The Johnston girls’ basketball team was looking for its second consecutive come-from-behind win Monday night against the St. Raphael Academy Saints. The Panthers came into the game having erased an 11-point deficit in the final five minutes of play last Thursday night at Scituate High School as they scored an exciting 64-57 victory over the Spartans.
Johnston trailed 54-43 in that game, outscoring Scituate 21-3 down the stretch thanks to 23 points and nine rebounds from Jordan Moretti.
The Panthers had won four of their five league games but ran into a tough Saints team that held off a late Johnston comeback for a 60-51 win at Johnston High School. The Panthers fall to 5-4 in Division II-North midway through the season.
The Saints, now 7-2 in league play, were coming off a big win as well last Thursday as they downed unbeaten Cumberland, 58-57, in triple overtime.
St. Raphael raced out to an 11-0 lead in the first five minutes against the Panthers and would build a 19-2 lead. The Saints led 26-9 at the 5:24 mark, but the Panthers would go on a 9-0 run led by buckets from Samantha Hardman, Bianca Robbins and a 3-pointer by Gianna Vizzacco, that cut the Saints’ lead to 26-18. Johnston’s leading scorer on the season, Moretti, who scored 16 points in the game, nailed a 3 as the Panther offense woke up late and trailed 32-23 at the break.
The Saints would build a 43-28 lead six minutes into the second half, but the Panthers were determined to get back into the game. Johnston would trim the Saints’ lead to 48-42 with five minutes left in the game, sparked by a Moretti 3 and two baskets by Robbins, one of them coming on a nice pass by Moretti. Robbins would net 12 points in the game.
That was as close as the Panthers would get as the Saints’ Kasey Gagan’s steal and layup would help put the game away with two minutes left on the clock, taking the steam out of the Johnston rally.
Gagan finished as the game’s high-scorer with 19 points with Jaqueline Lopes and Olivia Jannetta adding 15 points each for the visitors.
“We got off to a sluggish start tonight and dug ourselves a little hole,” Johnston head coach Chris Corsinetti said after the game. “We did not make good decisions on some of our fast breaks and the other thing we did not do well was getting after loose balls, and when we did, we had trouble with dribble control. You have to dive on the ball like in football. These are young mistakes that young teams make. I can accept the mistakes from this young team – we start two freshmen and a sophomore. The effort is always there which is important, we might be sluggish at times but we always respond and are a fun bunch to watch.”
Corsinetti spoke about his freshman guard Robbins, saying: “I cannot say enough about Bianca Robbins, what a surprise. She is only a freshman and I told my assistant coach Matt LaFazia that she was our MVP tonight. Her defensive effort is outstanding and her offense is definitely improving. I’m so proud of what she has accomplished in such a short time.”
St. Raphael was not taking this game lightly as their head coach Tammy Drape stated, “We prepared all week and I have been telling my team for the past 10 days that Johnston is a team that will not go away and will play and not quit until the final buzzer sounds.”
Drape spoke highly about Kasey Gagan’s play.
“When you have a player like Kasey Gagan, it is a big advantage, she can take over a game. She had a big steal and putback when Johnston cut our lead to six, which was a pivotal point in the game. She is a scorer and it was a huge confidence boost for us. We still have a lot of work to do, every game is a lesson and we just move forward. It is a brand new season with the second half approaching and I tell my team that our record is 0-0.”
The Panthers traveled to Woonsocket on Wednesday night, a team they beat earlier in the season as they were looking to get back in the win column. Results were not available at press time.
“The second half of the season is here,” Corsinetti said. “We know our shortcomings and we will try to build and improve on them.”
The Panthers will also host Cumberland next Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
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