The Barrington High School girls basketball team held off a late charge by North Kingstown and won the Division I State Championship, 50-40, in front of a large crowd at the AMP on Wednesday night, March 6. 

The Eagles used a suffocating defense to limit the top-seeded Skippers — in fact, Barrington actually kept North Kingstown scoreless through the entire second quarter. The Eagles turned a three-point deficit at the end of the first quarter into a nine-point lead at halftime, 24-15. 

“Our defense was so strong. It was exactly what we worked on,” said Barrington High School’s Isys Dunphy. “A whole lot of grit.”

Janaya Prince Baquero contributed with some strong defense for Barrington and also led the Eagles in scoring with 18 points. Dunphy went 7-for-9 from the free throw line and finished with 17 points. Senior Maddie Gill knocked down a big three-pointer early in the game and finished with 11 points. Riley Graveline and Liv Morrissette rounded out the scoring with two points each. 

BHS Coach Stephen Lenz said he was very pleased with his team's defensive effort.

“It was the most important part of the game. Even when they (the Skippers) made their run, we had to regroup and stay connected on the defensive end and that’s what we did — the defense and rebounding down the stretch,” he said.