Aubrey Schwager and Maddie Lawrence lead Sandwich girls basketball to win No. 14

The Sandwich girls basketball team is rolling.

Really, the Blue Knights have been rolling all season. The latest win in their dominant 14-1 campaign, came over Middleborough 59-37. It was the Blue Knights third straight win after suffering their first loss of the season to Norwell on Jan. 25

They've carried the growth from last season, the first under head coach Michael Barrett, into this year. The Blue Knights reached the second round of the MIAA playoffs, and junior captain Aubrie Schwager said after the win over Middleborough, that the team has grown so much in the last couple of seasons.

"We have a group of girls that have been on the team for awhile," Schwager said. "So we've built it up, and now (with) our coach, we're really getting comfortable with him."

The result has been near perfection, at least in terms of the wins and losses. However, if you talk to anyone in and around this team, they'll tell you there have been ups and downs this year.

"In the first two minutes of the third quarter, we held them to three points, and that's what they've got to do, and we can do that," Barrett said.

The Captains

Schwager, along with fellow junior captain Madi Lawrence, have been leading this team from the front. The pair combined for 22 points, and 12 assists in the win, and have managed to find success, even when drawing the attention from the opposition.

Take a moment in the first quarter for example. After a Sandwich turnover, the Blue Knights set off in transition. Almost immediately, Middleborough head coach Jeff Powers could be heard relaying a very clear message.

"Find 22," he yelled to his team.

That number belongs to Lawrence, who has been nothing short of a force this season for Sandwich. Already this season, she's had a game-winner, a 30-point game, and multiple double-doubles. Barrett said after the game that he's been working with her to improve her game, as she wants to play at the next level.

"Madi is learning to run the floor," Barrett said. "She's one of the fastest players down the court, and when you have a 5 (center) block a shot or get a rebound, and then beat the defensive players down the floor, that's fantastic."

Schwager postgame said her fellow captain works tirelessly and that's why she's been so dominant.

"She works so hard," Schwager said. "She's just constantly determined to keep pushing and pushing, and you never see her playing lazy. I think her hard work on the court just pushes everyone else."

Teamwork

Make no mistake, 14-1 doesn't happen solely because of two great captains. The Blue Knights are this successful because they work as a team.

"I think we've really built some great team chemistry together," Lawrence said. "We're really figuring things out as a team, and as a whole, and I think we're really on a roll right now."

It's evident in how they run their offense. The attack features plenty of passing and cutting. It's also evident in the way they press, the way they rebound, and the way they communicate. Sandwich gets contributions from plenty of players on the roster.

Junior Avery Cobban finished with 11 points, nine steals, and six rebounds in the win. Freshman guard Izzie Bar added six points, as did Kolbie Darmon.

With all the success, it would be easy to let their heads get big, but the Blue Knights are doing all that they can to keep their feet on the ground. They understand that as great as this hot start has been, it's meaningless if they don't finish the year the way they intend to.

"(Yesterday) we were saying, it doesn't matter how many games we win now, we just have to keep this intensity every single game," Schwager said. "It's just about making sure that making sure that everybody has an understanding of how important this is, and how everybody has a role."

It's something Barrett has been stressing all season. The Blue Knights are competing for a South Shore League Championship, as well as playoff positioning, and Barrett said postgame that it's critical that his team stay grounded.

"I'm telling the kids, we could be 25-0, but you go in the first round, you've got a one shot deal," Barrett said. "Now they understand that they have to put it out there every single game."

The Blue Knights are currently the No. 11 seed in the latest MIAA Division 3 Power Rankings. They have five games left in their regular season, and are ready to meet the challenge.

"We keep just striving to be better," Schwager said. "We want to make it farther (than last year), and we have that incentive, and that desire, so it's been really pushing us."

André Simms covers high school sports for the Times. Contact him at asimms@capecodonline.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @that1guyandre.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sandwich girls basketball defeats Middleborough for 14-1 start