On Thursday, the Smithfield Sentinels faced the Cumberland Clippers in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Smithfield was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 45-44 to Cumberland. Smithfield was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Cumberland apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in January of 2023.
Smithfield's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Krista Kasbarian, who scored 13 points. Those 13 points set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Ashley Gagner, who scored nine points.
Cumberland was led to victory by Allie Casavant and Bridgitt Van Etten. Casavant dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds, while Van Etten scored 17 points along with three steals. The game was Van Etten's fifth in a row with at least ten points. Payton Goulding was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
This is the second loss in a row for Smithfield and nudges their season record down to 5-4. As for Cumberland, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season.
Smithfield will be playing in front of their home fans against Mount St. Charles Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. As for Cumberland, they will head out on the road to face off against West Warwick at 6:45 p.m. on Monday. West Warwick will be looking to keep their three-game home win streak alive.
