By Timothy Yean, TSM President
A rainy night in the city of Providence didn’t stutter the Barrington Eagles on their way to a 50-40 D-I girls divisional championship victory over the North Kingstown Skippers, who were held to their lowest point total since their January 3rd loss to La Salle Academy (34 points).
The Skippers entered the contest following nine and ten-point victories over rival South Kingstown and Ponaganset respectively. They would play without Shea Kalin, who was out with a lower back injury, and someone the Skippers certainly could have used on this night.
Barrington was the three-seed in the D-I playoffs, smoking Cranston West before escaping the Murray Center with a 50-48 win over La Salle to secure their spot in the AMP.
A 10-6 Eagle start midway through the first quarter would be erased by swift North Kingstown play in the final minute of the first quarter, with junior Jaelyn Holmes converting an and-one opportunity, and a Brooke Faunce corner three to have the Skippers up three entering the second quarter.
Despite positive momentum for the Skippers, the second quarter would be an absolute nightmare, as they failed to score a single point during the entire period. They only had two free throw opportunities as the offense sputtered and were unable to knock down any shots.
Senior Janaya Prince-Baquero was the spotlight for the Barrington attack, with back-to-back points from inside forcing North Kingstown to use a timeout, now down 22-15.
With twenty-eight seconds in the half, North Kingstown had one of the more available opportunities to put two points on the board, but a Barrington takeaway shut down and stopped the Skippers’ ship. Another two points from the Eagles and they were now in full control, 24-15, entering halftime.
It would be another two minutes without offensive output until Holmes finally scored for the Skippers with a paint make. Faunce added another triple to the stat sheet, and North Kingstown generated some consistency on offense, but the Eagles maintained and matched point-after-point, a nine-point lead after three quarters.
An energized Skipper offense began their fourth quarter on a 9-5 run to put the margin between themselves and Barrington at 41-36, forcing a Barrington timeout.
Post-timeout, it seemed that Skipper freshman Olivia Diano was in the clear for an easy two points until a Barrington defender went and connected for the chasedown block. With 2:25 to go in the final quarter, junior Isys Dunphy blocked an incoming shot attempt to keep the game in favor of the Eagles.
With the game close, the Eagles also transitioned to forcing fouls and getting points through the free-throw line. Dunphy was sharp at the charity stripe, connecting on six-of-eight free throws on a 71% FT shooting quarter from the Eagles.
In the last thirty seconds, a Skipper turnover was followed by a Liv Morissette free-throw conversion to put Barrington at 50 and seal a championship plaque for the school. After their timeout, the Eagles would hold North Kingstown to just four points.
A shutout second quarter from Barrington certainly improved their odds of winning, but their ability to hunker down in the last four minutes of play guaranteed an Eagle win, as the Skippers saw their lowest point total in the playoffs.
For North Kingstown, Jaelyn Holmes led the way with 18 in the defeat, with Brooke Faunce notching three triples as her only scores. Prince-Baquero tied Holmes with a game-high 15 for Barrington, her presence seen in all four quarters. Isys Dunphy’s fourth-quarter shooting had her finish with 15 on the night, and senior Maddie Gill followed with 11.
The story is yet to be over for both teams, as each will play in the State Tournament to vy for another championship trophy. Will either team be able to strike gold twice?