GNB Voc-Tech girls give the season-best performance against Somerset Berkley

SOMERSET — The GNB Voc-Tech girls basketball team was at a disadvantage in Friday's South Coast Conference tilt with Somerset Berkley.

But the Bears were not fazed by the height difference at all. Instead, they fought tooth and nail for 32 minutes and even put on a show for those in attendance.

"They're tough, and they're everywhere," said Raiders star player Mia Gentile, who finished with a game-high 15 points. "They play hard."

Despite high energy from visiting Voc-Tech, the Raiders took care of business with a 58-27 victory over the Bears at Somerset Berkley Regional High School.

"I told the girls at halftime when they were down by 20 points that it was the best they've ever played this year, as far as energy level," Voc-Tech head coach Michael Prior said. "Early on, we could not get shots down to get us moving. But Somerset was on fire."

While the Raider starters made the shot when needed, the bench players stood out early in the game. Six players combined for 26 points, led by Bethany Moniz, Mikayla Pires, and freshmen Brooke Fisher and Julia Moreira.

"They played well," SBR head coach Jeff LePage said. "Most of them off the bench are basically freshmen. So it was pretty good."

The Raiders (7-6) jumped out quickly to an early 21-0 lead after one quarter. The Bears were 0-for-14 from the field to start the game.

Olivia Reis, who was brought up from JVs several games ago, knocked down Voc-Tech's first basket from three-point land at the start of the second quarter. But the tiny dynamic point guard wasn't through.

From there, she threw several no-look passes, slick dribbling between two defenders, and even had crossover moves to keep the Raiders on their heels as the Bears scored 10 points in the quarter. She finished with eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.

"Olivia handles herself well," Prior said.

After the game, Reis talked about the game.

"It felt good out there," she said. "I felt I did my best. I thought we did a good job. We just needed to adjust a little more because we're shorter. We need to get better."

The Raiders extended the lead in the third quarter, ending with a 15-5 run to lead 46-15. The Bears played an even fourth quarter with SBR, finishing with 12 points. Voc-Tech's Kaira Dubois even dazed the spectators with a euro step layup late in the game.

Laila Pires was the top scorer for the Bears with 10 points. Karlie Cosme added 11 points, while Moniz and Moreira each scored six points. Gabriella Nugent, Seymour, and Fisher each had five in the win.

With the victory, the Raiders need three more wins to punch their ticket to the postseason. It begins with Westport on Monday, followed by Case on Tuesday.

"They're big game coming up," Gentile said. "We have to win those to get into the tournament. We're going to try and make the records better next week."

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Somerset Berkley handles scrappy Greater New Bedford team at home