Mattera, DiRaimo lead Lady Panthers past Scituate

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The duo of Karina Mattera and Isabella DiRaimo helped propel the Johnston Lady Panthers’ basketball team to a 65-60 win over the Scituate Lady Spartans last Friday night at Scituate High School.

The two senior guards combined for 53 of the 65 Lady Panthers’ points to help improve their Division II-North record to 10-4, maintaining their third seed as the playoffs rapidly approach.

Mattera scored 25 of her game-high 33 points in the second half, which included five 3-pointers that proved to be the difference in the game. Johnston cruised to a 69-51 victory over the Lady Spartans last month, but this game was close the entire way.

“I knew we would be a little sluggish tonight, we have not played in a week,” said Johnston head coach Chris Corsinetti. “In the first half, our senior shooters were fading away from the basket and we missed some free throws, so I challenged them at halftime and told them that if they play their game hard to the basket, there are not too many teams that can stop them in this league.”

The game featured three 1,000 point scorers, Mattera and DiRaimo of Johnston and Sadie Ross of Scituate, who scored a team-high 26 points for her team. All three of them played an important role in this game as they have all season long.

The Lady Panthers got off to a good start with a DiRaimo rebound and outlet pass to Mattera for an easy lay up to open the game. Samantha Hardman’s 3 gave Johnston an 8-7 lead and DiRaimo, who netted 20 points on the night, hit a 3 of her own, as the Panthers led, 21-20, late in the first half. Ross put the Spartans ahead at the half, 26-24, with a last second shot down-low in what was a back and forth first half.

The second half, however, belonged to Mattera. She quickly tied the game at 26 in the opening minute of the second half. Hardman’s steal and nice pass to Mattera upped the Johnston lead to 31-28.

Much like the first half, the two teams played a tight second half until the 3’s starting falling for Johnston. DiRaimo’s 3 and freshman Jordan Moretti’s 3 staked the Panthers to a 56-52 lead at the 3:10 mark, but it was Mattera who had the hot hand, as she torched the Spartans with key shots beyond the 3-point arc in the final minutes of the game. Johnston also played some good defense down the stretch, as they held on for its second win over the Spartans this year.

“Scituate was missing a good post player in Tricia Stuard the last time we played them,” Corsinetti said. “We lost a good defensive player, Angela Gallucci, in practice yesterday with a sprained ankle, so we were a little thinned-out tonight. We switched off with Dana Desmarais and Kristina DiMascio on Sadie Ross and they did a good job. Ross is a good player and she is going to get her points no matter what.”

This was the third game in as many nights for the Lady Spartans, who fall to 8-7 in league play. They qualified for the playoffs with wins over North Providence and Cumberland and are currently a 6-seed in the division.

“There were some shots that did not go for us tonight, but I have no complaints how our kids played tonight, they gave it their all,” said Scituate head coach Stacy D’Allesandro. “Things that were not coming together for us in the previous game with Johnston, we worked on and made adjustments and focused on playing as a team. Karina and Bella are tough to stop, those 3’s by Mattera towards the end really hurt us. This is always a game we look forward to playing and we always want to win, that is our goal, but Johnston did everything that they could possibly do to win. Overall, our kids have improved with leaps and bounds, they are playing as a team and playing hard. This three game stretch was tough, but we cannot be disappointed in the effort.”

The Panthers notched a 56-51 win over Ponaganset the following night, improving to 11-4. After playing at first place Saint Raphael, Johnston will make up games with Lincoln on Feb. 19 and North Providence on Feb. 21. Both games will be played at Johnston with the latter being senior night.

“We have to win out to keep the third seed in the playoffs,” Corsinetti said. “Our offense is steady with about 60 points a game – we just have to rebound and play defense. It is a good time of the year to start to peak.”

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