EAST PROVIDENCE — The ultimate aim of the East Providence High School girls' basketball team for the just commenced 2016-17 season is a lofty one, finish the year competing amongst the best Rhode Island has to offer.
The Townies, coming off an 11-8 campaign and a playoff appearance a year ago in Division II, got their effort off to a rousing start late last week when after staging a mad second-half rally they upset neighbor and perennial D-I power Bay View, 55-54, in a non-league Injury Fund game. Lillian Conti hit two free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory.
"It was a great win," said long-time EPHS head coach Mike Solitro, this winter for the first time assisted by Zach Roche. "We were down 19 at the half. Everything that could have gone right for us in the second half went right for us. It was incredible."
The victory over the Bengals played right into the stated goal of the Townies for '16-17, which is to earn a spot in the fledgling Open State Tournament. In just its third year, the Open State Tourney brings together the top 16 teams from each of Rhode Island's three divisions based on a weighted points system earned through victories during the regular season and league playoffs.
Last year, despite their reasonable record and with one of the state' better players, the since graduated Angela Leonardo, the Townies did not qualify. E.P. also lost to Johnston, 49-45, in the first round of the D-II championship tournament.
"The goal is to make Open State Tournament," Coach Solitro said, definitively. "If we do that, to be with the top 16 teams in the state, it would be fantastic. That's my goal, and that's the kids' goal. It's pretty much what we're really trying to do."
East Providence starts the season with Conti, a junior, at point guard. The team's leading returning scorer, junior Shaniah Hazard (6 points per game), and senior Julia Andrade man the other backcourt spots in the Townies' three-guard set. Senior Amber Drainville and sophomore Emma DaSilva are the forwards.
Junior Courtney Dorr is the sixth man with senior Arianna Calouro, freshman Mia Jackson and the Townies' tallest player, 5-foot-10 junior Paige Chakouian, also in the rotation off the bench.
"This is probably the fastest team I've ever coached, hands down," said Coach Solitro. "We can go up and down the floor very quickly. It's got to be our style of play because in the half court we struggle. But I would put us up against pretty much any other team in the state in terms of our speed and quickness."
To that end, Coach Solitro the Townies will be an up-tempo, full-court pressure team. However, if they are slowed down a bit or want to change the flow of a game, they can by inserting Chakouian, whom the coach credited with helping E.P. rally from their large deficit against the taller Bengals last week.
"I like our full court press right now. The kids are buying into our 1-3-1 system, but I'd like to see us be able to trap more," Coach Solitro added. "Offensively, we need to make better decisions in our half-court sets. Right now, we're making some poor decisions passing the ball."
The Townies are planning to run because of their skill set and a bit out of necessity. They must find a way to offset the 19 ppg lost with the graduation of Leonardo, the program's second all-time leading scorer and just the second E.P. player to reach the 1,000 career points plateau since the school became a four-year institution nearly two decades ago.
"I don't know if we can totally replace Angela's points. We have to look to Shaniah and Lily to give us more scoring and we need Emma and Amber to be more consistent offensively," Coach Solitro said.
Consistency, all around, will be the key for the Townies this winter if they hope to achieve their team aim.
"If we don't make the D-II playoffs, then that's really going to be a letdown. We should make it, but our goal really is to make the Open State Tournament," Coach Solitro added. "But we have to play well right away, play well early. We have to start winning in December. We can't wait until January to start playing."
The Townies open their D-II regular season schedule with a pair of important games against perennial playoff contenders. Prout comes to the city Tuesday night, Dec. 20, then Rogers visits Friday night, Dec. 23. Both games tip at 7 p.m. E.P. takes a break from league play to host a holiday tourney before getting back to D-II action in earnest the first week of the New Year Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Exeter-West Greenwich and Thursday, Jan. 5, at Middletown.

— Photos, from the Townies' recent non-league win over Mt. Hope, by Rich Dionne