This senior-freshman backcourt sets a winning tone for Apponequet girls basketball
LAKEVILLE — Riley Levrault and Addie Taylor are teaming up in a third sport at Apponequet High School.
They've already played together as teammates on the Lakers' field hockey and lacrosse teams. Now, they're putting their talents together as the starting backcourt on the girls' basketball team.
"We both love to play sports and we've been a good mix in all three sports," said Levrault, a senior who scored a game-high 19 points in a 61-10 South Coast Conference win over Wareham on Friday. "It took a little while for us to feel comfortable with each other on the basketball court, but we're happy with the way things have turned out. We like to set the tempo for the team and we both want to be out there scoring points and helping the team on defense."
Taylor finished with eight points, including a layup off a turnover that opened the scoring, and Levrault scored nine of her points on three-pointers.
"They're playing really well off each other and they both play with a lot of energy," said Apponequet coach Trevor Gagnier, who's in his 11th season with the team. "Riley has been providing senior leadership on a young team and she's shooting the ball well on the perimeter. Addie sees the floor well and does a good job sharing the ball with her teammates. She's also capable of creating her own shots and she plays with a lot of quickness on defense."
Taylor, who has a chance to accumulate a bunch of varsity letters before her career is over, is just happy to be getting playing time as a freshman.
"When I came out for the team, I didn't know what was going to happen," she said, "But I came in and played well enough to make the starting lineup. Riley and I are really starting to click with each other. It's hard and frustrating at times, but I love my teammates and we're all working well together."
Levrault and Taylor are both Lakeville kids and Gagnier said they've played key roles in the early going for the Lakers.
"When they play well, we're in games," Gagnier said. "They're our leading scorers and they get everybody going. They've been a really nice veteran-freshman duo. They're different kinds of players, but they've combined to get the job done by playing to their strengths and making each other better players."
It was a rough night for the Vikings, who had to play without starting point guard Zora Andrews, a freshman who was out sick. They struggled to take care of the ball and did not shoot well, two things that make playing on the road even tougher.
"The last two seasons have been difficult for everybody," Gagnier said. "The good thing is that high school kids are resilient and they know how to bounce back. We played some great team basketball tonight. Riley and Addie set a good tone early and our defense was pretty good. It was a good team win and a sign that we're heading in the right direction."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lakers stormed to a 16-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. They took a 30-5 advantage into the third quarter and outscored the Vikings 31-5 the rest of the way for the final margin.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Lakers improved to 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference. They host Dighton-Rehoboth for a 6:30 p.m. league game on Tuesday. ... The Vikings dropped to 4-5 overall and 0-4 in the SCC. They return to action on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. conference game at Bourne.
WAREHAM STATS: Sophomore guard Keira Pierre scored a team-high five points to lead the Vikings, who turned the ball over 35 times and made one of four foul shots. ... Sophomore guard Carly Glover scored the team's only three-pointer in the second quarter.
APPONEQUET STATS: Sophomore guard Ava Dixon scored nine of her 11 points on 3-pointers in the second half off the bench. ... Senior forward Avery Chapin made a three-pointer in the third quarter and sophomore guard Casey Radley made one in the final minute of the fourth that capped the scoring. ... The Lakers finished with only 11 turnovers — four in the first half and seven after the halftime intermission. ... They made five of seven free throws.
WAREHAM COACH KYLE ERHA: "We responded well coming out for the second half. We scored half of our points in the third quarter and the kids stuck with it."
NOTES: The Lakers did not have a turnover in the first quarter. ... Neither team went to the foul line in the second quarter. ... The Vikings got to the free-throw line only once, with Pierre making one of two foul shots in the third quarter. ... Gagnier pulled his last starter with 2:54 left in the third quarter and went with subs the rest of the way for the final 10:54.
APPONEQUET 61, WAREHAM 10
Wareham
Carly Glover 1-0-3, Laura Pinkston 1-0-2, Keira Pierre 2-1-5. Totals: 4-1-10
Apponequet
Addie Taylor 4-0-8, Emma Marra 1-0-2, Riley Levrault 7-2-19, Caitlin Gleavy 2-0-4, Ashlynn McDonnell 2-0-4, Avery Chapin 2-0-5, Cynthia Morales 1-1-3, Ava Dixon 4-0-11, Casey Radley 1-2-5. Totals: 24-5-61
Wareham 0 5 5 0 - 10
Apponequet 16 14 24 7 - 61
3-pointers: W - Glover (1); A - Levrault (3), Chapin (1), Dixon (3), Radley (1)
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Apponequet beats Wareham in girls basketball
