The Sandwich Blue Knights overturned an eight-point halftime deficit to beat the Vineyard varsity girls basketball team 62-53, Wednesday afternoon at the Sancy Pachico Gym in Oak Bluffs.
The Vineyarders played an inspired first half, and held Sandwich to 16 points through the first 16 minutes, but the Blue Knights shot lights-out after the break, scoring 44 points. The teams were tied at 35-35 late in the third quarter, but Sandwich scored the next seven points, and drained four treys, to open up a double-digit lead.
Molly deBettencourt scored a game-high 27 points for MV, followed by Meghan Sawyer (10), Rose Engler (8), Kiana Casey (6), and Lily Pigott (2). Caroline Wilson led Sandwich’s balanced offense with 21 points. Sarah Lutsic (12 points), Leah Mahoney (11), and eighth grader Sierra Brigham (10) also reached double figures for the Blue Knights.
The Vineyarders (5-9) need to win five of their remaining six games to clinch a postseason berth.
“It was a game we needed to win for our season,” Vineyard Coach Sterling Bishop said. “We thought we had it. We had all the pieces in place. We were very close, and we played a very strong first half. I think we just got tired and turned the ball over in the second half, which cost us the game. We were down a player, which kind of hurt us with rebounding and rotation. Sasha [Lakis] was not available today, so we definitely missed her height and her defensive abilities. I’m trying to keep our spirits up. We’ll see what happens the rest of the season. Hopefully, they won’t lose intensity.”
The Vineyarders need to bounce back quickly from the hard-fought loss to Sandwich. They travel to North Dartmouth on Feb. 1 for an Eastern Athletic Conference showdown with Bishop Stang. The girls are back on the home court in Oak Bluffs on Saturday to take on Needham at 3 pm.
