Defense, team play leads Middleboro to win over Apponequet
Dec 30, 2022
Middleboro’s Lila Peddie (13) jumps with Apponequet’s Cynthia Morales for the game’s opening tip-off. Photos by Rusty Gorelick
Apponequet’s Ashlynn McDonnell feigns taking a photo of teammate Ava Dixon during player introductions.
Middleboro’s Natalie Kerstein (3) bumps shoulders with teammate Sophia Moxley during player introductions.
Middleboro’s Hailey Iwanski, the game’s top scorer, drives to the basket.
Apponequet’s Addison Taylor drives toward the hoop by the baseline while Middleboro’s Sophia Moxley defends.
Middleboro’s Lila Peddie drives to the basket.
MIDDLEBORO — Thanks to 12 unanswered points to open the fourth quarter, the Middleboro High School Sachems beat the Apponequet Regional High School Lakers 39-24 in a girls' varsity basketball contest in Middleboro on Dec. 30.
Two important layups from Jessica Perry, a pair of late foul shots from Olivia Mather, and a basket and a foul shot from team captain Lila Peddie helped the Sachems put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
“In the fourth quarter, we trusted what we do best,” said Middleboro Head Coach Jeff Powers. “And that’s to finish the game and close it out just like we drew it up.”
The game started frantically, with both teams playing fast-paced basketball and turning the ball over as a result. Both coaches lamented their team’s high number of turnovers afterward.
“I thought we did some good things, but we never got it going,” said Apponequet Head Coach Trevor Gagnier. “We were always looking for that rhythm.”
Two Sachems baskets opened the game’s scoring. A couple of Lakers three-pointers, one from Hannah Kuriscak and another from Cecelia Levrault, gave the visitors the lead by the end of the first quarter.
Middleboro started the second period with stifling defense, forcing a turnover when they didn’t allow Apponequet to shoot within the 35-second shot clock.
“I’m really happy because the game was won on the defensive end,” Powers said. “I think we mixed it up enough so that we were able to give them some tough looks.”
Later in the second quarter, the Sachems leveled the score when Hailey Iwanski drove with the ball and scored a layup, and then retook the lead through a Perry layup.
Iwanski, the game’s top scorer, scored seven of her 11 total points in the second quarter to lead the Sachems to a 17-13 halftime advantage. Iwanski, Peddie and sophomore co-captain Sophia Moxley spearheaded the Sachems’ defensive effort.
Apponequet’s Ava Dixon hit a three-pointer to begin the second half. While the visitors’ defensive full-court press frustrated Middleboro early in the latter half, Apponequet could not create enough offense to retake the lead in the second half.
“When you don’t take care of the ball and you don’t make shots, it’s a formula for a loss,” Gagnier said.
Middleboro’s Natalie Kerstein drained a three-pointer of her own to answer Dixon’s, giving the Sachems a 20-16 lead halfway through the third quarter. Another Kerstein three extended the Sachems’ lead before they scored 12 in a row to put the game out of reach in its final quarter.
