Raptors Basketball Falls to Rival, Turns the Page

RHAM senior Sarah West gets ready to box out Bacon Academy’s Elizabeth Glover as RHAM’s #10 Nina Krawcyzk looks on during the Raptors loss to the Bobcats on Dec. 29.      

After starting the season with six straight wins, RHAM girls’ basketball dropped a back-and-forth game to Bacon Academy on Dec. 29. 
           
Head coach John McNair said the loss was a good learning experience for his young team.
           
“I am very proud of this group. They hung with it and we had a couple of looks at the end,” added McNair. “You’d rather lose now then two months from now.”
           
McNair’s squad held a 36-30 lead heading into the fourth before the Colchester-based Bobcats reeled off 10 straight points and won the game, 46-43, thanks to clutch foul shooting down the stretch.
           
Sarah West scored a game-high 21 points and added seven blocks in defeat. 
           
Trailing by three at halftime, West and fellow senior captain Grace Whitmore ignited the team’s productive third quarter, combining to score 14 point of the team’s 16 points.
           
Whitmore caught fire in the third, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. A three-pointer from West put RHAM up 29-27 and a baseline jumper from Maddie Graves with under a minute to play in the quarter provided the Raptors a six-point cushion heading into the final frame. 
           
“We came out after the halftime break with great energy and great effort,” stated McNair. “[Bacon] is a very good team and knew if we punched them they were going to punch back and we couldn’t handle their best punch.”
           
After the teams traded the lead three times in the fourth quarter, RHAM was down by two points with a chance to tie or send the game into overtime with 7.3 seconds remaining in regulation. 
           
During a timeout, McNair designed a play to free up West for the potential game-winner, but West’s heel grazed the sideline as she gathered to shoot.
           
McNair credited Bacon’s zone defense, which rotated quickly and threw off the Raptors’ spacing on the final play.
           
“It’s a good learning opportunity and a good test in a fun environment on the road,” added McNair.
           
The loss was the first of the season for the Raptors, who entered the game at 6-0 behind a potent offensive attack that was averaging over 50 points per game.
           
Against Bacon, McNair was without one of his weapons in Maddy Evans, who broke her finger in practice earlier in the week.
           
McNair said his deep bench helped in Evans’ absence, crediting senior Ally Deckman and freshman Nina Krawczyk for filling the void.
           
Captaining the team on the court is West, Whitmore, and Linnea Carlson. 
           
McNair said that West is the most coachable player that he has had, praising her relentless effort on both ends of the court. West is coming off an all-state season as a junior and held fellow all-state senior Marissa Nudd to a season-low eight points in the loss to Bacon. 
           
McNair added that Whitmore’s ability to lead on the court is an extension of the coaching staff and he called Carlson a “spark plug the team needed this season.”  
           
“These kids take coaching and it’s a fun group to coach,” added McNair. “The biggest thing we are doing right now is having fun. We just have to finish possessions; there were a few possessions that we’d like to have back.”
           
On Tuesday, RHAM fell to 6-2 with a loss to Manchester 66-53. West led a balanced attack with 19 points and Graves added 13 more, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 43 points from Manchester’s Tiara Tyson. 
           
“We did not have a good defensive effort and will be back to the drawing board for Friday against East Catholic,” McNair stated after the game.
           
​The Raptors will travel to Manchester (today) Jan. 6 to take on the Eagles of East Catholic High School. Tip-off is 5:15 p.m.