The Middletown Islanders's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their ninth straight loss. They took a 45-35 hit to the loss column at the hands of Exeter-West Greenwich. While losing is never fun, Middletown can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Rhode Island basketball rankings (they are ranked 41st, while Exeter-West Greenwich is ranked third).
Despite the loss, Middletown still got an impressive performance from Ella Bolano, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. That was a full 51.4% of Middletown's points, marking the tenth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Francesca Goldman, who scored seven points along with eight rebounds.
It was another big night for Emma Mears, who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and two steals for Exeter-West Greenwich. Mears has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last three times she's played. Kate Hebert was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with two steals.
Middletown bumped their record down to 1-9 with that loss, which was their fourth straight at home. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 27.5 points per game. As for Exeter-West Greenwich, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 7-2.
Middletown won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Lincoln at 7:00 p.m. on January 12th. As for Exeter-West Greenwich, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Narragansett at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Narragansett is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt want to keep things rolling.
