Victoria Rampado Takes Control and Scores 23 in Niagara Win

On February 4, 2012, the Niagara Falls Red Raiders defeated the Barrie Royals, in a tight 54-51 JUEL Session 3 matchup.

The Red Raiders overcame a slow First Half, came charging out early in the Second and hung on at the end for the win.

Victoria Rampado (6’2″, F, 2013), who played the majority of this game and led all scorers with 23 points. Her team relied heavily upon by her team both inside and outside presence on the offensive end. Her toughness and footwork went a long way towards hard earned baskets whether posted up, or cutting through the defense with her hands ready and was a key reason Niagara Falls was able to make a full comeback.

The Barrie Royals led the majority of the First Half leading by as much as 8 points, leading 14-8 after one, before the Red Raiders started their surge. But, Niagara Falls Red Raider Head Coach, Jim Boutilier attributed his team’s First Half woes to a case of nerves and not focusing on their game plan.

“In the first half we got off really slow. The first half we got caught up in their style of basketball, we got caught up in the hype of the day and we didn’t execute or play the way we play as Red Raiders. So, we struggled in the first quarter, we were down by six and in the second quarter, we started to build into it a little bit.”

Cue, Vanessa Rampado’s impact on the game. After only scoring 2 First Quarter points, she netted 9 in the quarter, helping the Red Raiders get back into the game. Despite her efforts, and Niagara more than doubling their first Quarter output, the Barrie still found themselves leading 30-25 at halftime. The Royals’ Kaili Lukan (5’11”, G, 2012) was the main reason as she was in firm control of her team’s offense, leading all scorers with 13 up to that point. Lukan, moving well with and without the ball was a key contributer to her success.

Still believing that their initial game plan was still valid, Boutilier refocused his Niagara girls back to what he thought would make them successful.

“In the locker room at half time we just drew their attention to a couple basic things: start playing good team help defense and run our screen and roll play, and things would start to roll for us. So, once they start to hit the first couple of shots, they started to believe in themselves. And once that started going, they got the momentum going and then we started playing the way we can play.”

The beneficiary of the screen and roll scenarios was Victoria Rampado, who continued with he hot hand scoring 10 in the Third that saw the Red Raiders go on a 16-4 run. Victoria Rampado was also getting the job done on defense as well, using her strength and good positioning to secure any rebound she could.

Going into the Fourth Quarter, down 41-38, didn’t spell the end for the Barrie Royals. They continued to fight. And when Victoria picked up two Quick fouls early and was forced to sit, they saw their opportunity. They managed to tie the game at 49, with 4:08 left to play, taking advantage of the opportunity.

Vanessa Rampado (5’11”, F, 2012), Victoria’s older sister, picked up the mantle in the Fourth Quarter. She nailed two 3-pointers enroute to scoring all nine of her points in the final frame to help her team to secure the win.

Victoria Rampado and Kaili Lukan led their respective teams in scoring, and were the only players to score double digits in points.

With the win, Niagara improves to 2-1, while Barrie falls to 1-2

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