Middleboro girls’ basketball team falls to Dartmouth in first round of playoffs

Feb 28, 2023

DARTMOUTH – After a season of mixed success, the Middleboro girls’ basketball team fell to Dartmouth 58-41 in the preliminary round of the Division 2 playoff tournament.

Despite some defensive success, the young Middleboro team could not convert enough of its chances to match a tough Indians offense, an issue Head Coach Jeff Powers acknowledged after the game.

“Defensively we worked hard but unfortunately, it didn’t translate to a lot of points,” he said. “The turnovers were there but it was either a missed shot on the other end or a turnover ourselves. So it’s hard to get momentum when you keep shooting yourself in the foot.”

He added that the Dartmouth team had earned the victory, praising the team’s star player, Katherine Cheesebro, as one of the best he’s ever had to coach against.

Powers said he felt his team could have played better but emphasized that overall it had been a good season for a team with only one senior and three juniors.

“Our team is just very young and at times tonight we showed it,” he said. “I think the last few weeks though we came on strong. I think we found our rhythm and we all bought in and we were able to do some very good things.”

The coach gave a special shout out to senior captain Lila Peddie, who shared an emotional moment with her team as she was subbed off in the waning minutes of the game.

“I can’t say how proud I am of her. Everything I expected she exceeded the expectation,” he said. “She’s an awesome kid and she’s a great teammate — very supportive. So it was emotional. It was tough.”

Though the loss was a difficult one for the fiercely competitive team, Powers said that the season had been a success.

“For a young team, just to qualify for the tournament, we’re very happy about that,” he said. “But competitors, they’re not happy just to be here — they want to win. So I’m proud of what we did but still disappointed with what happened here today.”