The Barrington High School girls basketball team won its quarterfinal playoff game on Tuesday, Feb. 27, defeating Cranston West 61-50, and BHS Coach Stephen Lenz believes the Eagles’ final two games of the regular season may have played key role in the postseason victory. 

Lenz said his team learned an important lesson in the regular season losses to Ponaganset and Bay View down the stretch: Strong defense can compensate for a cold shooting night.

“We were just a little off in those two games,” Lenz said. “Those two games felt like playoff games.”

Barrington battled through a tough offensive night against Cranston West in the playoff opener. One of the Eagles’ top players, Isys Dunphy, found herself mired in foul trouble early in the game. Dunphy, a junior, picked up two fouls in the first quarter and notched her third before half-time. Lenz said it appeared that Dunphy may have been assigned fouls that were actually committed by her teammates. 

With Dunphy on the bench, Barrington relied on its defense to limit the potent Cranston West attack. Lenz praised the work of Kimia Beers and Ellie Donato, two subs who played key minutes in the post for Barrington. He also credited Faith Van Ness, who came off the bench to help out at the guard position. 

“Our role players stepped up,” Lenz said. 

So did starting guard Maddie Gill. The senior scored 21 points to lead Barrington’s scorers. 

“Maddie was steady all night,” Lenz said. “Her shot wasn’t falling, so she started attacking the basket.” 

Gill also answered the call in the second half. As the Falcons cut into Barrington’s lead and threatened to surge ahead of the home team, Gill went to work on the offensive end of the court.

“Maddie had some big time shots, particularly in the third quarter. And Janaya (Prince Baquero). Those two held it together,” Lenz said. “We never gave up the lead.”

Cranston West would not quit, however, and cut the lead to two points with four minutes remaining. Dunphy, then with four fouls, went back into the game and reeled off six points.

In fact, Dunphy partnered with Gill and Riley Graveline to lead the Eagles to an 18-12 run late in the game. That spurt spelled the end to the Falcons and propelled Barrington into the semifinals of the Division I tournament, where it will face LaSalle.

Lenz said he was pleased with his team’s effort against Cranston West. 

“Cranston West is a very good team. They’re a very senior laden team and they can score in bunches,” Lenz said, adding that there are at least a half-dozen teams who have the potential to win the title this year.

Gill led the Eagles’ offense with 21 points, while Prince Baquero finished with 14 and Graveline added 11. Liv Morrissette also provided a spark for the Eagles, as she dropped in seven points. Dunphy had six and Donato finished with two. 

“We were ready to play,” Lenz said. “Our whole thing this season was we’re going to play with a sense of urgency and play through adversity. We did that.”

Barrington will tip-off against LaSalle Academy in the Division I tournament semifinals. The game is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Murray Center on the campus of Rhode Island College. 

Lenz said LaSalle is a tough team and showed it when they upset second-seeded Bay View in the first round of the Division I tournament. Barrington defeated LaSalle 46-33 when the two teams played on Jan. 17 in Providence.