Kent sets scoring record
Hoops star sets new mark for Northmen
NORTH SMITHFIELD — There were a couple times yesterday when North Smithfield senior standout Sam Kent turned to head coach Ariana Stanton and asked if she had garnered enough points to become the school’s all-time leading scorer in girls’ basketball.
Wisely, Stanton told Kent that she had no idea and to keep focusing on the task at hand, which was to see if the Northmen could register their third straight victory at Division III Block Island.
Sitting 20 points behind the 1,224 points that ’97 graduate Linda Cimino netted during her varsity career, Kent went on net 22 points and make history as the Northmen rolled to a 51-32 victory over Block Island. Kent scored 16 points in the first half and six points in the second half before Stanton emptied her bench for the final 11 minutes.
“All of her points came on layups and free throws,” noted Stanton. “They were double teaming her for most of the game, but she did well.”
Because Friday’s game against Central was halted with 14:46 left in the second half and rescheduled for a later date, the points that Kent scored against the Knights won’t officially count on her record until the contest is completed. Kent was just 10 points away from catching Cimino for first place when the action was ceased.
Given that she’s a regular as far as scoring 20-plus points per game, the fact that Kent needed 22 points to set the mark was more than within the realm of possibility against the Hurricanes yesterday.
Kent also pulled down 11 rebounds for the Northmen, who got 12 points from Lorenza O'Donnell and seven points from Celeste Gambardella.
“Sam is definitely a good role model for the other girls on the floor. She gives them confidence when we’re down and need a couple of shots to fall,” said Stanton.
“Having a great player who can engage the players in certain plays helps them out tremendously. Obviously we need her to score, but her involving the other players gives them confidence that they are helping the team win.”
With reaching the 1,000-point plateau and becoming the Northmen’s top scorer in girls’ basketball history now behind her, Kent can now focus on lifting her team to what Stanton hopes is a spot in the D-III tournament. At the moment, North Smithfield’s 5-6 record against league competition is sufficient enough to be included in the postseason equation, but Stanton knows that more work needs to be done.
“We have a couple of tough games coming up,” said Stanton, whose squad hosts 9-4 Central Falls on Tuesday.