LYNN — English shook off an inconsistent start to the season and rolled to a 61-36 victory over Peabody (4-1, 3-1) at Paul Cavanagh Field House on Friday night. This was a crucial early-season matchup between the two leaders of the Northeastern Conference Large.
Deidra Newson led the Bulldogs (5-2, 3-1) with 18 points. Both teams struggled to hit shots in the first few minutes. Newson’s three-pointer gave English a 3-0 lead and the Bulldogs never looked back.
Diondra Woumn scored all 17 of her points in the second half to help English extend its 15-point halftime advantage.
“Our switches and press really worked well tonight,” said English head coach Fred Hogan.
Peabody had trouble making passes against English’s press defense in the opening quarter. The Bulldogs forced nine Tanner turnovers in the opening eight minutes of play. Peabody had some good looks at the basket early on, but the Tanners were unable to make their shots. English held them scoreless until the final minute of the first stanza.
“In the first five minutes, we executed our plays well and we had good shots, but the shots wouldn’t drop,” said Peabody head coach Jane Heil. “The girls panicked and you can’t panic against English, because if they smell blood, it’s over.”
Heil had earned her 500th career victory in Peabody’s win over Everett on Dec. 27.
English’s athleticism and speed gave Peabody fits all night. In the second quarter, when the Tanners were trying to get back in the game, English guard Catherine Stinson dished a couple of passes in transition to Makayla Everette and Dolores Latimer underneath the basket for scores.
Stinson opened up the second half with a jumper from just inside the arc to give English a 27-10 advantage.
The Tanners cut the deficit to 11 early in the third quarter on free throws from Carolyn Scacchi and strong interior play by Amanda Matthews. Woumn nailed a three-pointer and then scored off a steal in the backcourt to expand the lead back to 16 points at 33-17. English would add 10 points in the spurt.
“We had a lot of deflections on defense,” said Hogan. “That’s a stat we keep.”
Stinson and Everette also posted double figures for the Bulldogs with both players pouring in 10 points.
Matthews and Courtney Bua led Peabody with eight points each.
English is getting healthier and is 1-0 in 2013.
