No. 1 Sholman rolls along
No. 1 Tigers face Mount St. Charles tonight in semifinals
PAWTUCKET – Logic dedicated that someone would be open and stand to reap the benefits of the strategy employed by Lincoln School Monday night.
Utilizing a triangle-and-two defensive approach, the Lynx left the star scorer on the Shea/Tolman girls’ basketball team with little choice but to put on her facilitator hat. No problem at all was the resounding response by sophomore Armani Rivera.
It was early in the second quarter of the Division III quarterfinals when senior Klani Gaul drove in for a wide-open layup – the result of a feed from Rivera. The next time down the court, Gaul made a spin move in the paint for two of her 12 points.
As for who fed her the rock … don’t strain too much. The aftermath of Sholman’s lone regular-season loss to Toll Gate back on Feb. 3 – a 49-46 overtime setback – has resulted in Rivera taking what the defense throws at her and responding in kind. The onus then falls on teammates like Gaul to realize that no hesitation is needed upon receiving the ball. Simply turn, gather a head of steam, and head to the basket.
“I know I have to help Armani when the defense is keying in on her,” said Gaul after top seed Sholman disposed of No. 9 seed Lincoln School, 48-17, in the Division III quarterfinals. “It’s about helping us score and execute, but she can’t do it alone and neither can I. We need our teammates to help us.”
“If Armani is going to be doubled, there are other kids like Klani who are going to be open,” said Sholman co-head coach John Lickert about Rivera. “Toll Gate took Armani out of the game but we missed so many layups. We’ve been working hard on finishing for that reason if they do double her.”
Rivera ended up with 19 points despite sitting out most of the second quarter and the entire fourth quarter. Jaylin Fernandes filled out the stat line with six steals, six rebounds, and three assists as Sholman now turns its attention to Wednesday’s semifinal-round matchup against Mount St. Charles.
An aggressive full-court trapping style enabled Sholman to jump out to a 15-3 lead after one quarter. The Lynx turned the ball over 13 times during the opening eight minutes with Rivera scoring six points off turnovers. Her first hoop of the game featured a nifty pull-up jumper where Rivera stopped on a dime before hitting. She ended the first quarter with 11 points next to her name.
Turnover problems continued to plague the Lynx as the deficit swelled to 28-3 with 2:43 remaining in the second quarter. When Rivera scored off a pair of turnovers, Sholman’s lead stood at 32-7 with not even a minute gone by in the third quarter.
Lincoln School was missing one of its better players as senior Kasey Osbourne missed Monday’s game with an injury. Still, Sholman was locked in from the jump. It’s a group that’s well aware that every game from here on out represents a one-game season.
“We lose one game and it’s over. We understand that,” said Lickert.
“We came in knowing that this was a oneand-done game,” said Gaul. “We put our all into this game so we can go to the next one.”