PEABODY — If you had left after the first quarter of Tuesday night’s game between the Peabody and Danvers girls basketball teams — when Peabody held an 18-point lead — you’d have thought the Tanners would run away with a blowout victory.
But behind a big rally by the Falcons, Peabody was forced to hang on to earn a 57-53 win over its Northeastern Conference foes at the Peabody Veterans Memorial Field House.
“We let a big lead slide away in the second quarter, so we had to play some smart basketball in the final minutes of the game to earn the win,” said Peabody coach Stan McKeen. “Danvers played well to get back in the game, but we’ve got to do a better job when we get a big lead like that.”
Logan Lomasney led the way for the Tanners in the win, notching a double-double with 11 points and 20 rebounds. Emma Bloom led the team in scoring with 12 points, while Abby Bettencourt was close behind with nine points and five rebounds and Taylor Bettencourt had eight points and 11 rebounds. Isabel Bettencourt had two points and 11 rebounds, while Ally Bettencourt (five points) and Jessica Richards (four points) also played well.
The Tanners jumped out to a hot start in this one, taking a 10-2 lead behind a stellar defensive effort in the opening minutes. Peabody was also able to dominate the boards in the opening minutes, scoring a number of second-chance points. By the end of the first quarter, Peabody held a commanding 22-4 lead.
But Danvers never went away. The Falcons came right back in the second quarter with a flurry of their own, outscoring Peabody 26-13 to get right back in the game. The Tanners were able to make a couple of key plays down the stretch to hold the lead, and Peabody took a 35-28 advantage into the break.
Danvers kept whittling away at the lead in the second half, cutting the deficit to as few as three points in the third quarter and down to just one point in the fourth. With three minutes to go, Peabody was clutching to a 53-52 lead.
But Peabody settled things down from there, falling back on its rebounding prowess to maintain possession and hang onto the lead. Despite a nearly disastrous turnover with less than 30 seconds to play, the Tanners were able to hang on and walk away with the win to remain undefeated on the young season.
Peabody (5-0) hosts Salem Friday (7).