WOBURN — The No. 29 Peabody Tanners (14-8) saw their season come to a close at Woburn High School Thursday evening. No. 4 Woburn took advantage of the Tanners’ lack of early scoring and cruised to a 72-36 win.
For Peabody, Woburn is a familiar face and, unfortunately, this one came with a familiar result. Woburn and Peabody squared off for the fifth time in the last seven years, with the former claiming a perfect record.
The game started close with Peabody down, 10-6, at the end of the first quarter, but things turned South in the second. Woburn outscored the Tanners, 23-7, in the frame to take a 33-13 lead at halftime.
“The second quarter killed us,” said Peabody coach Stan McKeen. “They also hit 15 threes in the game… We just didn’t play a good game. We didn’t get out to their shooters fast enough and we didn’t get enough scoring production.”
Heading into the game, McKeen said the focus was limiting Woburn center Shannon McCarthy. Peabody executed that game plan, limiting her to just seven points.
However, McCarthy’s teammate, McKenna Morrison, took matters into her own hands, scoring 14 of her game-high 23 points in the second quarter.
“The girl we were worried about the most was their center, but she did nothing against us. It was No. 1 (Morrison) who killed us. She had 20 points at the half,” McKeen said.
In the second half, Woburn couldn’t miss, connecting on five threes in the third.
Despite the loss, McKeen praised the likes of Lizzy Bettencourt and Sophia Coburn for their hard work on defense.
“I thought Lizzy and Sophia played really well. They both did a great job on their center and held her to just seven points,” McKeen said. “She was the one we were worried about and they shut her down. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get outside fast enough to limit their shooters.”
Bettencourt and Coburn led the visitors with 10 points apiece.
Woburn continued to dial it in from distance, ending the season for the Tanners – and the high school basketball careers of Abby Bettencourt and Logan Lomasney.
When asked about their impacts throughout the last four years, McKeen spoke beyond highly of his seniors.
“They mean everything to the program. They’re the two best players on our team – without question,” McKeen said. “They’ve carried us along for the last four years. They’re going to be a huge loss for us.”
Woburn will take on No. 13 Andover in the next round (TBD).
