East Providence Drops 'Border War'

Another basketball “border war” between East Providence and Barrington went the Eagles’ way Thursday night.

The Eagle girls outslugged the Townies, 64-39, in the final game of the first day of the annual Barrington Boosters Holiday Tournament at Barrington High School. 

The coaches were pleased with their teams' efforts in what was a very physical game. Barrington coach Stephen Lenz, of course, was a bit happier than East Providence coach Michael Solitro. 

“I’m pleased with our effort,” said Solitro. “If you can be happy after a loss, I am much more happy with our effort today than our last game.”

“I’m proud of their effort,” said Lenz. “We were good in spurts in a very physical game. It’s nice to come out with a win.”

The game could have been much closer if the Townies made more layups and free throws, said Solitro.

“Girls’ basketball is 90 percent layups and free throws,” he said. “And we just didn’t finish tonight.”

The Townies also turned the ball over 21 times in the face of relentless pressure defense by the Eagles, who never stopped scrapping for rebounds and loose balls and who shut off passing lanes all night.

The Townies gave as good as they got for much of the night as well.

“They showed a lot of desire,” said Solitro.

Lenz said he found fault with the Eagles’ consistency, but “we kept our edge all night.”

East Providence was led in scoring by senior forward Brittany Crosby, who tallied 16 points. Senior forwards Thomeeka Speaks and Taylor Wiggins added 12 and 9 points, respectively.

Barrington was led in scoring by sophomore point guard Sarah Middleton, who tallied 18 points. Senior forward Maggie O’Hayer scored 14 and senior shooting guard Caitlyn Nolan added 12. 

East Providence dropped to 3-3 on the year. The win pushed Barrington’s record to 6-0 on the young season. Both teams play again on Friday.

The Townies play East Greenwich, which beat Classical, 39-22. The Eagles play Prout, which dropped a 34-32 decision to Rogers.