The MVRHS girls basketball team picked up two Cape and Island League wins on the home court over the holiday weekend.
Monday afternoon, Sasha Lakis scored the go-ahead basket with 1:02 remaining and Kya Maloney came up with a huge block on the final St. John Paul II (SJPII) attempt as the Vineyarders rallied to edge the Lions, 24-23.
SJPII led, 23-18, late in the fourth quarter when Maloney hit an outside jumper to make it 23-20. Lakis then scored a bucket in the paint and drew a foul, setting up a possible three-point play to tie the game. The ensuing free throw was no good, but Lakis grabbed her own rebound and banked a shot off the glass to give MV the lead. The Lions set up for the last shot, but Maloney swatted the ball away at the left edge of the paint, and the Vineyarders forced a jump ball with 0.9 seconds on the clock. Game over.
The excitement down the stretch aside, both teams were offensively challenged throughout the contest, with turnovers abundant. “We did make a lot of mental mistakes,” Vineyard Coach Sterling Bishop said. “We turned the ball over a ton of times, and we actually started the game like that. The last time we played them [a 37-22 loss on Jan. 4], it cost us the game. We turned the ball over, maybe 25 or 30 times. This game was a little bit better; a lot stronger toward the end. If we can play like we did in the last two minutes, if we have that mentality the entire game, we can be a very dominant team, but I’m glad that they were able to pull it together and mentally overcome the challenge today.”
Tianna Rambonga and Riley Yuhas each had three-pointers, and scored six points apiece to lead the Vineyarders. Cait Mehl of St. John Paul II was the game’s high scorer with 12 points. Sasha Lakis had nine blocks and eight rebounds.
Friday afternoon, the Vineyarders used a 9-1 run at the start of the third quarter to beat the Sturgis East Storm, 43-32. MV trailed, 14-8, after the first quarter and, 21-20, at halftime before Riley Yuhas gave the hosts their first lead of the game 27 seconds into the second half. From there, the Vineyarders found their groove and closed out the third period with a 37-29 lead, thanks to a Braedyn Clark buzzer-beater set up with a fine pass from Rambonga.
Kylie Estrella poured in 20 points to pace the Vineyard offense, Braedyn Clark scored nine, Riley Yuhas eight, and Kya Maloney, six.
The league win over Sturgis East was a welcome tonic for the Vineyarders, who suffered a tough 50-34 loss the previous afternoon at Falmouth Academy. Riley Yuhas had the hot hand for MV with 15 points, and former Vineyard player Devin Hill had 27 for the Mariners.
The Vineyarders (6-5 overall, 6-3 C & I) travel to Monomoy on Jan. 24 for a league matchup with the Sharks.