H.S. Basketball: Seekonk Bids Farewell to Four-Time All-Star, Looks Ahead to Bright Future

BOURNE - Seekonk went toe-to-toe with South Coast Conference champion Bourne for three quarters on Tuesday evening, but Bourne’s big first quarter made all the difference.

The Warriors struggled on the road in the First Round of the Div. 3 South playoff tournament, where a rowdy crowd and a talented Bourne team was too much in a 52-38 defeat.

The fourth-seeded Canalmen raced out to a 13-0 lead to start the game and led 21-4 at the end of the first quarter. The No. 13 Warriors outscored the Canalmen 34-31 the rest of the game, but the first-quarter deficit was too much to overcome.

“The effort was there, we just didn’t match their intensity from the start,” Seekonk coach Bill Paulo said after the game. “We didn’t step up when we needed to.”

The loss to Bourne ends Seekonk’s season with a record of 10-11 overall, but it was the Warriors’ second-consecutive trip to the postseason for a program that saw very little playoff appearances in the past two decades.

“They’ve done a great job getting to this point two years in a row. Now we have to get past this point,” Paulo said. “We’re at the door. We just have to knock it down.”

REPORTERTODAY.COM MVP: Freshman Ally Dantas led the Warriors with 14 points, including two three-pointers and six free throws. She scored in spurts with back-to-back threes in the second quarter and a run of four straight points late in the fourth after a Bourne timeout, to give the Warriors some offensive push at times.

FAREWELL TO ONE OF THE BEST: Tuesday’s loss was the final game for senior guard Mia DiBiase, one of the best players in the program’s history. The point guard, who’s headed to Salve Regina in Newport to play NCAA hoops next year, scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season and was named an South Coast Conference All-Star for the fourth time in four years. “She’s done a tremendous job over all four years, especially the last two years in leading us to the tournament,” Paulo said. Bourne coach Craig Davidson said after the game that focusing on DiBiase was the game plan going in, and the Canalmen executed it to perfection as the senior was held to only two points. “To be able to hold a player like Mia DiBiase in check for the game, that’s a credit to the intensity we played with,” Davidson said. “She’s one of the best players in the league the last four years. Our goal was to slow her down and we did a good job with that.” Tuesday was also the last game for Seekonk senior Kaylee Fonseca. “Kaylee did everything we asked her to. She got better as the season went on and earned more minutes. I couldn’t be happier for both of them. I wish them all the luck in the world. I was lucky to be their coach, they worked hard every day. We made the tournament in back-to-back years, but my disappointment is that we couldn’t get them a win.”

LOOKING AHEAD: The Warriors will return four of their five starters from Tuesday night. While DiBiase is off to Salve Regina, sophomore Kate Leinson, junior Lauren Tortolani, sophomore Bria Dunphy and junior Lauren Paulo will be back for the 2020-21 season, along with freshmen Dantas and Maggie McKitchen, both of whom saw plenty of minutes this season and gained valuable varsity experience. “We have a bright future,” Paulo said.

QUICK HITS: Both teams combined for only nine points in the third quarter, all of which came in the final 4:24 after both started the quarter scoreless for almost four straight minutes. “Coming out of the second half, we held them scoreless for four minutes, but we didn’t score to capitalize,” Paulo said. “We didn’t put the ball in the basket. We fixed one end but we didn’t do it on the other end.” … The Bourne student section was loud and rowdy the entire game. The Canalmen have quite the home-court advantage. … Senior captains Kaya Fernandes and Brooke McCallum combined for 33 points and gave the Canalmen an inside-outside combo that strained the Warriors on the defensive end. Fernandes, the team’s point guard, was able to get backets in transition and on the perimiter while McCallum was a force on the boards and on the interior of the defense. … Leinson and Lauren Paulo were selected as SCC Honorable Mentions for all-star consideration this season while Tortolani was honored with the Sportsmanship Award. … Bourne advances to the Div. 3 South Quarterfinals, where the Canalmen will host No. 12 Ursuline (12-8) on Thursday night. Ursuline upset No. 5 Burke 75-31 in the First Round on Tuesday. … “Seekonk is well-coached, well-prepared and they have great shooters,” Davidson said after the game. “The ball just didn’t fall for them tonight.” … The Warriors made seven three-pointers with Lauren Paulo leading the way with three. … This was the third meeting between Seekonk and Bourne this season as the two SCC Gold Division rivals played each other twice during the regular season prior to Tuesday. … The loss ends the winter season for Seekonk High School. Tryouts for spring sports will start at the end of March.

BOURNE 52, SEEKONK 38
Seekonk   4 13 5 15-38
Bourne   21 14 4 13-52
Scoring
Seekonk: Kate Leinson 9, Mia DiBiase 2, Lauren Tortolani 2, Ally Dantas 14, Lauren Paulo 9, Maggie McKitchen 2.
Bourne: Nora Barmashi 13, Haley McCarthy 6, Kaya Fernandes 18, Brooke McCallum 15
Three-Point Goals
Seekonk: Kate Leinson 2, Ally Dantas 2, Lauren Paulo 3.
Bourne: Haley McCarthy 2, Kaya Fernandes 2, Brooke McCallum 2.