For better or worse, there was a lot riding on this tournament for Pentucket.
This year, the Cape Ann League just didn’t provide the necessary opportunities for quality wins. So even though the Panthers wrapped up league play at 18-1 overall and undefeated in conference, they were still sitting at No. 9 in the latest Division 3 rankings with a tough “opponent ranking” metric. Which, projecting forward, would be the difference between staying at home for a potential Round of 16 game (if they were at No. 8 or higher), or going on the road to — in this case — Sandwich all of they way down on the Cape.
Plain and simple, the Panthers needed a “quality win.”
Thankfully, they got just that on Sunday.
Pentucket has played in the heralded St. Mary’s Spartans Classic at the end of the regular season for a while now, and this of all years, it needed the big games in a big way. Sunday afternoon, the Panthers took down a Division 1 opponent in Lincoln-Sudbury, 55-45, to advance to the tournament final in their bracket.
Gabby Bellacqua was excellent and finished with 17 points, and fellow senior captain Ava DiBurro hit three 3s and added 15. Sophomore Amelia Crowe wasn’t too far behind with 9 points, and Kate Conover chipped in 7.
Lincoln-Sudbury (13-6) was ranked No. 21 in Div. 1, so the win will help. The Panthers will get another great chance for a “good win” in the finals, when they play Whitman-Hanson (No. 16 in Div. 2) on Tuesday with a 5 p.m. tipoff.
The victory also wrapped up an exciting week for Pentucket (19-1), which again went undefeated to win the CAL Kinney title. Behind 20 points from Crowe, the Panthers were able to sweep the season series against rival Newburyport on Thursday with a 51-31 win. Laney Schwab paced the Clippers in that one with 14 points.
MARIANI BELIEVED TO BREAK GEORGETOWN SINGLE-GAME, 3-POINT RECORD
The run that freshman Talya Mariani is on is getting borderline insane.
The Georgetown sharpshooter was averaging 19.0 ppg with 10 3s over the team’s previous three games, but put together her best performance of the season on Thursday. She drained an incredible eight 3s and finished with a game-high 29 points, leading the Royals to a win over Ipswich, 61-54.
And how good was that, you may ask?
Mariani’s eight 3s are believed to be a Georgetown single-game, all-time record — between boys and girls. Former Royal greats Jack Lucido and Kristin Hogan had each hit seven 3s in a game before, but never that one more.
So Mariani stands alone.
And, the Royals (13-7) got another victory. Tyrah Marcelin added 19 points for the winners, and sophomore Katie Davies chipped in 8.
ATHERTON (20 PTS), NEWBURYPORT HANDLE PENTUCKET
All told, it will be an impressive 17-3 record with a sixth straight CAL Kinney title for the Newburyport boys heading into the state tournament next week.
On Thursday, the Clippers finished up the regular season with a comfortable win over Pentucket, 60-47. Sophomore Cal Atherton and junior Carson Gretz once again led the way with 20 points each, and Finn Brennan put in his usual work with 11.
Pentucket, on the other hand, was paced by Matt Pipan with 17 points on three 3s, and Dylan Scott drained a pair from distance and had 10.
Newburyport (17-3) was No. 9 in the latest rankings released on Friday, so we’ll see if there’s any shift when the official pairings drop this upcoming week.
LASQUADE (22 PTS), GEORGETOWN BOYS EXPLODE OFFENSIVELY
A team that nobody will want to face in the upcoming Division 4 tournament is Georgetown.
The Royals have been on fire here at the end of the regular season, after another victory over Ipswich on Thursday, 83-70, in which the offense was clicking. Jackson Lasquade was the man once again with 22 points, and Jomar Terrero (15 pts), Brady Kent (13 pts, 3 3s), Jack Duggan (11 pts, 3 3s) and Brendan Loewen (10 pts) all had solid games.
Georgetown (14-5) has won 10 of its last 12, with its two setbacks coming to CAL powerhouses Newburyport and Manchester-Essex. The Royals were ranked No. 11 in the latest rankings, and will finish up the regular season at Billerica on Monday.