PEABODY– The Peabody girls basketball team didn’t leave much to be desired last season.
A 19-1 regular season earned the Tanners the No. 2 seed in the Division 1 North state tournament, where Peabody advanced to the semifinal round. Central Catholic, the eventual sectional champ, ended Peabody’s run with a 64-48 win.
“We had a great bunch of kids,” Tanners coach Stan McKeen said. “Getting to the North semifinal was a huge accomplishment. That’s as far as the program has been in over 20 years. Unfortunately, eight of them are gone- seven seniors and one freshman.”
Now the Tanners face the challenge of turning the page on last season’s success and gearing up for a new campaign. And they’ll have to do so with just one returning starter- senior guard/forward Colleen Crotty.
“Colleen is a lacrosse and soccer player too,” McKeen said. “She’s a tough, hard-nosed kid. She works hard on the court.
“She’ll be the backbone of the team. She brings a lot of intensity and leadership.”
Junior forward Amber Kiricoples projects to play a critical role in the post.
“Amber played a decent amount under the basket,” McKeen said. “She was the first sub off the bench for Liz Zaiter or Catherine Manning. She got some playing time last year.”
Senior point guard Emily Carney will guide the offense. Seniors Georgia Leon (forward) and Deana Geomelos (forward/center) also return to the team.
Crotty will co-captain the Tanners will Leon and Carney.
“Emily got good minutes as a point guard last year,” McKeen said. “She played a lot. I’m expecting good things from her. Georgia saw time at the two and three last year. She got some minutes. I’m also expecting good things from her.”
Aside from the five returners, McKeen’s hoping for a few incoming freshmen to play their way into the rotations.
“We have some kids that stood out a little bit,” McKeen said. “We’ll make some decisions. We’ve had a decent turnout in tryouts. We had 45 kids tryout total. So we’re going to make some cuts, that’s for sure. The incoming freshman class looks very good. There’s a lot of talent. That’s a plus for the future.”
McKeen likes Peabody’s chances in what could be a wide-open Northeastern Conference this winter.
“It could be up for grabs,” McKeen said. “I think the key is to get off to a good start. That’s always been a key for me, in any sport. I’m hoping our combinations work well together. We’ll do a lot of substituting at the start of the season until we find something that works. Our goal is to make the tournament.”
Luckily for the Tanners, “Five of our first six games are at home,” McKeen said. “I hope that helps us. It’s going to be a learning experience. It’s going to take us a while to get a combination that’s going to work. The team we put together this year really hasn’t had a lot of experience playing and working together. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s definitely going to be a challenge.”
Peabody opens the season next Friday, when the Tanners host Danvers at 7 p.m. Non-league opponents on the schedule include Fenway, Everett and Somerville.
