Girls Basketball: Thunderbolts Overcome Crusaders' Furious Comeback

The stage was set for an epic battle between two teams jockeying for playoff positioning. They did not disappoint and delivered a thrilling basketball game.

The Prout Crusaders headed to Cranston East to square off against the Thunderbolts, Prout entering the game with a one game lead in the league standings, over the 3-4 Thunderbolts. East was able withstand a late game barrage and forced the game into overtime, winning 50-49.

Senior Kelsy Evje gave the Bolts an early 6-2 lead with a drive and bucket in the lane. The Crusaders responded and junior Brittany Donovan's three pointer with about nine minutes left in the half gave Prout an 11-10 lead.

Both teams played great defensively in the early going and baskets were not easy to come by. They traded baskets, with the biggest lead of the first half only five points.

Prout junior Jacquelyn Tousignant's layup gave the Crusaders a 19-18 lead with five minutes left in the half. East responded with a 6-0 run, capped off by Jamie Lamin's three pointer, pushing the lead to 24-19. After two free throws by Prout, East headed into halftime with a 24-21 lead.

Thunderbolts sophomore point guard Emely Ramirez continues to impress this season and is the engine that drives the team. Her floater in the lane gave the Bolts a 32-26 lead.

"Ramirez is the key for us, as she goes, we go," East's head coach, Rich Glover, said.

The Crusaders went on a 9-2 run in the next three minutes, giving them only their second lead of the game, at 35-34.

Ramirez broke a 36-36 tie, with a three pointer and junior Selena Gonzalez gave the Bolts a 42-38 lead with three and a half minutes left in the game, after nailing a three ball.

East got a defensive stop and had a chance to increase the lead, but failed to capitalize, keeping the Crusaders in the game. Prout sophomore Madeline Hagerty took over down the stretch, scoring six consecutive points, to give her team a 44-42 lead with just over a minute left in the game.

"Maggie Hagerty is a tremendous rebounder and finisher in the lane," Glover said.

East's final possession of regulation, following a timeout, concluded with Ramirez driving and launching a floater above the defense, which swished through the net, tying the game at 44 with eight seconds left.

Prout quickly inbounded the ball and seemed to have an advantage, as Haggerty drove the ball down the lane and was at the top of the key and had room to drive. However, head coach, Phil Quinn, called a timeout, allowing the Bolts defense to get set. East came up with a defensive stop, forcing the game into overtime.

Gonzalez buried another three to begin the overtime period, but Hagerty continued to keep her team in the game. Her layup tied the game at 49 with under a minute left.

Ramirez was fouled and made one of two free throws, giving East a one point lead with eight seconds left.

The Crusaders had several opportunities to win the game on the final possession, but could not find the basket. They had three shots from close range, including two offensive rebounds, in the final five seconds, but could not score. East won the game 50-49.

"We have to improve our boxing out and our rebounding," Glover added.

"It’s disappointing that the same things we are working on in practice have not translated into the game," Quinn said.

He added, "We didn’t play good defense consistently throughout the game."

Junior Victoria Jedson poured in 13 points for the Crusaders and Hagerty finished with 19.

Ramirez led the Bolts with 18 points, and Evje finished with ten.