Robertson heats up for Patriots

Senior nets career-high 24 points in playoff win

LINCOLN — Davies Tech senior wing Cheyenne Robertson had good feeling she was going to play well in Friday afternoon’s Division III preliminary-round contest against No. 4 Block Island.

“Before we had warmups, I had weight training at the end of the school day and I just started shooting around,” Robertson. “I was making shots and I felt like I was getting hot, so I was ready to play. I just had a feeling.”

Robertson knocked down three 3-pointers in the opening quarter and actually outscored the visiting Hurricanes in the first half by four points. The senior sharpshooter finished the afternoon with five 3-pointers and a career-high 24 points, while senior point guard Keeara Howard netted 13 points in a 57-43 victory at Gaskin Alumni Hall.

“This was a great performance because we had a little bit of the outside game and we were pushing the ball up the floor and we were looking good,” Davies coach Joe Handy said. “We had a little bit of everything tonight and it wasn’t just jump on Keeara’s back and let her lead us to the win. We’ve been telling the girls since the beginning of the year we have balance and we can get these openings if we execute. It’s good to see them execute like that.”

Davies Tech (4-4) won its fourth game in its last five contests to earn a spot in the Division III quarterfinals Monday night against one-loss North Smithfield. The good news for the Patriots is they just saw Calla Puccetti, Laura Matchett and the Northmen last week in Lincoln, the bad news is the Northmen were dominant in the second half of a 6235 rout.

Handy knows the Patriots need to slow down the Northmen’s talented junior trio, but he also knows they need to play the game at a deliberate pace to have a chance to pull off the upset. Junior Dorothy Tavares didn’t play in the first meeting, but she will suit up at Lovett Gymnasium.

“We think we can play better than we did last time and we were in the game until halftime,” Handy said. “We totally gassed out, so we need to slow the game down on offense because they’re a fast team. They have some big girls, but they’re younger. Those three juniors are tough. We played a special defense on them that worked for a little while.”

Block Island made a second-half push by employing a full-court diamond-and-one press. Cally Weber led the Hurricanes with 16 points and a pair of 3-pointers, while Sophia Williams scored 10 of her 11 points in the second half.

Robertson and Howard put the game away in the opening eight points, as each player outscored the Hurricanes. Robertson knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the opening quarter, while Howard added nine to stake the hosts to a 26-5 advantage. Senior forward Ana Gomes scored four of her eight points in the second quarter to send the Patriots into halftime with a 24-point lead.

“Jayleanna Sanchez can do the same thing as Cheyenne on the other side when she’s on,” Handy said. “She doesn’t seem to get as open as Cheyenne, but we have a good outside shooting game. That’s not typical of what we’ve had in the past. Cheyenne can bring it. She’s got a quick release, so if you give her space, she can get hot.”

Handy went to his bench in the third quarter and the Hurricanes worked their way back into the game thanks to a diamond-and-one press that forced turnovers and easy baskets for the visitors. When Weber made her second 3-pointer of the game early in the fourth quarter, Block Island only trailed by 15.

The Hurricanes had a few more chances to close the gap, but a 3-pointer from Sanchez and baskets from Howard and Robertson secured the win.