Sports
Travelers triumph
The 8th grade girls travel team entered the Jay Corey Memorial basketball tournament at Falmouth Academy, last weekend and came away with the winner's trophy after defeating Sandwich, Richmond, Harwich and the Sandwich A team, in that order.
Kendall Robinson paced the offense against Sandwich, Saturday, scoring a dozen points. Alex Mark added six more. Final score: Martha's Vineyard 37, Sandwich 16.
Later Saturday, the Islanders dropped Richmond, 29-20. Jessie Chandler had the game-high 11 points. Kendall Robinson contributed five. Both Meghan McHugh and Madison Hughes had four.
Sunday morning's game with Harwich was another physically challenging contest. The Islanders passed the test, posting a 27-25 win. Jennie Lindland had to leave the game with an ankle injury. Later, Kendall Robinson limped off the court but not before she scored 10 points, which turned out to be the game high. Megan McHugh and Jessie Chandler were assigned the task of controlling the talented Harwich point guard. Ana Irwin and Alex Mark worked hard on the boards. Catherine Todd shadowed Harwich's second high scorer. Hanna Perrson and Madison Hughes were the floor generals. Hanna hit two baskets, sparking the offense in the first half. Madison and Catherine sealed the win with foul shots in the closing minutes.
It was a game appropriately styled "a total team effort."
Sunday afternoon the Islanders played the Sandwich A team in the tourney finals and won, 30-24. Kendall Robinson and Jennie Lindland, both recovered from their earlier injuries, shared high honors each with 10 points.
Congratulations to the team, head coach Lynne Silvia and assistant coach Amy Maciel.
A Persson-al best
It had started as a disappointingly low-scoring game, especially for the Edgartown girls at the high school's Sancy Pachico Memorial Gymnasium.
By the mid-game break (between 16-minute halves) Oak Bluffs sat on a 9-4 lead. The Eagles had managed only a field goal by Jessie Chandler and two foul shots by Jennie Lindland.
Oak Bluffs had not set the gym on fire, but still appeared comfortably in control with a five-point lead.
The second half was a much different story. Hanna Persson began filling the hoop for Edgartown. She would finish with a game-high 12 points, all garnered in the second period.
Oak Bluffs scorers were Cat Todd with 8, Rilla Hammet (4), Sarah Williston (3), and Madison Hughes (1).
With seconds remaining on the game clock and the Blazers holding a two-point lead, 15-13, the Eagles made a final assault on the Blazers' net. The ball bounced off the rim once, twice, three times, finally bounding all the way to the left sideline where Hanna collected it and flung it toward the hoop. The game-ending buzzer sounded as the ball found "nothing but net," a three-point play that gave the 16-15 game and the girls Island school trophy to Edgartown.
Blazing a perfect season
The Oak Bluffs boys basketball team had not come close to losing a game all season long. They were not about to start with the season finale against Tisbury.
Featuring a fast break and a swarming defense, the Blazers ran up a ten-point lead in the first half, 28-18, an effort upon which they would build in the second period before running off with a 59-44 victory.
Tyler Araujo led all scorers for O.B. with 17. William Stewart was right behind with 16. Delmont Araujo had 11, Izak Rodriguez, 10, Ramon Espino, 3, and Zion Morris, 2.
Tops for Tisbury were Ryan Fisher, 13, and Rafael Maciel, 11. Also contributing points were Trenton Bown (7), Alec Tattersall (4), Lucas Rezende (4), Taymon Brown (4), and Drew Moreis (1).
Martha's Vineyard bows to best
By general consensus of players and coaches and informed observers, Wednesday's game with Sandwich presented the Vineyard varsity boys hockey team with its toughest opponent of the year.
The Blue Knights' defense was especially impressive, but if there was a team weakness to exploit the Islanders could not find it.
Sandwich jumped off to a 2-0 lead in the first period, held it through the second and increased it to 3-0 in the final frame.
The Vineyard's lone goal came in the final minute of the game on a slap shot by Matt Flynn, assisted by Truman French, while the Vineyard enjoyed a 5 on 3 advantage.
Sandwich claimed the Division 2 South title by edging Franklin at the Gallo, Sunday. After a scoreless game and scoreless eight-minute OT, the Knights prevailed in a six-player shootout. It went into the books as a 1-0 win.
