Tigers Battle Back, But Can't Catch Thunderbolts in 54-42 Loss

Close again, but with a familiar result.

The girls’ basketball team dug a 13-point hole during the first eight minutes Tuesday night, rallied within two points in the second half, but came up short down the stretch and lost to visiting Cranston High School East, 54-42, in a Division II-South game.

Cranston point guard Erinn Reilly poured in a game-high 20 points and Emely Ramirez contributed 11 points as the Thunderbolts led all the way while improving their divisional record to 8-6 and overall mark to 10-7. Haley Higginbottom tallied 10 points for the Tigers, who fell to 3-12 opposite league rivals and 4-14 on the year.

Despite its slow start and game-long ball handling troubles, Tiverton trailed by just four points (38-34) with 6:24 to play when Reilly drained a three-pointer off an inbounds pass, igniting a 10-2 burst that pushed the visitors in front by a 48-36 margin at the 2:50 mark. Ramirez also drilled a trey in that critical stretch, Handler sank a lay-in at the end of a fast break, and the hosts never again came closer than 10 points.

“I’m not happy with losing, but I’m very proud of our young ladies,” Tiverton Coach Derrick Wise said. “We played well in spurts tonight, but we just couldn’t put it together for a whole game.”

Once again, the Tigers were guilty of numerous turnovers, poor decision-making and forced shots, and for the second time this season failed to effectively contain Reilly (who scored 18 points in a 57-28 victory over Tiverton on Jan. 11). Despite their shortcomings, however, Tiverton made it a game for most of the second half and had several opportunities to pull off an upset.

After clawing back to within seven points (27-20) at halftime, Tiverton launched the second period on a 7-2 burst, fueled by four points from Bianca DiPrato and a Jenny Burton three-pointer, narrowing its deficit to 29-27. Reilly thwarted that comeback bid with a conventional three-point play starting a 7-3 streak which opened a 36-30 edge before the Tigers countered on two Higginbottom free throws and an Emily Masse runner sandwiched around a Handler lay-up which reduced the gap to 38-34.

The Thunderbolts started the contest on a tear, snapping an early 2-2 deadlock with 12 unanswered points and a 14-3 splurge which opened up a 13-point cushion. After opening in a man-to-man defense which Cranston shredded, Wise switched to a 2-3 zone and slowed East's momentum.

“[Reilly] is very skilled with the basketball and taught our young ladies a few lessons tonight,” Wise said. “She’s probably an All-State player and we knew we couldn’t shut her down. We were just trying to contain her.”

Tiverton rebounded with a 10-1 run to slice the lead to 19-15 and after the Thunderbolts widened the gap to 11 points (26-15), five straight points by Mariah Caldwell drew the hosts to within seven points at the break.

Despite the loss, Wise said he was encouraged with his team’s progress this season.

“I love the way we’re playing and improving,” he said. “We were getting beat by teams by 30 or 40 points the first time around, but now we’re in games.”

Tiverton returns to action Friday night at East Greenwich High School in a Division II-South outing.