By BRANDEN MELLO

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WOOD RIVER JUNCTION — Even though they didn’t look like a Division I semifinalist in the preseason last season, the Coventry High girls’ basketball team had three games against Division II squads to find chemistry before embarking on its brutal journey through Division I.

This year, the Oakers aren’t afforded the same luxury because their only tune-up for St. Raphael Tuesday night was a contest against Chariho without the team’s top retuning scorer, junior guard Elise Fortier, because of a hand injury.

Without Fortier, the Oakers still had a respectable perimeter game, but it was the Charger front-court combination of junior Mary Toth and sophomore Krista Trenholm which sent the Oakers back to Coventry on the wrong side of a 70-68 final.

“We had three people in doubles figures, which is good, but you can’t give up that kind of point total and expect to win,” Coventry head coach Chris Luppe said. “We have to do a better job defending the perimeter to make it difficult to get the ball into the post. It doesn’t matter how hard an out-sized girl is working in the post, if there’s no pressure on the passer, they’re going to score.”

Toth, who isn’t the best leaper on the team, always found herself in excellent position on the weak side to pull down 21 rebounds to go along with 12 points, while Trenholm, who saw significant time on the court as a freshman, scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down 18 rebounds.

The Chargers didn’t hide their game plan from the Oakers, as they continually pounded the ball inside to Trenholm. Chariho head coach Richard Glover said his team will have to use different approaches to win games in Division II, but the best way to win Thursday night’s game was to pound the ball inside.

“Coventry doesn’t have a lot of size, so if we could get the ball into Krista’s hands, that’s what we were going to do every time,” Glover said. “It’s not rocket science. The problem we have is that sometimes we try to make a pass from a bad angle and it leads to a turnover.”

As badly as they were outplayed in the post, the Oakers led 68-67 with less than a minute left in the second half when Kayla Perry drained her second 3-pointer of the evening. But, Chariho senior Julie Smith, who beat Perry in a halftime 3-point-shooting contest, responded with a 3-pointer of her own to give Chariho a two-point lead.

The Oakers had three chances to tie the game in the final 30 seconds, but the missed their final four shots to allow the Chargers to escape with the win.

If there was any good news for Luppe after the loss it was that three sophomores scored in double figures for the Oakers. Sophomore point guard Hannah Cole made just eight of her 14 free throws, but she finished with 18 points along with forward Tiffany Webster. Gabrielle Lesnett showed she could hit a jumper from the top of the key and finished the game with 14 points on seven field goals.

“I learned that we can shoot and that we can put the ball in the hole,” Luppe said. “(Lesnett) can hit that shot at the top of the key, she just has to be willing to take it more frequently. If she brings people out, she can beat people off the dribble. We just have to create some space for her to go inside.”

Even though Trenholm and Toth dominated the first half in the paint, the Oakers never trailed in the first half. Coventry had a lead as big as six points in the opening 16 minutes, but they settled for a 31-27 halftime lead behind six points from Lesnett and four points from junior guard Michaela Feeney.

 The Oakers continued to hold the lead early into the second half until Chariho sophomore point guard Kelsea Loffredo (10 points) made two free throws to put her team up 37-35. But, it was the 3-point shooting of Smith and freshman Jen Darmanin which kept the Chargers in front. Darmanin hit three 3-pointers, while Smith connected on three shots from behind the arc in the second half to account for her nine points.

“In the first half I felt I wasn’t playing that well and I was a little discouraged,” Smith said. “I would say that 3-point contest pumped me up a little more and got me excited.”

Smith, with her team trailing but four with five minutes left in the half, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Chargers up by two. Chariho’s lead grew to as many as six points when Coventry went on a 6-0 run thanks to baskets from Lesnett and Cole. Chariho went ahead again on two more free throws from Loffredo before Perry and Smith hit matching 3-pointers to send the Chargers to victory.

“This was it for the preseason, we open up Tuesday against Saints,” Luppe said of his team which hit just 12 of its 25 free throws. “I would like to have one more game to work on a few things. But, what are you going to do?”

Chariho 70 Coventry 68

(At Chariho High)

COVENTRY (68) Carroll 2 0-2 4, Feeney 2 0-0 4, Perry 2 0-0 6, Cole 5 8-14 18, Webster 8 2-7 18, Olson 1 0-0 2, Willard 0 2-2 2, Lesnett 7 0-0 14, Totals 27 12-25 68.

CHARIHO (70) Zinn 1 0-0 2, Dowling 0 1-2 1, Darmanin 3 2-2 11, Loffredo 1 8-13, 10, Smith 3 0-0 9, Trenholm 11 3-5 25, Toth 4 4-7 12, Totals 23 18-28 70.

3-pointers: Cov; Perry 2. Cha; Smith 3, Darmanin 3.

Halftime: Coventry 31-27.