Things didn’t start well for the Wareham High School Lady Vikings basketball team.

They were whooped by Bishop Stang in the opener in December by a score of 56-29, and got off to a 1-4 start. They were turning the ball over a lot, and they weren’t playing much defense.

But since the poor start, the team has turned its season around. Friday night in Bourne, the girls qualified for the postseason tournament after getting their eleventh win of the season.

“It was a very bad start,” said Assistant Coach Maggie Rossi. “Turnovers were killing us. But we stopped turning the ball over, we started rebounding more, and the defense got better.”

Leading the way for the Vikings (11-7, 8-4 SCC) has been six-foot senior center Kia Fernandes, who has been a force on both the offensive side of the ball as well as on defense.

Fernandes, the only senior on the team, said it was during the Lady Vikings’ second matchup with Bishop Stang on January 14 that things really turned around both personally and for the team.

“Coach (Dave Brogioli) basically called me out and said I was being being lazy,” she said.

The Vikings ended up winning that game 50-42 at home, led by Fernandes’ 28 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks. On Friday at Bourne, Fernandes had 17 points, 18 boards, and six blocks.

"Kia's been getting a ton of blocks," said Rossi.

As Fernandes has become more of a presence, teams have started double and triple-teaming her on the offensive end of the floor, but it’s how Fernandes and the team have handled those situations that’s led to their success.

Other players who have played well for the team include juniors Tieyanna Yancey and Brianna Tavares, as well as a group of underclassmen who are getting better with more experience.

“Brianna is the hardest worker on the team,” said Fernandes. “And Tieyanna, she's our best ball-handler. That’s something we lack. If we didn’t have her, we'd be in trouble.”

“All three of those players (Fernandes, Yancey, and Tavares) really stepped up,” added Rossi.

“I think a big part of it is just . . . our guard play,” said Brogioli after Friday night’s win. “We’ve reduced our turnovers, and that’s been huge.”

Brogioli said that earlier in the season, some of the younger players had a hard time getting used to the high school game.

“We lost a little bit of our focus earlier in the season,” he said. “We have some young kids that were overwhelmed by the speed of the game. I think now they’ve adjusted to it. We’re just playing better. We’re getting better chemistry. The whole team is better.”