On Wednesday, the North Smithfield Northmen faced the North Providence Cougars in a battle between two of the state's top teams. North Smithfield narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Cougars 40-37. The victory was just what North Smithfield needed coming off of a 47-19 defeat in their prior contest.
Bryson Murray went supernova for North Smithfield, scoring 16 points along with five steals. Another player making a difference was Kate Zonin, who scored ten points along with five rebounds.
When it comes to explaining why North Providence lost, one person who can't be blamed is Lusine Hagopian. Despite the final result, she scored 22 points along with five steals. Hagopian is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Elyse Brassard was another key contributor, scoring five points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, North Providence were working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Smithfield only posted two assists.
North Smithfield now has a winning record of 8-7. As for North Providence, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 7-6.
North Smithfield will head out on the road to take on the Warriors at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Central Falls will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak. As for North Providence, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Patriots at 6:30 p.m. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Rhode Island (Pilgrim is ranked 31st, while the Cougars are ranked 16th).
