CHAPLIN – Parish Hill was a bit concerned coming into its game with Putnam.
The Clippers were only one of two teams to have handed the Pirates a loss this season and Parish Hill was down a starter and had another coming back for her first game in a month.
There was little need to be concerned.
Only three players scored for Parish Hill, but it was all the Pirates needed in a 71-46 win over the Clippers on Thursday.
“In the first game we played (against Putnam), it was get the ball to Hannah (Vieira) and they were triple-teaming her,” said Parish Hill coach David Kohn.
This time, it was Vieira hitting the offensive boards and kicking it out to senior guard Maria Tomas.
Tomas had a field day.
She outscored Putnam, by herself, in the first and third quarters and was only outscored by two in the second.
“We were so focused on the big girls down low that we lost track of the shooter. Once a team gets hot, it’s hard to play catch up,” said Putnam coach Ashley Espinosa.
Tomas scored eight points in the first 2 ½ minutes of the game and the Pirates (14-2) opened a 17-6 lead.
She finished with 13 in the quarter and almost had three more had her 3-pointer at the buzzer not been disallowed by a traveling call.
The motivation was simple.
“Putnam is our rival,” Tomas said. “They beat us last time (54-43 in Putnam) and we really wanted to beat them.”
From driving to the basket in the first quarter, to stepping behind the 3-point line in the second.
Tomas hit a pair of 3-pointers and completed a rare four-point play when she was fouled on one of those successful attempts.
“I love Maria. She is our sparkplug, our energy and when she starts off like that, I know good things are going to happen,” Kohn said.
The Pirates led 35-22 at the half with Tomas scoring 24 of those points.
Tomas finished with 34 points, one point less than her season high (35 against Achievement First).
While Tomas dominated in the first half, Vieira and Kaysie Dupuis added some firepower in the second.
Vieira finished up strong, scoring 13 of her 21 in the final quarter. She also had 16 rebounds, 10 off the offensive glass.
“Hannah is Hannah. She flies under the radar. She’s a quiet girl, but we’re not 14-2 without Hannah,” Kohn said.
Dupuis finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Parish Hill while Ashley Burke led the Clippers (11-4) with 14 points.
