Middletown to Face Central for State Title on Saturday

The last time the girls basketball team faced Central High was in late February at Central. Central handed the Islanders their only loss of the regular season.

Middletown rebounded and shredded Davies at home on senior night later that week.

As fate would have it, Central beat North Smithfield in the first game of a playoff double header at Rhode Island College (RIC) on Monday night, advancing to the Division III state title game to face either Davies, who Middletown beat after losing to Central, or Middletown, who lost their only regular season game to Central.  

Before Middletown could even think about revenge against Central, they had to first get past , a team Middletown had easily dispatched in their regular season match ups.  

That was not the case on Monday night.

Middletown led the game from start to finish, but it wasn't pretty, and they never seemed completely comfortable.

Neither team played well from the start. In fact, the first field goal of the game for either team came from #22 Chelsea Dowler with 11:40 to play in the first half. Davies scored their first points of the game with 10:19 to play in the half.  

With 10 minutes left before halftime the score was 5-2. The Islanders did have the lead, but they just looked flat, out of synch. Was it the nearly two weeks since their last league game? Was it nerves? Was it the awkward setup of the RIC gym which can mess with your depth perception if you're not used to it? (It is a very wide open court on all sides, as opposed to the intimate design of the Middletown gym.) It's impossible to say for sure. Regardless, it was a rough first half for the Islanders.  

At the free throw line, and in overall defensive and offensive, they just couldn't get going in their usual confident, focused manner.  

The Islanders did eventually put together an offensive run, outscoring Davies 10-3 over the next eight minutes. Davies did not conceit at all. Quite the opposite. Davies went on a run of their own, outscoring and outpacing the Islanders 8-2 over the final minutes of the first half.

Middletown went into halftime leading 17-10. A score you might find during a football game, not the deciding game of who moves on to fight for the Division III title.

Both coaches had some words for their players at halftime. However, the second half began much like the first. Both teams seemed unable to get comfortable enough to score consistently, or to make defensive stops. Instead they traded turnovers and missed free throws. Davies began to surge slightly, hitting back-to-back shots and it was now a 3-point game with the Islanders leading 17-14 and thirteen minutes to go in the game.

The Islanders then committed three straight offensive turnovers, but Davies couldn't capitalize. Middletown then went on an 8-0 run and opened up their largest lead of the game over the Patriots.  

It was 25-14 with nine minutes to go in the game.  

The winner would go to the state title game.

The loser's season would be over.

Davies was down big. They did not go quietly into the night. They turned the tables on Middletown, and played more aggressively than the Islanders for the next seven minutes. They churned out an impressive 13-3 run and cut the Islander lead to 1.

It was 28-27 with 1:09 to play.

Middletown would now be tested. They would all be tested.

The last minute was a wild one.

It started out with Chelsea Dowler hitting a runner to take a 30-27 lead and 50 seconds to play.

Kirsten Perry then fouled out on the next Davies possession on a reach in call with 28 seconds to go.

This put #5 for Davies, Elizabeth Arruda, at the line to shoot two.

She made the first, missed the second.

It was now 30-28 in favor of the Islanders. Still a one-possession game.

Nina Traglia took the ball across court for Middletown and was fouled. Davies was in the penalty so Nina went to the line to shoot two free throws. She missed them both and Davies now had a shot to tie or even take the lead.

Middletown played tough defense, resulting in a foul call that once again put #5 for Davies at the line. This time she could tie the game with only six seconds to play.

She made the first.

She missed the second.

Lauren Paiva and her teammates played keep away long enough for the clock to wind down.

The buzzer sounded.

The final score was 30-29, with the Islanders squeaking out the victory.

Chelsea Dowler led the Islanders with 9 points. Kirsten Perry had 7.

Speaking to head coach Mike Yates after the game, who was "Happy we won" but thought "It was ugly, man was it ugly.  We've got a lot of work to do before we face Central on Saturday. If we play like this against Central, we're in big trouble."

Middletown has had an incredible ride so far this season.  

One game remains for them. If they win, they will be Division III State Champions.  

They will now all be tested.

The Islanders have played well as a team all year. Can they finish what they started?  We will see Saturday.

The game will be held at The Ryan Center on the URI Campus.  Tip off time will be confirmed Tuesday.

"I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion." - Mia Hamm