The Johnston girls’ basketball team’s late second-half comeback attempt against Juanita Sanchez came up just short on Friday night at Johnston High School, as the Cavaliers hung on for a 54-50 Division II victory, in what turned out to be a very exciting game. Juanita Sanchez beat the Panthers back in December, 51-32, but this game was a different story, going right down to the wire.
After a convincing, 60-38 win at Woonsocket by the Panthers on Jan. 20, the Johnston girls were anxious to get back onto the court after a nine-day layoff. The Johnston-Cumberland tilt that was scheduled for Jan. 27 was postponed until the middle of February due to the fact that the two referees did not show up for the contest.
The Panthers (6-5) and Cavaliers (7-5) proved to be two different kind of teams, as Johnston scored the majority of its field goals from the outside and Juanita Sanchez would score all of its field goals down low, inside the paint, which turned out to be the difference in the game. The Cavaliers’ Willcia McBorrough scored a team-high 19 points, including two big free throws in the final seconds that put the game away for her team, but it was just the 6-footer’s presence and defensive play that nullified the Johnston inside game.
Juanita Sanchez opened up its biggest lead of the game, 26-13, at the 7:56 mark of the first half, but layups by Jordan Moretti and Gabriella DiRaimo, as well as a bucket by Gianna Vizzacco, brought Johnston to within five points, 26-21.
The Cavaliers, however, would take a comfortable, 33-23 lead into the half as Johnston’s leading scorer, Moretti, was held to just four first-half points. The Panthers were faced with yet another second-half comeback attempt, despite 28 turnovers in the game, but they managed to keep it close by forcing the Cavaliers to cough up the ball 28 times of their own.
Vizzacco got her team off to a good start early in the second half with a quick 2, which was followed by a Bianca Robbins bucket and Moretti 3-point shots. Another Moretti 3 cut the lead to 41-38 and a DiRaimo bucket brought Johnston to within one at 41-40 at the 8:06 mark. DiRaimo would shortly foul out of the game, finishing with eight points.
Moretti continued to keep the heat on the Cavaliers with her third 3-ball of the half, cutting the lead to 51-49. Moretti would lead all scorers with 22 points. Moretti was fouled and sunk one out of two from the line, making it a 1-point game, 51-50, with 23 seconds left in the game. After a Panther turnover, the Cavs’ Paris Brown-Coker was fouled and hit the first of a 1-and-1 for a 52-50 lead. She missed the second free throw, but McBorrough was there for the rebound and was fouled. She hit two free throws, the second one getting a kind bounce that sealed the game for the visitors.
McBorrough (19 points), Coker (16 points) and Mariah Rosario (15 points) accounted for 50 of the Cavs’ 54 points in the game. Katrice Bridges netted the other four.
“We had countless amounts of opportunities to pull ahead in this game, we did not capitalize and take advantage,” said Johnston head coach Chris Corsinetti. “We were 4-of-12 from the free throw line, we did not do what we needed to do as far as that is concerned. We came out in the beginning of the game a little intimidated, we buried ourselves in the beginning because we did not come out with that fire and drive.”
He went on to speak about his team’s competitiveness.
“We could have laid down and went to sleep, but we came back. Our competitiveness is second to none and if we could have combined that with making our free throws and layups, we would have had the win tonight. If we hit some key shots, the game might have turned out different. We could not get over that hump. We did hit some big shots when we needed them, but it was not enough. This is a tough one to lose at home.”
Corsinetti had to go deep into his bench because some starters got into foul trouble and they responded very well.
“Katerina Athaide gave us some good minutes off the bench when Kristina DiMascio got into foul trouble,” Corsinetti said. “Lauren Civetti also gave us some good minutes when she was in there. I’m happy with the team’s effort, the effort is always there. We know how to compete, we always fight and claw.”
Johnston would bounce back with a 59-51 win over Lincoln on Tuesday night to improve to 7-5. The Panthers were led by Moretti (20 points) and DiRaimo (19 points).
The Panthers will travel to Providence tomorrow night for a 6:30 p.m. tip off with the undefeated Moses Brown Quakers. The two teams played earlier in the year, with Moses Brown coming out on top, 66-49. The Panthers will have to find a way to stop Oluchi Ezemma, who is one of the best players in Division II, as she continues to register double-doubles.
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