MARBLEHEAD — North Shore basketball fans are getting a juicy third matchup between the Masconomet and Peabody High girls on President’s Day. But it’ll take place a couple of hours earlier than both programs would have preferred.
The Chieftains and Tanners each fell in the opening round of the IAABO Board 130 Larry McIntire tournament at Marblehead High Sunday afternoon. That means the championship will be decided between Reading and North Andover at 4:15 p.m., while the Northeastern Conference’s top two clubs will meet in the consolation at 1 p.m.
The NEC champion Chieftains had the tougher road to reach the final and came within an eyelash to knocking off Reading, the No. 10 power ranked team in Division 2. Masconomet led throughout the fourth quarter, but Reading’s Abby Strong canned a corner 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining for the lead and the Rockets held on for a 49-46 win.
Masconomet (13-5) had its nine-game winning streak snapped. The Chieftains had the ball down three with 10.7 seconds to go, but Reading’s Brooke Pulpi (game-high 22 points) got a hand up to block a last-ditch 3-pointer.
“To go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the state, I’ll take that. We can be proud of that,” said Chieftains coach Jalen Aho. “I’m proud of our toughness and tenacity. We went deep into our reserve in this one … we were breathing hard, but we never gave up.”
Senior captain Mia Theberge had 16 points to lead Masco, and none were bigger than the two mid-range jumpers she made in the final three minutes to keep her side in the lead. Her final splash made it 44-39 with 1:29 left, but the Rockets (13-6) managed to execute better than the Chieftains in those last 90 seconds.
“In the first half, Mia did a great job of putting some pressure on the rim. When she does that, the defense had to adjust and it opens up that mid-range jumper,” said Aho. “When she’s hitting those, she’s extremely tough to defend.”
Reading jumped out to a 9-2 lead on three early long range shots before the Chieftains dug in defensively. Masconomet cut it to four by the end of the first quarter (13-10), then came alive in the second quarter to lead by three at half (23-20). It was all even after three at 29-29.
Angie Lalikos scored six points and had nine rebounds for the Chieftains. She was the key to the way Masco made Reading uncomfortable offensively, Aho explained.
“With Angie as a rim protector and the way she moves her feet, we can put a lot of pressure on the ball,” the coach said. “It’s tough to fire up shots when there’s on-ball pressure.
“We’re reinventing ourselves as a team known for toughness and defensive pressure. This performance certainly adds to that.”
Theberge had a double-double for Masco with 11 rebounds. Remmi Cote scored seven while Sammi Lalikos added six. Ava Allen played well defensively as well with three deflections; the Chieftains had the edge in points in the paint (16-12) and second chance points (13-7).
In the earlier game, Peabody never really got untracked defensively in a 60-52 loss to North Andover.
Senior captain Logan Lomasney scored 18 points, but the Tanners (12-6) struggled defensively against a Knights team that hadn’t reached 60 points all season and only surpassed 50 once prior to Sunday afternoon.
Sydney Rogers (22 points) came out hot for North Andover (7-11), which grabbed a nine-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back. The Tanners closed the gap to three by the end of the first (18-15), but another Knights run pushed it to 10 by halftime (32-22).
Senior captain Abby Bettencourt (8 points) got going in transition with assists, and Aliana Ryan (5 points) made a few key shots as the Tanners got within four at 37-33 midway through the third. Some missed layups by Peabody gave the Knights time to regain their footing, though, and pad their lead, as that was as close as Peabody got.
Olivia Gaynor (8 points) and Lizzie Bettencourt (5) also chipped in for Peabody.