Pentucket shows composure, tops Dover-Sherborn on road
This year, Pentucket embarked on a new journey in the Div. 3 girls basketball ranks. So far, the success has continued for its storied program.
Senior Gabby Belacqua finished with 19 points to go with eight rebounds, while sophomore Amelia Crowe added a 17-point outburst, as the ninth-seeded Panthers continued their winning tradition with a wild 52-47 road victory over No. 8 Dover-Sherborn.
“I think we let them get a few (points) late in the first half,” said Pentucket coach John McNamara. “That just changed the second half. We were up 12 in the first half, then they cut it down to eight, got momentum. That changed how (Dover-Sherborn) felt about the game going into the second half. Credit to our kids … it was a gut check. We made some mistakes at the end, but this is all about winning and moving on. So we’re happy.”
The game was labeled as a coinflip on paper, as many would expect. To the surprise of few, it panned out with a series of runs, with Dover-Sherborn (148) jumping out to an early 11-9 lead.
Then the Panthers (211) answered. Belacqua finished with nine points in the opening half, as Pentucket proceeded to register a 14-0 run lasting into the second quarter. Despite a raucous opposing crowd, the Panthers found themselves with a 26-18 lead at intermission.
However, Dover-Sherborn refused to relent, and took things over in the ensuing frame. Led by Erica Hills, the Raiders trimmed their seemingly-insurmountable deficit to 39-37 entering the fourth quarter. They would then knot the score at 39-all off a putback by Elliana Scalabrine with a few moments to go in regulation.
“We had a couple of moments where we were really uptight,” Crowe said. “We just had to realize that we could stay in this game. We just needed to stay calm. I think realizing that we can do all this stuff we’ve been practicing, taking that down and putting it into a game was huge for us.”
When the Panthers needed a hero, Crowe answered the bell with five points in the stanza. This included a game-clinching three with 3:47 remaining, as Pentucket seized a 52-41 lead.
“I think that was great ball movement that we had,” Crowe said. “I think we executed really well. We didn’t panic, we didn’t drive out of control, and we ended up just getting the shot that we wanted.”
While Dover-Sherborn ramped up the pressure in the final few minutes of play, the deficit was too steep of a mountain for the Raiders to scale. Ultimately, the Panthers were able to stave off any thoughts of a miraculous rally down the stretch.
Ava DiBurro added a double-double for Pentucket, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Hills finished with 15 points to carry DoverSherborn.
Pentucket will look to upset a juggernaut next when it faces top-ranked Foxboro.
“We’re going recruiting tonight,” joked McNamara. “I don’t know, maybe show (the kids) the Villa nova Georgetown game from ‘85 or whatever? The perfect game? I don’t know. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’ve got a chance for another game.”