Clutch Westport shooting holds off hard-charging Nantucket

Wildcat girls score opening round shocker

By Bruce Burdett
Posted 2/28/19

The road (and ferry) warrior Westport girls basketball team scored an upset playoff victory over Nantucket late Wednesday afternoon as a snowstorm approached.

The 13-seed Wildcats beat the 4-seed …

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Clutch Westport shooting holds off hard-charging Nantucket

Wildcat girls score opening round shocker

Posted

The road (and ferry) warrior Westport girls basketball team scored an upset playoff victory over Nantucket late Wednesday afternoon as a snowstorm approached.

The 13-seed Wildcats beat the 4-seed Whalers 52-48 and they did it after a long bus and ferry ride out to the island.

Westport entered the tourney with an 11-9 record, Nantucket with a 16-4 record.

“I thought we played with a great amount of composure for most of the game and I thought we had great patience on offense and rebounded very well on defense,” said coach Mike Ponte.

The Wildcats held the lead into the second half but had to withstand a furious comeback attempt by the Whalers who were fueled by their home crowd.

But Westport refused to let the pressure get to them, saving some of their most clutch baskets for the final moments.

“Nantucket is a really good team and a team that didn’t want their season to end — they made a hard-fought comeback at the end.

“I was proud of our girls for hanging on and making some huge foul shots down the stretch, especially Jess Carney who hit two foul shots with five seconds left to ice the game for us,” the coach said.

He added, “Jessica has really turned into a great leader and captain as a sophomore. She already is a very talented player and her hard work has certainly paid off. Sarah Edwards at the point guard position has been and was great yesterday as well. I can’t say enough about all the girls — it was a great team win.

Edwards led the team with 15 points, four steals and four assists. Jess Carney added 11 points, 13 rebounds and four steals while Lily Pichette had eight points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Abby Zuber recorded seven points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Avery Rounds hit three 3-pointers for nine points, Lily Pichette scored 8, and Erin Carney hit for 2.

The coach credited Athletic Director Jason Pacheco for making a complex travel schedule — bus and ferry rides with snow storm mixed in — work with “no issues at all.”

The Wildcats play next on Friday, March 1, at 6:30 pm at Carver.

Carver, a 12-seed, beat 5-seed Blue Hills by a score of 60-50.

“Carver is a really good team that plays in a tough league so we have to go and play our best game of the season on the road if we want a chance to advance, Coach Ponte said.

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