Maturing Tigers Vanquish Lady Vikings

The kids are growing up.

The youthful  girls' basketball team notched its first victory of the 2010-11 season Tuesday night, running away from visiting  50-23 in the Division II-South opener for both squads.

Haley Higginbottom led a parade of 10 Tigers to dent the scoring column with a game-high 16 points as the sophomore-laden hosts snapped a 9-9 deadlock with a 21-2 mid-game burst and never looked back, while improving to 1-2 overall this winter. Junior Nifaty Morales topped the Vikings (also 1-2) with 10 points.

"We've done some soul-searching lately trying to get everyone on the same page and I guess we were on the right page tonight," said Tiverton Coach Derrick Wise. "Everyone on our team has a role to play, and tonight, they all played their roles well."

After the teams battled to a 9-9 draw in the first half, Higginbottom started an 11-0 run when she buried a three-point basket from the top of the key with 6:45 remaining. An elbow jumper by Morales with 1:40 left quelled Tiverton's surge, but the Tigers regrouped and tallied the final six points of the period to take a commanding 26-11 advantage at the break.

Tiverton then tallied the first four points of the second half and Rogers came no closer than 17 points prior to the final buzzer. The Tigers' lead peaked twice at 27 points (48-21 and 50-23).

Sarah Whiston netted 8 points for the Tigers, but it was defense that proved decisive for Tiverton. The Tigers played aggressively and energetically on the defensive end, forcing numerous Viking turnovers and coercing rushed shots.

"I thought our post players, especially Bianca DiPrato, Jennifer Burton and Alexandra Azevedo, were the difference for us tonight," Wise said. "They defended very well and their interior passing on offense was much improved."

Like Tiverton, Rogers is also relatively inexperienced this season and the Vikings did not help their cause Tuesday night by experiencing an ice-cold shooting effort from the floor.

"We have a lot of girls playing unfamiliar positions this year and they're still not comfortable," said Rogers Coach Frank Brow. "I thought defensively we played pretty well in the first half until we switched to a zone defense and they beat us in the back of it. We're still a work in progress."

Brow said he was encouraged by the performance of junior Sienna Benson.

"She's our heart and soul," he said.

Brow added that he was also impressed with Morales and 6-foot-1 freshman Brianne Morgera, who scored the Vikings' first five points and finished with 15 rebounds and 7 blocks.

"This was Brianne's best game of the season," Brow said. "I was also pleased with how aggressively Nifaty played in the second half."

But this night clearly belonged to the Tigers, who complemented a solid shooting effort by draining 17 of 24 foul shots.

"Tonight was a collective effort," Wise said. "I think the girls are buying into our system."

And growing up awfully fast.

Rogers next game is Friday, Dec. 17, at 7:30 p.m against Toll Gate High School. Tiverton plays Toll Gate for their next game on Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m.