The Wareham girls varsity basketball team finished the regular season with a convincing, but hard fought, victory over Greater New Bedford Regional VocTech at Wareham. The win signals the end to an exceptional 20-1 (16-1 SCC) regular season, and sends them into the post-season Division 3 tournament with momentum and confidence.

The VocTech Bears stayed with the fleet-footed Vikings for most of the game, always edging back after the Viking girls threatened to blow the game open.  The Bears were led by their spectacular junior point guard, Vanessa Conciecao (21 points), who put pressure on Wareham all evening.  The powerful combination of Conceicao and fellow juniors Nicole Martin, Stephanie Antoine, and Victoria Jacinto caused Wareham problems on the offensive boards with several second chance baskets that kept them in the game.

But the Viking girls have relied on an unstoppable combination of Lexie Silvia and Ally Watkins all year to steam-roll their opponents, and in the end, the duo proved too much for the Bears.  Watkins led the way with 33 points, constantly driving to the basket and forcing the play.  The always-smooth Silvia orchestrated the offense, and contributed 23 points herself, with 13 in the second half.  Senior guard Brianna King was a strong contributor both offensively and defensively, sharing in the defense of Conceicao much of the night.

The Vikings held a 10-point lead with 3:30 left in the game, but the lead was not comfortable.  At about the 2:30 mark, Conceicao left the game after a hard 5th foul on Silvia, with Wareham leading 70-58.  After her departure, Wareham took full advantage of her absence and swarmed over the Bears, pushing the lead to the final 23-point margin.

By hauling down 15 rebounds for the game, Ally Watkins also set a school career rebounding record of 786. Her older sister Lindsay held the mark with 773.

The next step for the Viking girls is the playoffs, where they hope to continue their winning ways.