Rising to the occasion

Stephanie Antoine proved how far she's come on the basketball court in GNB Voc-Tech's 54-51 South Coast Conference girls basketball win at Apponequet on Tuesday.

In addition to scoring her 1,000th career point on a first-quarter layup, Antoine also recorded a clutch three-point play with 9.7 seconds left to play that ended up giving the Lady Bears a hard-fought victory and their third straight win.

A 5-foot-10 junior forward who finished with a game-high 24 points, Antoine entered the contest needing only six to reach the milestone and she turned in one of the tough, gritty performances in the paint that she's become known for.

One of the area's most-effective post players, Antoine has worked hard to make herself a better player, and she's come a long way since playing her first varsity game against Diman Voke as a freshman.

"I only scored two points and everything was a blur," Antoine said. "I never thought I'd ever get to this point. It's exciting and I have my coaches and teammates to thank."

A fundamentally-sound player, Antoine said improving her footwork around the basket has made her better.

"I couldn't even do a drop step when I was a freshman, so I had a long way to go," Antoine said. "As my fundamentals and footwork have improved, I've become a lot more comfortable playing around the basket."

With Antoine scoring seven quick points, the Lady Bears (11-5, 9-5) jumped out to a 16-2 lead against the Lakers, who hung tough and closed out the first quarter with a 6-0 run that was capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior guard Stephanie Brune.

That made it a 16-8 game and the Lakers (4-13, 4-11) continued to play hard in the second quarter en route to cutting their deficit to 30-24 at halftime.

A driving layup and a free throw by freshman guard Lizzie Loranger pulled the Lakers to within 34-31, and they rallied to tie the game on a foul shot by senior guard Alison Loranger and a layup by senior forward Gianna Youngblood.

The teams then traded layups before Apponequet took its first lead (38-36) on another layup by Youngblood that capped the third quarter scoring.

The Lady Bears scored the first two baskets in the fourth to take a 40-38 lead, and they went on to build a 45-41 lead on a basket by junior forward Alexandria Richards.

The Lakers stormed back though, with Youngblood hitting a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to pull her team to within 47-46, and Alison Loranger turned a steal into a layup that gave Apponequet a 48-47 advantage with 2:27 left to play.

A layup by Richardson and a basket by junior point guard Vanesa Conceicao rallied the Lady Bears to a 51-48 lead, but Youngblood hit a clutch 3-pointer that tied the score with 19.8 seconds remaining.

That's where Antoine stepped up. After establishing position in the low post, she took a pass from Conceicao and went up strong in a crowd of players for what proved to be a three-point play that gave the Lady Bears a 51-48 lead with 9.7 seconds left.

After calling a timeout, Apponequet did a good job working the ball for a baseline 3-pointer by Brune that would have tied the game, but the shot banged off the rim and Antoine came down with the rebound as the buzzer sounded.

"That was a great game by both teams. Apponequet played hard. They really came on strong in the second half," GNB Voc-Tech coach Dave Harrison said. "Vanesa and Stephanie stepped up for us down the stretch. They hit some big shots when we needed them."

Four players accounted for GNB Voc-Tech's scoring. Antoine led the way and the team also got 14 points from junior guard Nicole Martin and eight-point efforts from Conceicao and Richards.

Alison Loranger scored 16 of her team-19 points in the first half for the Lakers, who were also fueled by 16 points by Youngblood, eight by Brune, and five from Lizzie Loranger.

"We didn't play well in the first four or six minutes and Voc-Tech came out hitting some shots. We knew that we had to keep battling to give ourselves a chance," Apponequet coach Trevor Gagnier said. "The kids never stopped fighting and I was proud of their effort. Alison played great and Gianna hit some big 3-pointers. We fought back to make it a game down the stretch. Voc-Tech just made one more shot than we did."

GNB Voc-Tech (11-5, 9-5 SCC)

Martin 6-0-14, Antoine 10-4-24, Conceicao 3-2-8, Richards 4-0-8. Totals: 23-6-54.

Apponequet (4-13, 4-11 SCC)

Youngblood 6-2-16, Brune 3-0-8, A. Loranger 8-1-19, Tracy 0-1-1, L. Loranger 2-1-5, Smith 1-0-2. Totals: 20-5-51.

GNB Voc-Tech 16 14 6 18 — 54

Apponequet 8 16 14 15 — 51

3-point goals: VT-Martin (2); A-Youngblood (2), Brune (2), A. Loranger (2).

Next: Apponequet hosts Seekonk today. GNB Voc-Tech hosts Seekonk on Friday.