Sports Brief: Prout Staves Off Tough Lady Panther Team, 43-35, In D-II Girls B-Ball Semifinal

The Johnston High School girls' varsity basketball team ran into a determined Prout team on March 9 in the Division II semifinals game and, after putting up a serious effort of their own, the Lady Panthers fell to the Crusaders, 43-35.

Scoring was at a premium for both teams, with the lead swapping hands several times in the first half. Johnston took a 10-8 lead with 8:06 left in the first half before Prout went on a 11-8 run to close out the first stanza holding a 19-18 lead.

Johnston senior Alaina DeNoncour scored 10 points in the first half, leading all scorers. Prout's Emily Caswell led the Crusaders with 8 points; Victoria Jedson added 7.

Prout jumped out to an 27-18 lead early in the second half, then widened the lead to 15 with just under eight minutes left, 35-20.

The Lady Panthers didn't fold, though, and senior Victoria St. Angelo drilled a three-pointer with 2:03 left to make the score 36-29 and contribute to an 11-1 run that would bring Johnston to within five points, 36-31, with 1:26 left.

Johnston continued to fight down the stretch, closing the lead to 4 with 44.5 seconds left in the game. Senior Megan Macera drew a foul to stop the clock, and Prout missed both free throws — but maintained possession and the lead, 37-33.

Prout put the game away with a 6-3 rally in the waning seconds to win the contest, 43-35.

DeNoncour finished with 15 points for Johnston, while senior captain Gianna Mazzulla added 12. Caswell put 23 on the board for Prout, with Jedson posting 11.

Information for this report was provided by Jared Sugerman as the game was in progress.