Broncos by five
Unbeaten Broncos battle back to subdue Patriots
In Division III girls’ basketball action, Burrillville got the better of Davies on Friday night, winning 40-35.
BURRILLVILLE — For the better part of the first 31 minutes, 30 seconds of Friday night’s Division III clash with Davies Tech, the undefeated Burrillville girls basketball team failed to make the inexperienced Patriots pay for their turnovers.
That changed when the Broncos needed a score the most.
Burrillville trailed by two points with 27.2 seconds when the Patriots threw the ball away and Alyssa Simpson tied the game for the first time since the opening tip. Cami Weekly stole the ensuing inbounds pass and made both free throws to give the home side their first lead of the night. Simpson produced a team- high nine points, while junior forward Molly Brown chipped in with nine in a 4035 victory at the Broncodome.
“We’re just a team that never gives up, and we give it our all the entire time no matter how many points we’re down,” Simpson said. “There was a point where we were down by a lot [nine points] but no one gave up and everyone kept trying. Going forward, we just need to have more confidence. It really showed at the end when Cami and I made those free throws.”
“This one was about perseverance, dedication and hustle because the girls are tired after three games this week,” Burrillville coach Sam Stanton said. “The best part about these girls is they never give up no matter how bad the game is going. They just keep working and working and chipping away. They all just go for it.”
And the game was going bad for the Broncos because Davies coach Joe Handy, whose team beat the Broncos in the Smithfield Boosters Tournament in December, knew the only way his young squad could win was by packing his defense in the paint and daring the Broncos to make a shot from the outside.
Burrillville (5-0 Division III) only trailed at six at halftime because Brown poured in eight points in the paint. The Broncos fell behind 3224 with 7:32 left after back-to-back hoops by Ana Gomes, but the Patriots only made one field goal for the rest of the game.
“I am happy because they are a phenomenal group of kids and they work hard every day in practice,” Stanton said. “They work so hard on their weaknesses and shoot every day, it’s just that they get a little nervous still in the game. We’re working on calming them down and building their confidence because they are good shooters.”
Davies Tech (1-5 Division III) received a team-high 16 points from guard Keera Howard, while Ana Gomes added seven points. Jennifer Cruz and Alaynah Rubio each had six. Howard and Rubio combined to make the game’s four 3-pointers. Davies’ issue was one they’ve had many times this season – turnovers.
Without a veteran ballhandler to slow the game down and get into sets, the Patriots committed 29 turnovers, which allowed the basket-shy Broncos easy opportunities in the paint.
“The effort was great and they did a great job following the gameplan,” Handy said. “We’re a turnover-driven team and tonight I thought we did an all right job with the ball. They did what we asked them to do which was to get the ball inside [to Cruz and Gomes] and that really worked in the first half. We pushed it when we had the chance, but you can’t get back the turnovers.”
The Patriots committed 11 turnovers in the first half, but Burrillville couldn’t take advantage of the mistakes. Howard and Rubio each hit a 3-pointer in the opening three minutes to give the Patriots a 7-1 advantage. The two each hit another 3-pointer late in the half to build the lead to 18-9, but Brown scored three straight points to help the Broncos go into halftime down just six points.
“We have a lot of respect for Burrillville because they’re a big team that’s well coached,” Handy said. “We played them in the Christmas tournament and we played great. Overall, we did well. We just threw the ball over too much down the stretch.”
Burrillville challenged Howard and Rubio in the second half and neither connected on a 3-pointer, but the Patriots maintained their advantage because of Gomes and Cruz in the paint. The Patriots led 34-26, but then the Broncos worked their way back into the game with tough defense and good foul shooting.
Along with Weekly and Simpson, Sam Prario (six points), Brook Pinocci (six points) and Alicia Harmon (four points) made big plays in the second half.