By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

Former Woonsocket High basketball coach Ruth Plante, a onetime star for the Villa Novans, estimates it’s been more than 20 years. That’s the span she figures it’s been since the last time the girls’ basketball team at her alma mater has played for a championship.

Looking up on the walls of Savaria Gymnasium, the banner indicates 1984 as the last time the Villa Novans have won a league title, capturing the then-Northern Division crown.
One thing is certain, since girls’ basketball first became a sport in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League, Woonsocket has never won a state title.
Could it happen this year in a very-competitive Division II? There’s a possibility.
On Wednesday, several hundred fans, including Plante, watched the host Villa Novans earn an impressive 58-45 victory over No. 10 seed Smithfield in a Division II playoff opener – a win that puts first-year head coach George Coderre and his squad just two wins away from reaching the Promised Land.
“Woonsocket’s a very good ballclub,” said Smithfield coach Bob Comela, shortly after the verdict. “George does a great job with these kids and they’re young, too. They have a good future ahead of them.”
Whether that future begins now or within the next few years is a question that could be answered in the next week and a half. Even though it’s young, with just two seniors on this year’s roster, sixth-seeded Woonsocket showed the resilience of a veteran squad against the Sentinels.
After shaking off some postseason jitters and a stifling Smithfield defense in the first half, the Villa Novans took care of business in the latter half, out-scoring their foe by a 35-19 margin. Sophomore Lauren Masse ignited the offense with 14 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers, but she was far from the only star on the court. Senior Shanesha Anderson, and sophomore teammates Brooke Coderre, Nicole Boucher and Tofu Olowookere also made some strong contributions to aid to the victory, sending Woonsocket to a quarterfinal game against No. 3 seed Westerly this Sunday at Rhode Island College (2:30 p.m.)
“Bob Comela does a great job with that Smithfield team,” George Coderre said. “Those girls always work relentlessly. We knew that if we didn’t come out with our best effort, today was going to be a long day. Our girls responded and we just really are excited about going against Westerly in the quarterfinals.”
It’s no surprise that Woonsocket received another quality team effort on Wednesday. That has been status quo during a winter campaign that has seen the Villa Novans finish in a tie for second with Mount St. Charles in D-II North with a 14-4 mark. With essentially the same squad, Woonsocket was third in the division last year at 10-8.
The Villa Novans will face their biggest challenge of the season this weekend when they face
the Bulldogs and three-time all-stater Meredith Ward. It will be the first meeting for Westerly and Woonsocket, who are two of 12 teams in the league that have 10 or more victories.
“Meredith is a stud,” Coderre said. “That’s going to be a real challenge for us.”

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Woonsocket is one of several local squads that will be participating in postseason action this weekend. Mount St. Charles also earned a ticket to the quarterfinals in D-II, defeating Portsmouth, 44-35, in their opening round game on Wednesday. Nikki Turcotte and Mary Oftring combined for 27 points for the Mounties, who will face No. 2 seed Tiverton on Sunday at 4 p.m.
In Division I, Lincoln (9-9) and Ponaganset (10-8) extended their respective seasons. The Chieftains held off a determined Cumberland team on Tuesday with a 49-44 decision on their home court. Mel Cline scored 23 points to lead the offense for Ponaganset. Cumberland’s Katelyn Lambert led all scorers with 26 points.
“They’re awesome defenders,” said Cline, about the Clippers. “They were up in our face the whole time. We managed to get some screens off. We got some good looks and we got some backdoor cuts, which was the key.”
The Chieftains take on No. 2 seed South Kingstown (16-2), which earned a bye in the tournament, on Saturday at 4 p.m. at RIC. Following that contest at 5:30 p.m. will be Lincoln against top-seeded and undefeated Bay View (18-0), who also will be playing its first game in the postseason.
With sophomore Stephanie Prusko netting a career-high 19 points and junior Ashley O’Dell adding 16 more, No. 8 seed Lincoln routed ninth-seeded North Kingstown (8-10) by a score of 51-30 at the Lions’ Den.
The Division III playoffs begin on Monday. Central Falls, a No. 3 seed, tangles with second-seeded Our Lady of Fatima in a semifinal contest at 8 p.m. at RIC. Both teams finished 11-3 in the league.