Larson leads Tolman to road victory
NARRAGANSETT – Nothing came easy for either side on Thursday afternoon. Having just 20 minutes between their arrival from Pawtucket to the opening tip of the game, the Tolman girls basketball team were tasked with taking down the defending state champs, Narragansett.
The Mariners lost the majority of their offense from last year's excellent team but have still managed tow in four of their first five league contests this season. Despite the pedigree of the two teams entering play, both sides struggled shooting the ball throughout the contest. Hot shooting from Allie Larson early on, and stringent half court defense throughout allowed the Tigers to outlast the Mariners, 35-28.
“When her shot is falling, it opens up the floor for everybody else,” said Tigers head coach Walter Gonzalez of Larson. “They were sending double teams at her and it freed up Fenda Konte [down low]. It puts a lot of pressure on Destiny who controls the offense. Allie's been in somewhat of a slump lately, so it's good to see her get out of that slump. She's a great shooter.”
Larson scored a game-high 13 points, 10 of which came in the first half. The Tigers largest lead, at 13, came courtesy of a Larson made 3pointer. Destiny Moore also scored 13 points for Tolman, and the junior guard did a good job of picking up the offensive slack after the Mariner defense clamped down on Larson.
While the Tigers dictated the tempo and controlled the flow of the game for most of the afternoon, the game began with eight alternating scores between the two sides. The lead changed hands seven times in the opening minutes, until consecutive buckets by Larson and Moore allowed the Tigers to start building a lead.
The Tolman defense clamped down following the opening even play, and limited the Mariners to just 11 first half points. A 3-2 zone look prevented the Mariners perimeter players from hitting jump shots, and the tall, lean Tigers controlled the defensive boards well.
“Defensively we wanted to contain them in the 3-2,” said Gonzalez. “They didn't really have any bigs out there. Our man focus was the perimeter. I think we did a pretty good job closing out on their shots.”
As happy as Gonzalez was with the team's defensive effort in the half court, he was less enthused with the production generated out of their full court press.
“Wasn't pleased with the way we executed in our press,” he said. “We should have had more turnovers on the press, but we'll get back in the gym and work on that.”
The Tigers took a 10-point lead into the break and maintained that distance for the first few minutes of the second half. The lead looked somewhat secure, leading Gonzalez to make a decision he nearly came to regret.
“What I did was halfway through the half, I went five-in five-out,” he said. “Just to throw a different lineup in there. Got some players not used to getting minutes in there. It almost caught up to me. We were stagnant for eight minutes.”
While the Tigers offense were failing to muster up much of anything for a large chunk of the second half, the Mariners were handed a golden opportunity. The Tigers sent the Mariners to the line for 12 free throw attempts in the span of two minutes of play.
Fortunately for Tolman, the Mariners converted just four of those free throw shots, and the lead was only lessened to nine points. The Mariners would come as close as five points following the free throw shooting barrage, but the clock favored the Tigers, and late scoring by Paige Bizier (six points) and Moore allowed the team to hold on for the win.
“They pulled it out, pulled it together,” said Gonzalez. “To come from a bus ride from Pawtucket to Narragansett at 2:30, get off the bus and play, we'll take the win.”