Nantucket may have scored the first basket, but the Vineyard took over soon after as the girls high school basketball team beat their rival 31-22 at home Saturday.
The Vineyarders defense stifled the Whalers attack from the get-go, forcing Nantucket to pass the ball around the perimeter and take difficult shots from outside the box as the shot clock winded down.
Second-chance points off rebounds were crucial to gaining the first quarter advantage and the Vineyarders went into the locker room at halftime with the momentum and a 17-11 lead thanks to two key buckets from Sasha Lakis in the paint.
The Whalers were able to claw their way back within three points by the end of the high-scoring third quarter due to a handful of Vineyard fouls putting Nantucket players on the free-throw line. Still, the Vineyarders responded to each Whaler basket with one of their own from nearly every player on the court, including Taylor Hughes, Summer Cardoza, Riley Yuhas and Kylie Estrella, and were up 25-22 with one quarter to go.
The Whalers never scored another point thanks in part to five blocks from Lakis.
Estrella and Yuhas each sunk a pair of free throws to secure the victory and Island bragging rights, 31-22.
“We made them play our game and slowed them down to our rhythm,” said coach Sterling Bishop after the game. “We don’t score a lot of points, we have a defensive focus.”
Estrella finished the game as the top-scorer racking up 11 points, followed by Yuhas with seven and Lakis with six. Lakis was the game’s defensive MVP with 12 blocks and 15 rebounds. Junior co-captain Katherine O’Brien contributed 10 rebounds and five steals.
The win puts the Vineyarders at 4-4 at the season’s halfway point with the momentum on their side after a two-game win streak. The next home game is Thursday at 4:30 p.m. against Sturgis Charter School East.
“We’re at .500 and a win over Nantucket is a big physical and emotional victory for us,” said Mr. Bishop.
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