Athlete Of The Week: Zana’e Barrett

HOPEDALE – When the Cape Cod Tech girls basketball team needed one great half to keep their season going, junior Zana’e Barrett delivered.

The No. 34 Crusaders (10-9) trailed at No. 31 Rockport (13-7) 25-17 entering the third quarter of the Division 5 state tournament preliminary round last Thursday. Mired in the sludge of that week’s power outages, closures and postponements, the Crusaders hadn’t even had a practice in a full week. As they journeyed three hours to battle Rockport, their home gym back in Harwich was in the midst of a brief spell as a regional shelter, its hardwood covered in tarp and cots.

Still, Cape Tech knew their opponent was beatable. Backed by Barrett’s 6 points in the fourth quarter, to go with 13 total rebounds, the visitors outscored Rockport by 20 in the second half to complete the upset win to advance to the tournament’s round of 32. Barrett had 8 points overall.

“I think at first I went with like a kind of mindset where I was scared,” Barrett said. “I didn't have like a certain type of feeling. I was just more nervous. But then, even though at the first half, we were kind of down a little bit, I was thinking of what I can do better, how I can help my teammates instead.”

Head coach Alan Harrison credited Barrett’s inside game during the second half, recording big rebounds and putbacks, in the win. Once Cape Tech grabbed the lead and needed to keep it, Barrett came through in the clutch.

“And then after, when we pulled it together as a team, I was just like, ‘Hey, this is working out,’” she said. “And then I just continued to look for my team and then just make the best decisions that I can to impact all of us instead of just myself.”

Barrett again corralled rebounds into the double digits against No. 2 Hopedale (13-7). She had 11 rebounds in the 62-24 loss, ending the Crusaders’ season in which they qualified for both the vocational and state tournaments. Barrett also had multiple loud, head-turning blocks.

“I love getting blocks,” Barrett said. “It makes me feel like a really good player, and I feel like I'm reading the court good when I get a block, because I know what their next move is.”