Snagging rebounds, feeding her teammates and dominating in the post, Sasha Lakis scored 12 points and secured 13 boards as the Vineyard girls basketball team out-hustled the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins last Friday in their home opener to earn their first win of the season 36-20.
“That was a really big win for us, we really needed it,” said head coach Sterling Bishop.
Coming off two tough road losses to start the season, the girls had a plan for success and executed it with confidence. “[D-Y’s] strength is their point guard, so our goal was to frustrate her, and we were able to be successful in carrying out our game plan,” Coach Bishop said.
In addition to Lakis’ double-double, Kiley Estrella contributed 11 points and 6 rebounds while flying around the court on defense, blocking shots and forcing turnovers.
Meanwhile, across the street at the rink on Saturday, the boys hockey team skated at home for the first time this season against Hanover, one of the toughest opponents on their schedule. After falling into a 2-0 hole in a span of 17 seconds in the first period, the Vineyarders came storming back by way of hard-hitting defense and opportunistic offense that rattled the Indians.
Senior captain Colby Zarba found the back of the net twice, notching his fourth and fifth goals of the season to tie the game. Hunter Meader then sniped a penalty shot past the Hanover netminder to give purple and white a lead they would not relinquish. Meader then padded the Vineyard’s lead with two more goals to complete his natural hat trick, one score coming on a breakaway and the other an empty netter to seal a 5-2 victory for the home team.
The win was a huge boost of confidence for the Vineyarders who eked out a 3-3 tie against Attleboro last Wednesday. Next, the boys will skate at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore Center Arena in Durham for the Heuchling & Swift Memorial Classic over the weekend.
Also last Wednesday, the girls hockey team squared off against the Falmouth Clippers at home but came up short 3-0. Amelia Simmons did everything she could in net to keep the Vineyard alive in a game where Falmouth dominated puck possession, but in the end the Clipper’s offense proved too much to corral.
Simmons had 36 saves as the Vineyard displayed heart on defense, killing a five-on-three Falmouth power play and never letting the Clippers have an easy shot on goal. The closest the Vineyarders came to getting on the scoreboard was in the first period on a penalty shot, but Paige Anderson’s effort went just wide of the net.
On Saturday the girls had an opportunity to claim their first win of the season against Dennis-Yarmouth but four third period goals by the Dolphins lead to a calamitous 5-2 loss for the Vineyard. Paige Anderson netted the Vineyard’s first goal of the season off an assist from captain Lauren Boyd. Alana Nevin also put the puck in the net for the home team off an assist from Anderson. This Saturday the girls are back on home ice against Barnstable; puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Last Friday, as school released for winter break, the boys basketball team hit the road for a league matchup with undefeated Dennis-Yarmouth. The Dolphins offense proved too potent for the Vineyarders to handle as they fell by a score of 56-45 and dropped to 0-2 on the season.
Rammon Dos Santos lead the Vineyard in scoring with 16 points, captain Jared Regan added 12 and Aidan Araujo contributed nine. The boys are back on the court this Friday for a non-league game against Old Rochester at home; tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
The swim team also hit the road before winter vacation began for a league meet with Sandwich last Thursday. Both boys and girls Blue Knight squads topped the Vineyarders 108-35 and 101-74 as Ruairi Mullin was the lone first-place finisher for the Vineyard boys and Gabby Carr and Eleanor Hyland were double winners for Martha’s girls.
Mullin won the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 55.98. Carr won the 200-meter freestyle with a personal record of 2:04.47 and the 500-meter freestyle in 5:39.04, which qualified her for states later this season. Hyland won the 50-meter freestyle in 29.69 and the 100-meter freestyle in 1:08.08. The girls also won the 400-meter freestyle relay with Carr, Hyland, Olympia Hall and Lily Haynes finishing in 4:34.45.
The next meet for Island swimmers falls on Jan. 4 on Nantucket for the Cape Cod Classic.
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