PEABODY— With the regular season winding to a close, teams hovering around the .500 mark are buckling down as they shoot for state tournament bids. The Peabody girls basketball team is one that fits that category.
The Tanners came into Thursday’s game against Everett needing four wins to clinch a spot in states. They suffered a setback with a 60-54 overtime loss to the Crimson Tide at Veterans Memorial Field House.
Peabody shot 4-of-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, missing a handful of freebies that would’ve given the Tanners the win in the waning seconds.
“If it comes down to anything, it’s free throws,” Peabody coach Stan McKeen said. “That was the game. Everett’s a good team. They have two outstanding players, but we have to make free throws down the stretch. We played as hard as we did all year. We got in foul trouble early but we hung right in there with them.”
Despite the tough loss Peabody received a valiant performance from Catherine Manning, who led the Tanners with 15 points. Manning gave Everett problems in the paint, picking up offensive rebounds throughout the night and drawing fouls on drives to the hoop.
Liz Zaiter added 11 points, Jordan Muse scored nine and Kristina Rossignoll finished with eight. Brooke Hodas scored seven off the bench.
For Everett, Jacquelin Emmanuel led all scorers with 19 points. Yasmeen Guerrier scored 18 and Maddy Duraes added 15.
Peabody got the game started on the right foot in the first quarter. A pair of baskets from Manning, and a bucket and a free throw from Zaiter powered the Tanners to a 7-2 start. Back to back layups from Everett’s Guerrier sliced Peabody’s lead down to 7-6. A string of turnovers hurt the Tanners in the final two minutes of the quarter and Everett took advantage. The Crimson Tide ended the period on a 7-2 run and led 17-14 after one.
“Everett’s a fastbreak team,” McKeen said. “Emmanuel (#25) and Gurrier (#32), you’d see them going the other way. They get rebounds going the other way and they’re gone. We knew we couldn’t play man-to-man. I thought we did a decent job with our zone.”
The second quarter was back and forth from start to finish. Manning hit a floater in the paint in the closing seconds, giving the Tanners a 26-24 lead at the midway break.
“Catherine’s clutch, there’s no question about that,” McKeen said. “She’s our clutch player. Down the stretch, or wherever it is in the game, she’s going to make things happen down low. There’s no question.”
Manning notched the first bucket of the third quarter to cushion the Tanners’ lead to 28-24. The Crimson Tide strung together a 13-7 rally from there to regain the lead at the end of the third. Everett’s Duraes capped the quarter with a layup and the Crimson Tide led 37-36.
Muse swished a 3-pointer and Rossignoll added a floater to give the Tanners a 45-40 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
But Everett didn’t go away.
Emmanuel knocked in a 3-pointer and Carolann Cardinale netted a free throw, pushing Everett to a 49-46 lead. Peabody tied the game with free throws to send it into overtime but the Tanners saw their chances at a win slip away with misses from the charity stripe.
Duraes found her rhythm in the extra period, scoring five points. Everett led through the entire overtime to seal the 60-54 win.
“It’s a game we should’ve had,” McKeen said. “We could’ve won it right at the end of regulation. It was missed free throws. No one in general, just missed free throws.”
With the loss, Peabody falls to 6-8. The Tanners need four wins with six games remaining to clinch a berth in states. Peabody aims for a bounce back win when the Tanners host Beverly Friday.
