In what Tanners’ head coach Stan McKeen described as “their best game of the year,” Peabody’s girls basketball team left nothing to chance Friday night, dominating visiting Beverly, 66-22.
Simply put, Beverly didn’t have a chance in this one as the Tanners took control from the get-go, playing an upbeat, fast-break tempo from start to finish. Every Peabody player played and scored.
“We didn’t have many turnovers and we had a lot of steals and forced a lot of turnovers,” McKeen said. “We know they are an outside-shooting team, so we played zone the whole night and we did a great job of rebounding to not give them any second-chance opportunities. The post people picked up when they had to. This is the most complete game we have played this year.”
Senior captain Ally Bettencourt played a massive game, finishing with a game-high 17 points to go with 15 rebounds (5 offensive), five steals, and two assists. Junior Sophia Coburn (12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) and junior Olivia Gaynor (10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) were also in double-figures, while junior Lizzie Bettencourt (6 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists) was also a force. Sophomore Ava Ryan (6 points, 8 rebounds) also contributed.
While every player got on the board, McKeen singled out the play of Ally Bettencourt and Gaynor.
“Ally had a great game tonight,” McKeen said. “She was phenomenal and Liv had a great shooting night.”
Peabody jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a bucket from Coburn and a 3-pointer from Ally Bettencourt. After Beverly’s Clara Kostro cut the deficit to 5-2 with a little more than five minutes to go in the first quarter, the Tanners went on a 14- 5 tear to lead, 19-7, after one. Lizzie Bettencourt was a key contributor, scoring six points and grabbing a handful of offensive boards during the run.
In the second, Gaynor strapped the team to her back and just couldn’t miss, scoring all 10 of her points to help stretch the Tanners’ lead to 41-13 at the break.
Coburn took over in the third quarter, scoring 10 of the Tanners’ 16 points to push the lead to 57-17.
In the fourth quarter, the bench got in on the action to close out the game. Sophomore Avery Bettencourt and freshman Olivia Ball had three points apiece, while junior Aliana Ryan (2 points, 4 rebounds) and freshman Ayla Ryan (point) also scored.
“We had lost to Masco and Beverly – lost to Masco in overtime – so we came into this game thinking this was going to be a big game,” Ally Bettencourt said. “We were motivated to play our best basketball. We started the game with incredible intensity and kept it up the whole game. On the court, we had great energy. The bench had awesome energy, too. Everyone was being so upbeat, which built everybody up. Whether you were playing or on the sidelines, we all worked together.”
Captain Maia Davis (6 points, 3 rebounds) said that while the Tanners scored the most points they have all year, defense was key.
“Everyone worked so hard on defense today and I think that’s why we won the game,” she said. “Yeah, we made a lot of shots, but honestly, for me, it was all about defense and rebounding. I am so proud of my teammates for what they did tonight to focus and play so hard for the whole game.”
Both captains agreed that the Tanners have a great shot at making the tournament.
“If we keep this momentum going, we should,” Ally Bettencourt said.
McKeen said the win should help the Tanners, who were ranked No. 38 going into the game, move up in the state power rankings and enhance their tournament chances.
“Beverly (2-7) is the only other Division 1 team in the conference other than us, so that’s going to help our rating,” McKeen said. “We’re back to .500 (4-4) and now have won a couple of games in a row, so we are heading in the right direction.”
