to give the home team its biggest lead of the night, 54-41, with 4:55 left to play.

Back came the Indians as Caisie Cadorette connected on a three, Brown scored seven straight points and Cadorette hit from downtown a second time to cut the Barnstable lead to 56-54 with 1:35 left on the game clock.

Wornum gave the Red Raiders a little wriggle room by dropping in a pair of free throws only to have Pires toss in a three from the left corner with 10.7 seconds left to play.

The Red Raiders got one of those points back on a Bent free throw but the Indians had a chance to force overtime when Sierra Santos went to the free throw line for a 1-and-1 with 3.7 seconds remaining.

Her first attempt was off the mark and Donalson hauled in the rebound to finally put the Indians away.

Leading the Barnstable offense on the night were Bent with 19 points, Ramos with 12 points, Donalson and Costello with eight points apiece and Tayler Wornum with seven points.

Bridgewater-Raynham – 63 Red Raiders – 49

Basketball at BR chapter two didn’t go so well for the Red Raiders as the host Trojans dominated the remaining quarter and a minute to post the OCL win last Saturday.Saturday’s action was the completion of the game from February 11, the conclusion of which was postponed by a sprinkler malfunction at the B-R gym.

After battling the Trojans tough over the first 22:57 of the contest, the Red Raiders, with three starters out of the lineup, just couldn’t get it done when play resumed as the home team outscored their guests by a 24-12 margin over the final 9:03 of play.

Leading the BHS scoring were Costello with 13 points, Bent with 11 points, Wornum with nine points, Ramos with five points and Chelsea Hayes and Briana Braun with four points each.

New Bedford – 63 Red Raiders – 44

The Red Raiders closed out their regular season on Monday and put up a good fight but didn’t have the horses to stay with the host Whalers.

With the loss, the Red Raiders saw their regular-season record go to 9-9 while the Whalers used their second win of the season over Barnstable to close out their regular season with a 20-0 record.

The Red Raiders threw a bit of a scare into the Whalers by playing their way to an 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter but home team showed just why they were unbeaten by taking control in the second quarter.

The Whalers outscored the Red Raiders by a 24-10 margin to take a 33-21 lead into the half and, after the Red Raiders had pulled to within six (33-27) early in the third quarter, broke the contest open with a 16-3 scoring burst .

Leading the Red Raider offense were Donalson with 12 points, Hayes, Wornum and CeYanna Soares with six points, Deluga with five points and Stephanie Martin with three points.

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