Eagles Overcome Injury, Townies To Advance to Semifinals Tuesday

Call the game survival of the fittest.

The Barrington High girls’ basketball team survived an ankle injury to senior guard Catherine Matthews and a determined effort from East Providence High to outlast the Townies, 51-43, Saturday night in a Division I quarterfinal-round playoff game at the Murray Center on the campus of Rhode Island College in Providence.

Kelly Mannix scored a game-high 21 points, Caroline Coleman contributed 10 points and Maura Kelty finished with 7 points as the Eagles improved to 24-1 this season with their third victory in as many tries over East Providence. But this one did not come easily and may have been costly.

After leading through the first 24 minutes of the contest, Barrington went dry for more than four minutes midway through the second half and watched a seven-point lead melt into a two-point deficit with 8:03 to play. The Eagles, however, regrouped and rattled off the next seven points, holding on the rest of the way to earn a semifinal-round berth Tuesday night at 8 at RIC against Westerly High (21-1).

Barrington may be forced to play Tuesday (and possibly for the rest of the season) without Matthews, who apparently suffered a severe ankle injury just 33 seconds into Saturday’s game after taking a jump shot and landing awkwardly. Matthews is the Eagles’ second leading scorer this season and just six points shy of the 1,000-point plateau in her scholastic career. She was helped to the sidelines by teammates and never re-entered after the ankle was elevated and iced.

“We’re not sure how bad the injury is,” Barrington Coach Stephen Lenz said after the game. “I feel bad for her because she sprained her ankle last year right before the playoffs. We’ll re-evaluate. Maybe she’ll be able to get in (Tuesday), but she won’t be at 100 percent.”

Barrington survived against East Providence because of its superior depth and athleticism, ultimately wearing down the Townies in the closing minutes after switching from a zone defense to a man-to-man setup.

EP shook off a shaky start to get back into the contest largely on the strength of the perimeter shooting of Mary Monagle (11 points) and Alyssa Dias (9 points) and the inside strength of Michaela Wiggins (10 points), but its shots stopped falling late in the game and the Townies scored just six points in the final eight minutes.

After Matthews’ injury, the Eagles still appeared primed for a blowout as Mannix tallied five quick points and a baseline jumper by Meredith O’Connell produced a 13-6 lead with 11:04 left in the opening period. EP countered with a 10-4 run to reduce its disadvantage to 17-16 at the 5:57 mark before Barrington stretched it to 28-23 at halftime.

Mannix’ baseline drive and lay-in followed by a three-pointer boosted the Eagle bulge to 35-28 with 12:07 left before the Townies generated their nine-point spurt to lead for the only time in the contest. However, Magdalene O’Hayer banked in an inbounds pass, Caitlyn Nolan buried a trey from the right corner and Mannix converted a lay-up to give Barrington a 42-37 lead at the 4:18 mark.

EP closed to within 44-41 with 2:22 to go, but Mannix dropped in a runner in the lane and Coleman followed with a successful bank shot at the 1:18 mark to open a 48-41 cushion.

“The injury to Catherine forced us into different rotations and I think we were a little out of sync,” Lenz said. “Give East Providence credit. They did a great job taking us out of our game. Mentally, we weren’t at our best, but they did a good job putting their players in the right spots against our zone.”

Lenz said he expects another battle Tuesday against Westerly, a team the Eagles did not face during the regular season.

“I don’t know if we’ll have Catherine, so that changes the complexion of our game,” Lenz said. “I know they’re big and very physical. Whether or not we have Catherine, we’ll have to play our best basketball to beat them.”