Angela Paterson breaks school record

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL GALVIN Angela Paterson scores her record-breaking basket. "It really doesn't feel any different" said varsity basketball captain Angela Paterson after her recordsetting game on Saturday. "It is really cool though. It was a great thing to have happen at home and to have my mom here to see it."

Paterson, a Nantucket High School senior, put her name in the record books before a standing room only crowd at the senior-day home game against Lighthouse Conference opponent Provincetown. Paterson left no doubt that the scoring record would be broken when she drove the ball off the opening tip-off to sink her first of three treys, contributing to Nantucket being up 8-0 after one minute of play.

An unselfish player that is just as comfortable setting up her teammates as dominating the play, Paterson sat out most of the second, having racked up 14 points in the first period alone. Paterson re-entered the game and rattled off 11 points in quick succession to make 25 on the day and 1,340 points, breaking the previous record of 1,338 points held by Kari Harvey in the 2002 - 2003 season.

Fans give Paterson a standing ovation for breaking the school record. Play came to a halt for the three-minute standing ovation, amid a sea of pink shirts, shoe laces, hair ties and anything else that people had that was pink, to honor all those touched by breast cancer, including Paterson's mother Kelly, who has been fighting a four-year battle with the disease. The proceeds for the game, which included entry fees, concession sales and raffles, went to the Marla Ceely Lamb Cancer Travel Fund. A brief ceremony was held with Paterson's visibly moved parents and siblings present and the game ball was inscribed and handed to Paterson to commemorate the milestone.

Paterson left the game with the Whalers in charge 61-12. Nantucket had been up at half time 50-6, having held P-town to zero points until 44 seconds before the end of the first period. It did not get any easier in the fourth quarter for the Fishermen, even with starters on the bench. Nantucket took the 65-14 lead into the final eight minutes. The game ended and with a chorus of "Angela, Angela" from the dozens of Nantucket students in the stands, another Nantucket victory 73-24 and a stellar 17-1 record.

Coach Willis Ferreira was caught in every coach's nightmare of wanting to allow Paterson to score and break the record, yet not running up the score against a clearly overmatched team. "With only three players on the bench, we did not have a lot of options. It is tough coming into a situation like this on the road for P-town." Also spending time on the bench was junior standout Shantel Hanniford, which allowed the younger players to see extensive time on the court and prepare for the post season.

Stepping up for Nantucket were Bianca Brown (12) who was tough under the boards with a majority of rebounds ending up in her hands; Lindsay Fry (13) who was effective from the outside; and Ashley Clinger (8) who caused damage down low. "Everybody contributed in some way, whether on defense or rebounding," Ferreira said. "It was a great atmosphere today and I am happy for Angela. She deserves it and is a very special, dedicated basketball player. She works hard at it everyday. It was a great crowd for a great cause."

Kelly Paterson was thankful that the day went as well as it did.

"It was a perfect day and a great fundraiser to combine basketball with raising awareness. I am really proud of her. I did not know that she was going to end up here when she started playing at the Club," said Paterson's mother. "I am taking it one day at a time. Being here to watch her reach her goals is what keeps me going."

Ferreira did not expect the team to be as good as it has been this season. "I didn't think we would be 17-1 at the start of the year, after we graduated five seniors last year. It's a great group of kids who work extremely hard together. Eight players on the team is tough, but we have had great success so far. It is the best offensive team I have ever coached."

Paterson is looking to the future. "My main goal is the state title. It was great that this happened along the way, but I do not want it to distract us from keeping us going all the way. I want to win more than one game this time," she said.

Paterson has been accepted at her first two college choices, Western New England and Westfield State, whose coach was in attendance at the game, and is still looking at Endicott and Salve Regina, all Division 3 schools.

The team finished up the season by traveling to Martha's Vineyard on Sunday and Monday for the 2009 Island Invitational Tournament. In the first game Nantucket wiped out Harwich 78-44 floating to the championship game against Martha's Vineyard on Monday, on the strength of Paterson's 29 points and Lindsay Fry's 18. Both players knocked down three 3-pointers and Hanniford contributed two. Nantucket turned around and beat the hosts on Monday 65-53. Paterson earned MVP honors, scoring another 19 points, to win the Martha's Vineyard Island Invitational. Hanniford also earned All-Star honors with 20 points in the Vineyard game. Brown added another 13. With the wins, Nantucket took over the top spot with 19-1 for all Cape teams to end the regular season. The tournament seedings come out on Friday with Nantucket assured of at least the first round home game if not a bye. I