By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

SOUTH KINGSTOWN - In its Division II semifinal contest on Wednesday, Mount St. Charles Academy didn’t exactly burn the nets in the first half.

Still, despite shooting close to 20 percent from the field, the Mounties trailed by just one at the break and showed enough poise the remainder of the game to beat a talented Woonsocket High squad in overtime.
As her team prepares for a showdown with defending titlist Barrington in the state finals this afternoon at the Ryan Center, longtime coach Nina Morey wouldn’t mind her squad having a better start than it did against the Villa Novans. She also wouldn’t mind a similar outcome.
The seventh-seeded Mounties earned their berth by defeating Woonsocket, 49-47 in OT, securing the triumph after a gallant run by Villa Novans down the stretch. After the game, Morey watched as the Eagles upset top-seeded Scituate, 46-32.
 “They’re very good, very aggressive. It’s going to be a tough game,” Morey said. “They looked pretty good. They took care of Scituate pretty well. It’s surprising they beat them so handidly. But they have three losses – one was against Tiverton, who we beat (in the quarterfinals), and another was against Portsmouth, who we beat (in the opening round).  They’re good, but they are not unbeatable.”
What hurt the Spartans in their loss was their offense in the initial half. Some cold shooting and a tight defense by the Eagles put Scituate behind, 29-9 at halftime – a hole that was just too deep to climb out of.
"We can't do that," Morey said. "Barrington is just too good a team."
The Mounties (14-4 in II-North) and Eagles (15-3 in II-East) did not face each other this season, but were opponents in last year’s state tournament. After winning a play-in game, Mount fell to an unbeaten Barrington squad, 51-24, in an opening-round contest - the first step to the Eagles’ team title.
Even though it’s lost four of its starters from that team, Barrington has a bit more experience than the Mounties with four juniors and five seniors, including co-captains and key players Lindsay Legro and Angela Daniels. Legro (12 points) and Daniels (10 points) were two of four players that scored in double-digits for the Eagles on Wednesday.
The Mounties, who pride themselves on their defense and inside game, are led by sophomores Nikki Turcotte and Mary Oftring. Junior Eliza Foresti and senior teammates Kelly Ryan and Pam Dunton comprise the remaining starting five. Emily Burton is the only other senior on a 12-player roster that is filled with underclassmen.
Besides the semifinal game, Morey has seen Barrington play on a few other occasions this year. She sees an opponent that is unlike her last. Woonsocket generates a good portion of its offense from sophomore teammates Brooke Coderre and Lauren Masse.
“We’ll have to adjust in terms of who is playing well,” she said about Saturday’s contest. “Woonsocket had two or three players that could do damage. This team has more than can do damage. Woonsocket had a couple more skilled players. Barrington is more balanced. We have more that we have to worry about.”
The Mounties will be making their third trip to the championship game. They captured the D-III crown in 2001-02 and finished as a runner-up the following year.
“I told the kids at practice (Thursday afternoon), there are only two teams practicing right now in Division II, and one of them is us,” Morey said. “It’s incredible. What more can you ask for?  It’s been a great season. The kids are ecstatic. I’m ecstatic. It’s just incredible.”