Red Raider Girls Swarm Lady Vikings in Heated Match-Up

HYANNIS — Things may have gotten testy Friday night, but the Red Raider girls kept their cool.

Barnstable junior center Megan Dombrowski poured in a key 10 points to help the Red Raiders to victory Friday night, seen here at the game’s opening tip-off with Kia Fernandes of Wareham.
Sean Walsh/CCBM Sports

In a game that featured four technical fouls and the opposing coach’s ejection in the 2nd quarter, the Barnstable High girls basketball team (2-1) maintained its game plan and staged a 61-50 victory over the visiting Wareham Vikings.

Not once did Barnstable fall behind or lose the lead in this rough-and-tumble affair and the Red & White held leads of 22-9 after the first quarter, 34-25 at halftime, 52-42 after the third frame and then the finale of 61-50.

But the mood was decidedly set in the first quarter when Wareham junior point guard Tieyanna Yancey was called for a technical when she questioned a referee’s call after being stopped short at half-court amid a stifling Red Raider double-team and lost the ball. Yancey did not belabor the point and apologized to the referee, but things declined quickly after that as both teams were called for a combined 19 first half fouls that placed the opponents quickly into the double-bonus. In brief, Wareham head coach David Brogioli sniped one too many times at one of the referees and was called for a technical, then a second technical and then he was ejected. The two met chest to chest in front of the Wareham bench before Barnstable High Athletic Director Scott Thomas had to escort Brogioli out of the gymnasium.

Senior guard Angela MacLeod totaled 13 points on the night to help lead the Red Raiders to a 61-50 win over Wareham Friday night, seen here being guarded by the Vikings’ Kali Fernandes.
Sean Walsh/CCBM Sports

The time was 5:14 of the second quarter.

While Wareham senior center Kia Fernandes played brilliantly on the low post from that point forward — as did point guard Gabrielle LeFrancois — it was simply not enough. Fernandes scored 17 points on the night while LeFrancois tallied 16 points in cluding a pair of downtown three-pointers. Yancey also went into the double digits with 10 points.

All totaled, Barnstable saw 10 of its players score in such a well-rounded attack it was difficult for the Vikings to pinpoint any one player, defensively, and the entire scheme was quarterbacked by senior captain and point guard Margot Rice. It was the selfless and keen-eyed Rice whose pinpoint passes fed the precocious 8th grade Red Raider power forward Carly Whiteside on the inside for a team-leading 16 points. Add into the mix the swift-footed and lanky Megan Dombrowski on repeated and successful quick cuts to the hoop, as well as senior guard Angela MacLeod, and the dynamic duo put together 10 and 13 points, respectively.

Barnstable 8th grader Carly Whiteside led all Red Raider scorers with 16 points on the night.
Sean Walsh/CCBM Sports

Dombrowski, a junior forward, was quite simply Mikanesque with her in-the-paint spin moves and shoulder fakes, enough so that the Vikings simply could not decrease the deficit.

With time ticking down quickly near the end of the first half — a half that took 60 minutes to play — it was junior guard Mia Crawley whose three-pointer may truly have been the proverbial straw that broke the Vikings’ ability to gain momentum.

And as the third quarter drew to a close with the seconds firing down rapidly on the game clock, it was MacLeod who buried an off-balance jumper at the buzzer and in so doing infused her Red Raider teammates and the home fans with a jolt of inspiration.

But Wareham never gave in. Numerous floor scrums for loose balls and jump ball calls punctuated and already feisty game throughout the fourth quarter but in the end Barnstable maintained control in every facet of the game.

The Red Raiders (2-1) face St. John Paul II (1-0) Saturday (Dec. 20) afternoon at home at 1:30 pm. Wareham faces Old Rochester on Dec. 27.

Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm.