Lincoln School girls erase deficit, gain second straight championship

PROVIDENCE — The wins came easy in the regular season. It was a different story in the playoffs.

And that’s why the Lincoln School girls basketball team is the Division II champion.

The Lynx went largely unchallenged this winter, but needed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Smithfield in the semifinals. In Thursday’s Division II championship game against Tiverton, they needed another second-half comeback, getting the game-winning bucket from Alivia Harris in the 50-47 victory that gave Lincoln School its second straight championship.

“I just love this team so much,” senior Sarah Berube said. “We only got additions this year, we didn’t lose anyone and it feels amazing. I felt every emotion in this game.”

“The mindset was the same,” Harris said. “Focus on our team, not the other team, and just push through any adversity we see.”

There was little adversity for Lincoln School this winter.

After winning last season’s Division III title, the Lynx volunteered to move up to play in D-II and rolled night in and night out. A championship seemed inevitable.

But in the semifinals, Lincoln School found themselves in a precarious position — trailing to Smithfield, a team it defeated easily during the regular season. The Lynx gathered themselves, came back, won the game and with the win, got an education that only made them better.

Facing Tiverton, which it beat by 22 in the regular season, Lincoln School could only watch as the Tigers closed the second quarter on a 14-2 run over the final 4:51, taking a 20-11 lead into halftime. Tiverton was not intimidated and was ready for anything the Lynx threw at them. And when Cami Oliveira buried a 3-pointer 46 seconds into the third quarter, the Tigers looked ready to run away with the game.

Lincoln School didn’t panic. It just went back to what it does best. The defense played tougher and, in turn, created better offensive opportunities and took care of the basketball. The Lynx outscored Tiverton, 14-4, to tie the game at 27 with 1:11 left, but went into the fourth quarter confident even after Sara Poland’s 3-pointer gave the Tigers a 3-point edge.

“I told the girls this was our game to win,” Berube said. “They’re coming in as underdogs and we played our game.

“That’s what helped us … we stayed focused and didn’t let the scoreboard affect us.”

The teams took turns hitting clutch shots the entire fourth quarter.

With four minutes left, Tiverton took a 42-41 lead on a 3-pointer from Murray and then added to it on a layup from Jah’niece Branch, who was outstanding all night up against Lincoln School All-Stater Reign Whiteing.

Berube punched back, tying the game with a 3-pointer with 3:08 left. Tiverton grabbed a one-point lead on a free throw by Poland with 2:30 left, only to have Whiteing score on the next possession. The Tigers grabbed the lead back with 1:10 remaining on a Murray layup.

Lincoln School has two elite scorers in Berube and Whiteing and a budding superstar in freshman Aubrey Watkins, but in the biggest moment, who it was didn’t matter as much as where it was.

The teams swapped turnovers and Cindy Blodgett put together a play. It wasn’t designed for one player — it was designed for whoever was open. That was Harris, perhaps the best defensive player in Division II who took a massive leap in her play from her freshman year to her sophomore season.

Harris didn’t hesitate. She took the 15-foot jumper just like the thousands she had put up refining her game in the offseason. It was good the second it left her hand.

“I was just there and open,” Harris said. “I realized I was open — I was, like, ‘Take this shot.’

“I trust in myself and knew my teammates trusted me.”

“I had chills when she hit that,” Berube said. “I am so proud of her — she has grown so much this year. Watching her her freshman year, she was phenomenal, but this year she came in with a whole new skill set and it’s been so much fun to watch her grow.”

Tiverton advanced the ball upcourt and called a timeout. With 10 seconds left, they ran a play toward Murray, but she didn’t reestablish position coming from out-of-bounds. Harris was eventually fouled and made two free throws with less than five seconds left.

The Tigers got a terrific three-quarter court pass from Brooke Sowa, but Poland’s desperation three at the end missed and the Lynx celebrated on the court at The AMP.

“It feels amazing. It kind of brought me back to last year and we did it again,” Harris said. “This team is the team and I love this team.”

Branch was active in gathering her teammates and consoling them after the final buzzer sounded. The senior was exceptional in the game, scoring 16 points to go with 16 rebounds. Tiverton hadn’t been in a title game since 2018 and losing one didn’t take away from the quality of its season.

“I’m proud of every single one of my teammates,” Branch said. “They had their heads down and I just wanted to cheer them up because I know this stings.

“I’m proud of us. I’m proud of how we grew and I can’t wait to watch them next year to see if they come back here.”

Lincoln School has more basketball to play in the RIIL State Tournament, but wasn’t ready to start thinking about that. There was a championship to celebrate and, for Berube, a four-year starter who helped create the program, it was one she will never forget.

“These four years were perfect,” Berube said. “This year, there were struggles, but to end it like this, I wouldn’t have wanted to change anything.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Score from the RIIL Division II Girls Basketball Championship Game