Cape Tech Girls Basketball Rolls To Fifth Consecutive Win

HARWICH – The Cape Cod Tech girls basketball team’s slow start now feels like a distant memory.

 After losing their first five games of the season, the Crusaders clawed their way back to even their record in the next five contests. On Thursday, the team cruised to a 63-24 victory over South Shore Tech to improve to 5-5 on the season. 

 “The girls came to play today,” Cape Tech coach Nick Conti said. “I’m so proud of them. They’ve really come a long way. They’ve gone from 0-5 to 5-5. We’re on a five-game winning streak and the girls are really ready to compete.”

 Although the Crusaders held a narrow 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, the team took a 37-15 cushion into the intermission after outscoring the Vikings 26-6 during the second quarter. 

 Sophomore point guard Senny Walton played a pivotal role in the surge, scoring 11 of her game-high 18 points during the quarter, including three 3-pointers in the frame. 

 “Senny has come a long way to take her spot as a sophomore,” Conti said. “She’s slowing down the game and seeing it a lot better. She’s going to get a lot better.”

 Junior Gianna Lubash finished with 10 points, classmate Julianna Santana added seven points, and sophomores Addison Sundby (six points) and Sophia Riker (five points) also helped to aid the offense in the win. 

 After early-season struggles cost the Crusaders in their first five games, Conti said the team is starting to build its identity at the halfway point of the season.

“The girls are starting to build a chemistry together,” the coach said. “It was like that last year, we just had to find an identity this year. We’ve got a lot of girls this year that will be back again next year — I only have one senior — so it’s a matter of building the program into something special.”

One of the biggest differences between the first five games and the winning streak has been the team shaking off the rust it accumulated over the holiday break. 

“The rust had to come off,” Conti said. “We had girls that weren’t there during the holiday week and then when they came back they were rusty. We’re all back and we’ve shaken the rust off. We’re ready.”

Although the team’s winning streak was snapped with a 44-40 loss at Falmouth Academy on Friday, Conti said he believes the team is on the right track to compete for another state tournament berth. 

“I think we’re seeing the momentum we need to have,” he said. “We’re on the right path and the girls are working hard. Hopefully we’re going to keep it going.”