Lady Whalers have busy schedule before playoffs
BY STEVE SHEPPARD
With less than two weeks to go before the playoffs, the NHS girls' basketball team still has five games remaining, and coach Willis Ferreira plans to use the rest of the schedule to get his team tournament ready.

Shantel Hanniford against Cohasset on Saturday.

Although the Whalers have qualified for the postseason, any extra victories the team can accumulate can only help towards earning home playoff games.

"We've still got a lot of basketball to play in the next week," Ferreira said after Monday's 50- 32 victory over Sturgis Charter School. "We're trying to get better. We can't just step on the floor and expect to be good."

The team improved to 12-2 with the win over Sturgis. After Saturday's uplifting 45-39 victory over Cohasset, Monday's game was played at a considerably slower pace. "It was just one of those days," Ferreira said. "It was hard to get motivated. And, yes, there was a letdown after the big

win on Saturday."

Although the visitors' Rayven Tillman led all scorers with 23 points (and had 13 at the half), the Whalers employed their usual M. O. and spread out the scoring among eight players to lead, 27-19, at the half and outscore Sturgis, 23-16, in the second stanza. Shantel Hanniford led Nantucket scorers with 15 points, with Callie Moore contributing 11 and Mandy Cahill 8. Angela Paterson, who leads the Lighthouse Conference in scoring, had all 9 of her points in the first half.

The girls play their last scheduled home game of the regular season tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. against Dennis-Yarmouth.

The girls' junior varsity team improved to 7- 3 on the season with a 37-34 overtime victory at South Shore Tech Saturday afternoon. The game was knotted at 31 at the end of regulation.

The JVs conclude their season with home games tomorrow afternoon against Dennis- Yarmouth and Saturday afternoon against

Wareham. I