Rogers Girls Overwhelm Smithfield – Advance in D-II Playoffs

Junior Maeve Crowley (11) maneuvers down the lane against her Smithfield defender. Photos By Merri Keller

The Rogers High girls basket­ball team ran away from an out­manned Smithfield High squad on Feb. 21 in the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs, rolling at home to a 57-25 win.

The Vikings, the No. 3 seed with an impressive 15-2 record, had routed the Sentinels 54-32 on the road on Jan. 12, and this game took a similar path. They built a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Sixth-seeded Smith­field was shut out in the second quarter after only scoring seven points in the first period.

The Vikings only two losses this season came at East Providence, 47-36, and to Juanita Sanchez Complex, 52-34, at home.

East Providence, the top seed, was undefeated in the regular season, and JSC, the second seed, was 17-1. With the quarterfinal win, the Vikings advance to play at JSC on Feb. 24 as they try to avenge that earlier loss. JSC advanced with a 54-27 rout over Cranston East.

The Vikings only dressed eight players in the win over Smithfield, and four combined for 47 points. Maeve Crowley had 18, Sydney Newsome 13, Danaysha Cherry nine and Rylee Donovan seven. Cherry, Crowley, Newsome and others also had a ton of steals.

Senior Khrizma Winters lays in two of her six points in the game

The game was filled with turn­overs on both sides, and both teams missed many shots.

“We have to just take care of the ball, make sure we make good passes, do our job, and maybe just clean it up a little bit,” Crowley said.

The Vikings led 20-7 after the first quarter as Crowley and Cherry dominated inside. They extended the cushion to 31-7 at halftime and held a 46-19 advantage after three quarters.

Head coach Frank Brow said that playing with just eight girls was not a factor. “We’ve been [rotating] six players for 15 years,” he said.

 

Junior Sydney Newsome (center) makes a left- handed layup for two of her 13 points.

Junior Danaysha Cherry powers in for an easy basket.

Junior Rylee Donavan (1) shoots a jumper from the corner.