St. Rocco Raptors Secure First Place In Midget D-I

sixth-graders on the Raptors girls' basketball team will be advancing to the playoffs after securing first place in the state Catholic Athletic League for Midget Division One. The squad won their last game of the season 0n Feb. 26 against Father John V. Doyle School of Coventry at Immaculate Conception Gymnasium in Cranston.

"The team will know Monday night who they will be playing against in their first playoff game, " said head coach Dave Raposa.

Raposa, a third-year coach in youth basketball, is no stranger to winning basketball seasons,  as his team competed in the Regionals at Bridgeport, Conn., last year and  played the best teams in the Catholic Athletic League.

Assistant coach Rhonda Sasa, who also has been coaching youth basketball for three years, said the girls practice twice a week and don't have a home gym; they alternate between the St. Rocco Church basement, Rainone Gym and Winsor Hill Elementry School.

The team, which consists of seven girls, has no captains — but they do have a lot of passion and determination to win basketball games.

Bella Montecalvo didn't waste any time after tip-off on Feb. 26; she went right to work and scored six points. Alexa Raposa also scored six points, and Jen Walitsch chipped in another two points, giving the Raptors a comfortable 14-4 lead going into the halftime.

In the second half, the Raptors maintained the upper hand, as all of the girls got a basket in the game. Rachel Wade, Naja Sasa, Jen Walistch and Amanda Baanante each scored two points early in the latter half of the game.

Raposa scored another six points, with Bella Montecalvo adding another four to the Raptors' total. The lead was too much for the Fr. Doyle team to overcome, and St. Rocco won by a score of 32-8.

Watch JohnstonPatch for updates on the St. Rocco Raptors' progress in the playoffs.