Sandwich girls basketball advances to Elite Eight for the first time in program history
Sandwich girls basketball head coach Mike Barrett said the team’s goal this year was to go a step further in the playoffs than they did last season.
Mission accomplished.
Sandwich lost in the Division 3 Sweet 16 last season, but this season was a different story.
The No. 7 Blue Knights beat No. 23 North Reading 73-46 on Tuesday to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
Despite the final score, the historic win did not come easy. The good thing about basketball is that there are two halves to be played.
First half vs second half
The late college football coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant had a saying: “Don’t give up at halftime. Concentrate on winning the second half.”
Sandwich started the game on an 8-0 run and led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter. It looked as though they were going to cruise to their 10th straight win. In the second quarter, they were held to seven points, and just like that, they trailed 29-26 at halftime.
Barrett said the message at halftime was simple.
“You have to play as a team,” Barrett told his team in the locker room.
That short and simple message was heard loud and clear, especially by junior captains Madi Lawrence and Avery Cobban.
The Blue Knights have been an inside-outside offensive team all season long, but when one isn’t working, you have to rely on the other.
“In the first half, our outside game wasn’t really falling for us, but we knew we had the size advantage,” Cobban said. “We knew we had to adjust and use our inside size to our advantage.”
Sandwich used their inside game with Lawrence and it worked to perfection as she dominated the paint with 21 third quarter points.
“I definitely rely on my teammates all the time and I think it's important to trust all four people that are on the court,” Lawrence said.
Cobban added in another seven points, as the duo combined for 28 of the Blue Knights 29 third quarter points. This gave Sandwich a 55-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, it was the third junior captain Aubrie Schwager who put the nail in the coffin with eight fourth-quarter points.
“Aubrie started to realize that instead of trying to take it to the hoop, pull up for a jumper,” Barrett said.
The trio of Lawrence (33 points, seven rebounds, four blocks), Cobban (14 points, six rebounds, three blocks), and Schwager (11 points, seven rebounds) combined for 58 points, 20 rebounds and seven blocks. Another starter, sophomore Paige Morrison, nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
The trilogy
The Blue Knights have been nearly perfect this season with a 21-1 record. That one loss came at the hands of their next opponent in the Elite Eight, the No. 2 Norwell Clippers.
On Dec. 15, the Blue Knights beat league opponent Norwell 45-32 at home. The Clippers have not lost one game since then, which included a 54-41 win over Sandwich on Jan. 25. To sum it up, both teams have one loss on the season, and they are both to each other.
The two will face off on Friday, with Sandwich playing in the only gym (Norwell H.S.) they suffered a loss this season.
“The kids love to play them. It will be a good game. They’re a good team,” Barrett said.
Norwell’s 20-game win streak versus Sandwich’s 10-game win streak. One team's streak, and season, will end with their second loss, while the other will move on to the Final Four.
This is what playoff basketball is all about.
Contact Courtney Jacobs at cjacobs@capecodonline.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @CJ_Journalist.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sandwich girls basketball beats North Reading in Sweet 16
