PEABODY — Although snow covered the ground outside, No. 31 Peabody came out red-hot inside, racing past No. 34 Medford 57-33 in the round of 32.
Peabody blitzed Medford out of the gates, jumping out to a 14-0 lead and building a 23-5 advantage after one quarter. It was a similar start to its game against Reading the last time Peabody played.
“We had the same start as we did in the Larry McIntire IAABO Board 130 Classic championship game 23-3. We got the same start today,” Peabody head coach Stan McKeen said.
It started on the defensive end with Aliana Ryan (5 steals, 5 points, 6 assists) setting the tone. The senior guard consistently recorded steals that led to transition layups for Peabody. McKeen praised his lockdown defender.
“Aliana is our number one defensive player without question,” McKeen said. “She runs the offense and she sees the court better than anybody. She’s fast, has excellent skills and plays great defense.”
The Tanners took a 27-14 lead into halftime.
Ryan led the team defensively, but Olivia Gaynor led Peabody offensively, finishing with 17 points. To start the third quarter, Gaynor went on a 7-0 run to give the Tanners a 34-14 lead.
“Olivia, she’s our offensive weapon. I can’t believe she scored 17 — she didn’t even score in the fourth quarter,” McKeen said. “When she’s on, she’s on. Even in the first quarter she had eight points, but some of her 3-pointers were just in and out.”
The only downside to Peabody’s performance was the second quarter, which McKeen was not happy about. The Tanners scored just four points, all from Avery Bettencourt.
“We had a horrible second quarter. We couldn’t throw a ball into the ocean. We didn’t play good defense,” McKeen said. “We bounced back and played well. I think defense was the difference. We played good defense and rebounded better than we did. That second quarter was just awful — we only scored four points. It was a good win, though.”
Peabody led 41-20 entering the fourth quarter. In the final quarter, the Tanners’ offense struggled, but Sophia Coburn (6 rebounds) found a rhythm to keep Peabody in control. Coburn scored all eight of her points in the fourth.
McKeen described the game as a “total team effort.” The Tanners had nine players score, and everyone saw playing time. McKeen was especially happy for his four seniors.
“For the seniors, I’m glad they got to get one last win here at home,” McKeen said.
Peabody will travel to No. 2 Bishop Feehan on Friday for a 7 p.m. game.
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
