Trio of guards help Apponequet win at least a share of the SCC with win over Old Rochester
LAKEVILLE — When Apponequet’s big three — Addison Taylor, CC Levrault and Hannah Kuriscak — are all on their game, the Lakers are tough to beat.
Old Rochester found that out on Wednesday night as the trio of guards combined for 48 points in Apponequet’s 65-39 win over the Bulldogs that guaranteed the Lakers at least a share of the South Coast Conference championship.
“We knew we had to win this game to have an opportunity to win the league,” said Apponequet head coach Trevor Gagnier, whose team wrapped up the Blue Division crown. “With this win, we at least share the (overall) league title. We’ve got to beat Bourne on Friday to win it outright.
“This is a great accomplishment for the girls. They worked hard. They were prepared. They were focused and they were ready.”
Both teams entered Wednesday’s matchup with just one conference loss. Old Rochester had won the first meeting 44-40 on Jan. 17.
“Last game was not a good game for us so we worked and we worked and we wanted this so bad,” Levrault said.
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For the first time this season, Levrault, Taylor and Kuriscak all had big games at the same time.
“CC, Hannah and Addi — we lean on those three players a lot and they brought it tonight," Gagnier said. “They kind of took their turns making some plays. I’m really proud of the kids.”
Taylor, a junior guard, set the tone in the first quarter, scoring 12 of her 14 points for the game. She also had seven assists and two steals.
“She was uptempo with pressure getting to the rim,” Gagnier said. “She knocked down a couple of 3s. It’s one of those things that she’s a confident player when she gets it going. She’s tough to defend.”
Levrault made her presence felt on both ends with 12 points, six rebounds and seven steals.
“She can guard all five spots which makes it very difficult,” Gagnier said. “She can guard the bigs, she can guard the guards and get out in open space and she can finish. She’s very athletic.”
Kuriscak carried the offense, knocking down seven 3-pointers, including five in the second half. She finished with a game-high 22 points.
“In the second half, we found Hannah a bunch from the perimeter,” Gagnier said. “When one goes down, you want to keep feeding her and we did.”
Kuriscak said she fed off her teammates.
“A lot of it was my teammates getting me the ball in good positions and the high energy we had,” she said. “Once I got going, I felt like with the high energy, they just kept going in.”
The loss ended a five-game win streak for the Bulldogs.
“They hit shots. They were quicker to the ball tonight than we were. They played with more energy. They were better tonight,” said Old Rochester head coach Rick Regan of the Lakers. “All around they took it to us tonight. All the credit to Apponequet. They deserved to win without a doubt.”
WHAT IT MEANS
With the win, Apponequet improved to 17-3 overall and 12-1 in the South Coast Conference. The Lakers captured the SCC Blue Division title and can win the overall league championship by beating Bourne on the road on Friday. A year ago, Apponequet shared the SCC with Somerset Berkley. … Old Rochester fell to 14-4 overall and 11-2 in the SCC.
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COACHES CORNER
“They’re tough to handle. They shot well. They got to the rim, but I thought what the difference was they played really good defense and they took us out of anything. Defensively they were excellent tonight.” — Regan
“We were just a little better with our spacing and we shared the ball at a high level. When you share the ball and you trust each other, a lot of good things will happen. It was one of those nights where we fed off the crowd, we fed off the energy. We knew we had to win. It was a good win.” — Gagnier
Apponequet 65, Old Rochester 39
Old Rochester
Amber Engel 7, Emerson Gonet 10 (2), Aryanah Sousa 2, Caroline Brogioli 5, Emma Johnson 1, Tessa Winslow 3, Hannah Thorell 9, Carly Mello 2.
Apponequet
Addison Taylor 14 (2), Cynthia Morales 6, CC Levrault 12 (1), Hannah Kuriscak 22 (7), Ava Dixon 5 (1), Brooke Generazzo 6.
Old Rochester;8;13;10;8 — 39
Apponequet;19;18;12;16 — 65
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Apponequet earns at least a share of the South Coast Conference
