Prout Girls Advance; Boys Play Tonight

WAKEFIELD – Senior Maddie Hagerty and junior Olivia Hirst combined for 30 points Wednesday night as the No. 8 Prout Crusaders hit a slew of open shots in a 58-45 win against No. 9 West Warwick in a preliminary round game of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division II girls’ basketball playoffs.

Hagerty finished with 16 points, using a variety of head fakes, spins and drives to get free in the paint. The senior co-captain also had a block and a steal.

Prout head coach Phil Quinn said Hagerty was a game-time decision following an injury suffered in the regular season finale.

“I knew she would play, but I didn’t know how long she could play,” he said, likening her to an NBA player. As a result, he said they kept her out of most practice drills this week, in order to preserve her health and stamina.

Hirst did most of her damage from outside, as she was left wide open for jumpers throughout most of the night. The sophomore finished with 14 points off the bench.

“Olivia is coming along,” Quinn said of the sophomore, describing her as an unselfish player still learning the game that sometimes had to be encouraged to shoot more.

“In sixth and seventh grade, she was one of the best gymnasts in the state, and then she grew.”

Prout took an early 9-3 lead, thanks to buckets from Hagerty inside and senior co-captain Brittany Donovan outside. The Wizards got within four points at various points in the first half, but by the six-minute mark, Prout took an 11-point lead and wasn’t seriously challenged.

The Crusaders led 32-19 at the half, and put the game out of reach with a run early in the second.

After West Warwick scored the half’s point with a free throw, Prout scored the next 12 points and led by as many as 23 in the second half. The Wizards got the lead under 20 only in the game’s final five minutes, when Prout subbed in junior varsity players and the Wizards pressed aggressively.

Prout plays at 6 p.m. Sunday against No. 1 Rogers (16-0 Division II).

“There’s no pressure on us right now,” Quinn said of facing Rogers. “I’ve been in that spot as the hunted, it’s tough … I have an idea [for matching up with the undefeated Vikings] and we’ll see if we execute.”

Donovan Commits to D-II Nichols College

According to The Providence Journal, Donovan will be continuing her basketball career at Division II Nichols College. The South County Independent also had a piece by Bill Koch on Donovan in last week’s edition.

Quinn told The Journal that Donovan played AAU ball for Alice Mullen, the head coach at Nichols. Donovan is from Middletown.

Boys’ State Tournament

The Crusaders are seeded No. 13 and play No. 4 Cumberland at Roger Williams University 8 p.m. Thursday. If the Crusaders upset Cumberland, then they play in the quarterfinals against either No. 5 North Smithfield or No. 12 Shea on Sunday at Alumni Hall on the Providence College campus.

Prout has never won a state or division title in boys’ basketball. The Crusaders came closest in 2006-07, finishing as Division III runners-up.

The Narragansett and South Kingstown boys’ basketball teams did not qualify for their division tournaments, or the open state tournament.

Already, there has been one upset and one near-upset in the state tournament. No. 1 Classical barely got past a talented No. 16 West Warwick squad, 50-47. And No. 2 La Salle was upset by No. 15 Bishop Hendricken, 59-54.

The two other games played on Wednesday went chalk, as No. 8 Westerly beat No. 9 North Providence 52-48, and No. 7 Hope beat Coventry 65-63.

The other match-ups tonight:

• No. 5 North Smithfield plays No. 12 Shea at 6 p.m. at Roger Williams University.
• No. 6 Mt. Pleasant plays No. 11 Barrington at 6:30 p.m. at CCRI Warwick.
• No. 3 North Kingstown plays No. 14 Cranston West at 8:15 p.m. at CCRI Warwick.