Why a Portsmouth girls basketball loss will help and a look at Newport County's teams
GLOCESTER – Risha Pellegrino’s frustration was visible.
As the Portsmouth girls basketball team made their way to the locker room for halftime of Wednesday’s game against Ponaganset, Pellegrino and her coaching staff had a discussion about what just happened that was, in the very least, animated adjacent.
Nothing about Wednesday felt right and the Patriots never found the rhythm that has made them one of the big surprises in Division I this season. Portsmouth’s 43-28 loss to the Chieftains was its largest by scoring differential this winter but one that can only help the team moving forward.
“This was the first game that we’ve really had a dry spell shooting. We’ve been very consistent shooting and tonight we couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn,” coach Risha Pellegrino said. “… If you’re not hitting shots and we can’t make bunnies through contact, this is what happens.”
Hammered by graduation, Portsmouth wasn’t on anyone’s list of potential contenders this season. Infused with freshmen talent – with Annie Hurd, Gyselle Mairs and Stella Orr working their way into the starting lineup – the Patriots have quietly become a darkhorse contender in D-I.
Their strengths lie in their athleticism and persistent motion offense, which relies heavily on getting to the bucket and hitting threes when that option isn’t available. Ponaganset runs a similar style of offense and Wednesday, the Chieftains’ defense smothered the Patriots and had them looking very much the way young teams tend to do when things aren’t going right.
“You really just need to focus more,” said Mairs, who led Portsmouth with eight points. “We get down on ourselves if we’re losing. We can’t look at the scoreboard and we just have to keep moving on.”
Seniors Olivia Durant and Ava Moore make up the rest of the starting lineup. Junior Molly Hurd, sophomore Mia Ruggieri and freshman Deirdre Tullson came off the bench Wednesday and the chemistry within the rotation has been coming together nicely.
“It’s tough when there’s four years difference between players,” Pellegrino said. “… The freshmen all have chemistry and we’re trying to develop it with our seniors. When we play well, everything is good and easy but its in games like these where things get hard.”
Pellegrino was concerned about Wednesday’s game because of what led to it. Monday the Patriots lost a lead against defending state champ Bay View and took an L. Tuesday’s weather forced practice to be canceled, leading to the hour-plus trip to Ponaganset Wednesday night.
Portsmouth started strong and led 9-8 after an intense first quarter where both teams struggled to score against tough and physical defense pressure. Ponaganset’s defense created offensive opportunities in the second quarter and its defense remained relentless. The Chieftains led 20-13 at halftime and built a double-digit lead in the third quarter that it never let slip away.
Even with the Patriots struggling to score, their defensive pressure prevented Ponaganset from running away with the game. They just couldn’t convert at the other end of the court to get back into it.
“Offensively this was not the team you’ll usually come out to see,” Pellegrino said. “Defensively I was happy because we have a goal of keeping everyone under 50 points. We tried to take away that run-and-gun game [for Ponaganset] and that’s going to be the same against [South Kingstown Friday].
“We did so much better with it [Wednesday] than we did against Bay View and now we just have to continue to work on that.”
Pellegrino doesn’t doubt her team's talent and watching the Patriots, you can see the potential. The team knows what it can be – but it needs to find a way to shake off ugly losses like Wednesday’s.
“We just have to get back in practice and keep our heads up,” Mairs said. “A loss like this can get our heads down, but we’re going to get out there and just try harder.
“We are a really good team,” said Mairs. “We’re really close. We’re just going to take this [anger] and bring it out on the court.”
While Portsmouth has had success on the hardwood this winter, the area’s other teams haven’t found the same type of success.
The Vikings are on a voyage
Rogers’ second season in its return to Division I has not been kind. The Vikings were loaded with senior talent last winter and went 9-9 before making a run to the D-I and State Championship semifinals.
This year’s team has one senior – forward Julia Connelly – with the rest of the roster made up of sophomores and freshmen. Rogers has yet to win a D-I game this winter but with realignment coming up after the season, the Vikings should be in line for a move to Division II.
While losing isn’t fun, the lessons learned from this season should help Rogers return to form as early as next season and contending for D-II titles sooner rather than later.
Tigers trying to ambush teams in D-II
Tiverton is currently in Division II and while the Tigers sit at 2-6, they’ve battled tough in a few of those losses and are closer to being a .500 team than the standings show.
Right now Tiverton’s biggest flaw is its inexperience, which has shown up in some of those close losses. The Tigers graduated five players and another transferred, leaving Jenna DelDeo – one of D-II’s top offensive threats last season – with a massive load to shoulder.
This week Tiverton took a big step in the right direction with a 48-44 win over Cranston East. The Tigers followed that with a win over Mount Pleasant Wednesday, sending them to Friday’s matchup with II-A leader Chariho, which suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday against Pawtucket.
Regardless of what happens Friday, Tiverton seems ready to flip a switch and next week’s games at Cumberland and at home against East Greenwich will go a long way in helping define who these Tigers are now and in the future.
Islanders laying a foundation
Down in Division III, Middletown is suffering from the same struggles as Rogers. The Islanders are young and inexperienced, with captain Ella Bolano and classmates Francesca Goldman and Madelyn Zins the lone seniors on the roster.
Middletown’s roster makeup is mainly juniors and freshmen, so getting experience this year should bode well for the future. Bolano’s presence is only going to help. The senior guard – who doubles as a star on the softball field – is an intense competitor with impeccable leadership skills. While it might not equate to dubs this winter, what will define her and fellow seniors’ legacy is the building blocks they leave behind for the underclassmen.
Middletown closed last week with two strong performances against Exeter-West Greenwich and Lincoln. The Islanders were scheduled to play at Toll Gate Thursday night with a game against first-place Narragansett at home on Friday night.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Portsmouth girls basketball remains the top team in Newport County
