The Whaler girls basketball team found themselves in a tight game Saturday afternoon against the St. John Paul II Lions. The Whalers came out strong against a 12-6 Lions’ team that beat Nantucket 46-27 earlier this season.
“You want the win so bad but to look at how we played against SJP in that first showing compared to how we played Saturday, it is a reflection of the girls work ethic and how far they have come this year,” head coach Rafael Osona said.
Nantucket lost 48-43, and they were trailing 30-21 at half. But Nantucket’s defense was sound, it was just a matter of creating more offense.
“It was a good game and very competitive,” Osona said. “The girls showed up and had the mentality they would compete for four quarters. I thought it was our best all-around game of the season.”
Senior captain Maclaine Willett was scoreless in the first half, but went on to score 13 points in the third quarter to help Nantucket cut the deficit to one score.
“Maclaine and I have had this back and forth not just this year, but throughout her high school career where I am always saying ‘shoot the ball, shoot more, and the only way to get out of shooting slump is by shooting,’” Osona said. “She was struggling in the first half and I told her to shoot more. She put the team on her back in that third quarter and singlehandedly outscored SJP.”
The Lions did ultimately find a way to close it out and seal the win that went on to clinch them the Cape & Island’s League Title, but Nantucket put up a tremendous fight and had Osona reflecting on the character of his seven seniors following their senior day.
“I really feel for those seniors who dumped so much into this game and I felt like they deserved a better result,” Osona said. “This is a really unique group and they are all very different individuals. They are fun to coach, they show up with good attitudes, and while it can be rare for teams to get perfect attendance every day, all of them have been there for the most part, even when the going got tough. It is such a cool mixture of unique personalities. It has been fun for me to coach and makes my job easier.”
The Whalers are traveling to Martha’s Vineyard today for a 2 p.m. game and will close out their season on Tuesday with a home matchup against Mashpee at 5 p.m.
