In the modern era, three pointers are pretty common. That said, 12 in one night is a little different. The Sachems shot the lights out of their home gym on Thursday en route to a 60-27 victory against Danvers.
Saugus head coach Mark Schruender recorded his 100th win, and similarly to his team’s playstyle on Thursday, remained unselfish once the final buzzer sounded.
“A lot of good coaches I’ve worked with and a lot of good players,” Schruender said. “I haven’t done anything as far as making a layup or getting a rebound. We’ve been very fortunate to have coached a lot of good kids over the years.”
The Sachems forced a shot clock violation on the first play of the game – a telling first page of a dominant book. Saugus forced four turnovers through the first two minutes.
“It was effort,” Schruender said of the defense. “I thought it was just five kids communicating… they were in gaps and playing disciplined – that set a tone for the game.”
Then, it was the Peyton DiBiasio (18 points) show. The freshman connected on back-to-back threes early on, then caught eyes with a eurostep move before laying the ball in off the glass. The highlight put Saugus ahead 13-2 with 2:58 remaining in the first, forcing Danvers to call a timeout.
When asked what separates DiBiasio from other freshmen – and players in general – Schruender said “it’s not one thing.”
“Her work ethic is tremendous, she’s got a tremendous competitive drive and I think every single day, she’s humble.” Schruender said. “She wants to be coached [and] she’s special – there’s no doubt about it.”
The Sachems didn’t let a break in the action halt their momentum. Out of the Danvers timeout, junior Juliana Powers (eight points) scored from downtown before fellow junior Ashleigh Moore (six points) connected on two more in succession.
“Tonight, I think we made nine threes in the first half which is something we’ve never done before,” Schruender said. “We shot it really well, which was refreshing.”
The three-point barrage led to a 22-2 lead in favor of the hosts as the first quarter came to a close.
“If you’re open, shoot it,” Schruender said. “They did a great job tonight at taking what was available.”
Saugus began the second the same way it began the first: forcing a turnover. Even with a 20-point lead, the bench players clapped and cheered for every play that went Saugus’ way.
DiBiasio scored an off-balanced layup off the glass – plus the foul – to really put the pressure on. The Sachems’ defensive intensity never let up, and they took a 36-11 lead into halftime.
The two teams previously met in January – a game that favored Saugus 53-34 in a dominant second half for the Sachems. Thursday was a similar story. Danvers didn’t score its first points until the 5:33 mark of the third, and struggled in the offensive rebound category.
“The kids played hard, they were focused, and I give them all the credit in the world,” Schruender said.
A highlight of the third was when Ashleen Escobar corralled an offensive rebound, dribbled all the way out to the three point line, then buried one to put Saugus ahead 48-13 in a quarter that ended 48-16.
The fourth was more of the same. Saugus opened the final frame with consecutive baskets at the rim, and another three from Powers with around three minutes remaining all but put a lid on it.
Saugus returns to the hardwood on Tuesday in a road matchup against Peabody (7 p.m.).
