PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth High School girls’ basketball team couldn’t not overcome sluggish starts to each

half of Sunday’s game as it was knocked out of the state open tournament by La Salle Academy, 44-25.

The No. 1 seeded Rams advance to play Cranston East in the semifinals on March 12.

The Patriots, the No. 8 seed, were looking to bounce back in the open tournament after an early exit in the Division 1 playoffs, but had the misfortune of running up against perhaps the best team in the state.

Not helping matters was Portsmouth’s slow start, partly thanks to

the Rams' full-court press. The Patriots quickly fell behind 8-0 and didn't score until five minute into the game, when junior guard Gabby DeComo was fouled and knocked down both free throws.

“We had handled their press before, but this time we lost a little bit of it,” said Patriots’ coach Richard Glover. “The proper person didn’t take the ball out of bounds initially and I think things got a little frenetic, and when things get frenetic against La Salle, good things don’t happen.”

The Patriots were down by 12 at one point, but their own

impressive defense helped them claw back to within 7 when senior co-captain Haley Oliveira drained a 3-pointer with two minutes left in the half.

“We were down 6 or 8-nothing and then we told the girls, settle down. We weren’t out of it,” said Mr. Glover. “Our defense was pretty good against them, too.”

Both teams went to the locker room with the Rams up 21-12 at the half.

The second half began just as the first did, with the Patriots failing to put the ball through the hoop.

“We couldn’t make a run, and it’s hard to make a run against (La Salle),” Mr. Glover said. “You don’t want to get behind them because when you get behind what is presumably the best team in the state, it’s difficult to overcome any kind of deficit.”

The Patriots’ first points in the half didn’t come until nearly seven minutes in, when DeComo drove for a layup. La Salle’s aggressive defense once against held Portsmouth at bay, and the Rams led by as many as 21 points before the final buzzer.

“They play excellent defense, and we didn’t shoot. Against

Barrington we shot better than we usually do; tonight, we shot more poorly,” said Mr. Glover, referring to his team’s impressive 63-49 win over the Eagles on Wednesday. “We played well but when you don’t make shots, things don’t look good, and we turned it over quite a bit, too, which is a credit to (La Salle’s) defense.”

Senior co-captain Haley Alves and junior Gabby DeComo were the top scorers for the Patriots, with 9 points apiece.

Haley Oliveira, the other senior co-captain, finished with 5 points and junior Lilianna Kenyon added 2.

‘Overall a great season’

Despite the loss, Mr. Glover said he’s proud of what his team accomplished this year.

“To be one of the last eight teams playing is a credit to the girls,” he said. “I thought after our Division 1 disappointment in the first

round, we really came out strong and played well in the state tournament. I think overall it’s a great season. Obviously the seniors are disappointed as I am, but when we look back we’ll be pleased because in some ways we probably overachieved. Some games we might have underachieved but overall I think we overachieved for the season.”

The future also looks bright, he said, noting that the team is losing only three seniors: Alves, Oliveira and Mikaela Kosoff.

“We’ve got some work to do every year, obviously — integrating new players and stuff like that — but we do have a good core coming back,” he said.