MARBLEHEAD – Entering the IAABO Board 130 Larry McIntire Tournament with a 7-11 record and teetering right on the bubble of the top 32 teams in Division1, it’s safe to say the North Andover High girls were playing for their postseason lives.
The Scarlet Knights, sitting at 31 in the most recent MIAA D-1 power rankings, certainly performed like it.
Was it desperation? Probably not. But North Andover definitely played with purpose, knocking off previously 13-5 Peabody, 60-52.
“We’re not desperate. We’re on the cusp (of qualifying), absolutely. We’re just staying focused on what we’ve been doing all season long,” said Knights coach Jess Deveny.
“We were prepared. These kids are ready to win. We’ve had some tough games recently. We’ve learned from them. We were just ready to go.”
Ready, willing and able. North Andover shot to a 12-0 lead out of the gate and never looked back as Sydney Rogers asserted herself almost immediately.
“Syd had an awesome game. She was clearly a leader out there both offensively and defensively, and we just pulled together as a team,” said Deveny of her returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star.
“To come in here and get a victory against someone higher than us in Division 1 is a real morale booster for us, and it shows all the work is paying off.”
Rogers led all scorers with 22 points in a showdown with Peabody’s SNHU-bound Logan Lomasney.
Of course, playing well in this tournament is no surprise for her.
A year ago, she dropped in 22 in the title game of this event in a win over Masconomet, to earn all-tourney team honors.
“I just think the energy of this tournament is so high. and we get to play teams we normally don’t see,” said the junior Rogers, explaining her success here.
“We know this is a big tournament for us. We needed it to give us some confidence going into the tournament.”
Janie Papell added 14 points for the Knights, who look to back-to-back McIntire titles when they face off with Reading, a top-10 team in Division 2, in the championship game on Monday afternoon at 4.
North Andover 60, Peabody 52
North Andover: Daley 0-1-1; Clifford 0-3-3; Papell 4-4-14; Bentley 2-1-4; Brown 3-1-7; Bowman 2-0-4; Benvenuto 2-1-5; Rogers 7-4-22. Totals 20-14-60
Peabody: Lomasney 6-6-19; Bettencourt A 1-0-3; Bettencourt A 2-3-7; Coburn 1-0-2; Ryan 1-2-5; Davis 1-0-3; Gaynor 3-0-8; Bettencourt E 2-1-5. Totals 17-12-52
3 Pointers: NA: Papell (2), Rogers S (4); Peabody: Lomasney, Bettencourt A, Ryan, Davis , Gaynor (2)