Seventh-seeded Mt. Hope traveled to second-seeded Tiverton in the quarterfinals of the Division II girls' basketball tourney Friday night, Feb. 21, returning to town with a season-ending 51-34 defeat.

The Huskies were coming off a dominant opening eight minutes in their preliminary round playoff game against visiting Johnston Tuesday night, Feb. 18, en route to a relatively comfortable 51-38 victory.

For Mt. Hope, its season ended with a 12-11 overall record and 10-9 in league games, including the playoff win over the Panthers and setback to Tiverton.

More Tiverton notes
The quarterfinal meeting between the sides was a near 180-degree turn from their meeting on the final night of the regular season when the host Tigers rallied in the second half en route to a 51-44 win.

Last week, Tiverton put its stamp on the contest just about from the opening doubling up Mt. Hope by the end of the first quarter, 14-7, then building a commanding 31-15 edge at intermission.

The Tigers paid ample attention to the Huskies' top scoring duo of center Emily Moran and Lilly DaSilveira, holding each substantially below their season averages, which were both in the mid-teens.

And in the case of Moran, Tiverton kept the senior, who was again in foul trouble as she was the previous game against the Tigers, off the scoreboard in her final high school game. DaSilveira finished with just five points.

Mt. Hope head coach Katie Kline credited the Tiverton's defensive strategy of sending a help defender down on Moran and playing box-and-one on DaSilveira when the former was off the floor.

To its credit, though, Mt. Hope offered up some pushback in the third quarter, but the Huskies still trailed 41-27 heading in the final eight minutes.

Freshman Catherine Frawley led the locals with 11 points, all coming in the third period on three 3-pointers and a two. Maddy Butterworth added nine and Hailey Ferreira seven. Adriana Botelho had a pair.

"It was a tough game for us inside the paint. They did a good job defensively, doubling Emily when she got the ball," said Kline said. "Our guards did a great job stepping up and taking their outside shots to keep us in the game with a fighting chance. Everyone played hard until the end, which is all I could ask for as a coach."

Form also held in the D-II girls' tournament as besides the second-seeded Tigers third-seeded East Providence also advanced to the semifinals set for February 27 in Portsmouth. The Townies nipped sixth-seeded Smithfield, 44-43, in their quarter.

In the other semi Thursday, top-seeded Narragansett faces fourth-seeded Scituate. The Mariners held off upset-minded eighth-seed East Greenwich, 30-27, in their quarter while the Spartans had a much easier time in a 50-33 win over seventh-seeded Rogers.

Mt. Hope entered the D-II playoffs in need a of deep run to earn enough points to qualify for the Open State Tournament, which begins next week. The winners of the three division tournament receive an automatic bid into the 16-term state tourney field.

More Johnston notes

The Huskies never trailed after holding the 10th-seeded Panthers to just one field goal and a free throw in the first quarter as the hosts built a 18-3 advantage in their prelim played earlier last week. For Johnston, its season ended with an 8-16 overall record and 6-14 in D-II games.

The sides played even to the intermission, Mt. Hope maintaining the same 15-point lead (28-13) at the break. Johnston, which dropped a 41-36 home decision to the Huskies during the regular season, remained more competitive over the final 16 minutes, but was able to trim just two points off its early deficit.

Moran led the first-quarter Mt. Hope onslaught, scoring 11 of her game-best 21 points during period. DaSilveira helped the Huskies maintain their margin in the second half, scoring 12 of her 16 in the third and fourth quarters. Ferreira chipped in six points for the locals. Botelho had four, Butterworth three and Frawley a free throw.