Somerset Berkley girls lose to Old Rochester

SOMERSET — After a slow start in the first half, the Somerset Berkley Raiders scored late but were unable to overcome the Old Rochester Regional Bulldogs, falling 42-27 in South Coast Conference girls' basketball on Friday night.

“We couldn’t box them out,” Raiders coach Jeff LePage said. “Had we boxed out (the Bulldogs defensively), it’s a much different ballgame. That and pass selection. We had seven passing turnovers in the first quarter. That can’t happen.”

Freshman Annie Perry lead the Bulldogs in scoring with nine points, six of which came from the free throw line, while freshman Maggie Brogioli and sophomore Meg Horan had seven each.

For the Raiders (7-8), junior Jessica Salamone led the way with seven points, including five of the team’s nine points scored in the first half. Freshman Lily Buron had six points for the hosts.

The first quarter started slowly for both sides, with shots not dropping or passes being broken up by the opposition a common occurrence. After Horan opened the scoring and senior Ashley Soares added one from the line to make it 3-0, Salamone went 2-for-2 at the line to bring the Raiders within one, but baskets from junior Mary Butler and freshman Logan Fernandes saw Old Rochester led 7-2 by the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs extended their scoring streak to eight before Buron added the first field goal for Raiders of the evening to make it 11-4. While both teams traded shots to make it 13-6, the Bulldogs pulled away again, as a 3-pointer from Perry saw them lead Somerset Berkley 18-6. Salamone and senior Sydney Felipe went a combined 3-for-4 at the line for the Raiders while Fernandes added two more for the Bulldogs to give them a 20-9 lead heading into the half.

As the third half got underway, the Raiders looked better on rebounds, something which the Bulldogs had dominated on both ends of the court in the first half, but still found themselves playing catch-up with the visitors as they continued to struggle shooting, adding only five to their tally in the quarter while Old Rochester put up nine to make it 31-14 heading into the final eight minutes.

In the fourth quarter, the Raiders' offense had a bit of a spark, putting up 13 of their 27 points thanks to Salamone, junior Karoline Gajewski, freshman Abigail Gajewski and a 3-pointer from freshman Allie Powers, but it proved too little too late as points from Soares and Brogioli at the line maintained the lead.

SBR returns to action Tuesday to  host to Apponequet for senior night.