Bounce Passes
Gianna Addario
It's hard enough to earn minutes as a sophomore in a sea of seniors. It's even more difficult to crack the starting lineup. Yet the Peabody girls basketball team doesn't just have one sophomore getting the job done — it has two.
The sophomore duo of Carolyn Scacchi and Olivia Summit resemble that of the two Patriots' sophomore tight ends, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. At 6-foot-2 and 5-foot-10 respectively, Scacchi and Summit look the best when they work together and have done so effectively this season for the Tanners.
With a sophisticated post game from Scacchi and Summit's strong power forward play, coach Jane Heil can expect big things in the next few years from this pair.
"They're strong and physical and they feed off each other," said Heil whose team is now 5-8. "And they respect each other's ability, it's not as if they are trying to out play one another."
Scacchi, who played as a freshman, is the Tanners leading scorer with 142 points, averaging 10.9 ppg and has had five double-double performances in the last six outings.
"Her passing game has improved and she can see the court better," added Heil. "Carolyn has more of leadership role this year and realizes how much we expect of her. Rebounding comes naturally to her because of her height, but she's also working on defending other post players that are physically stronger than her."
Scacchi is an outstanding post player. Her height adds to her advantage and she is learning how to play through double teams, which most opponents have resorted to in order to try to control her scoring. She also has the speed to run the length of the court in transition.
Summit was a swing player last year, she jumped between junior varsity and varsity, but it was in a game against Swampscott that she caught Heil's eye. The Tanners found themselves down in the second half and Heil was working her way through her bench. Summit got on the floor and really sparked the offense, which ultimately led to a 41-40 Tanners victory.
"It was huge for us and she wowed us," said Heil of Summit's performance. "We knew she had the potential and this year there's no question the consistency is there for her. She has had some big double-double games for us, especially over Lynn Classical."
Both Scacchi and Summit are leading the Tanners in shooting percentage and most of them coming from paint. Peabody has had some trouble making perimeter shots, but Summit and Scacchi have more than made up for it inside.
"They're just great kids and smile at practice. They like to learn and don't mind working hard — they're a joy to coach and their height helps too," joked Heil.
At this point in the season, Peabody will take it game by game. The Tanners are coming off a much needed 42-35 win over Marblehead on Tuesday and are hoping the good fortune will carry over to tonight's game against Salem. In the first game of the season, Peabody had its way with Witches in a 43-31 victory.
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For the first time this season, Beverly has been able to put back-to-back wins together and have done so in convincing fashion. Last Friday, senior co-captain Becca Moriarty had a team-high 17 points and eight steals to lead the Panthers (3-10) to a 44-36 victory over Winthrop. Junior co-captain Andrea Zelano poured in 16 and pulled down nine rebounds.
On their next outing, the Panthers took it to Danvers 51-30. Beverly's defense contained Kasey Sherryto only six points, something many teams haven't been able to do.
Despite being out of the playoff race, the Panthers are still playing to win and can certainly end the season on a high note.
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Speaking of Beverly — last year's team MVP, Jen Ashton who is now at Westfield State was named last week's Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week. Ashton has averaged 27 points, seven steals, and 5.5 assists in 2-0 week for Owls.
The freshman guard has been superb in the Owl's last two outings. She had 29 points, nine steals and seven assists in an 84-66 victory over Fitchburg State and had dropped 25 points against Salem State.
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With just three losses this season, Swampscott is no doubt one of the toughest opponents in the NEC. After back-to-back losses (something Swampscott hadn't suffered all season), the Big Blue are looking to get back to their winning ways as they travel to Winthrop tonight.
Swampscott has been without senior captain Caroline Murphy for the past two games, which Salem was able to expose in its 38-31 over the Big Blue last Friday night. Murphy, who usually plays a low post game, does a good job of keeping opponents out of the paint. Without her physical presence, Swampscott has to find another way to keep teams from penetrating inside.
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Bounce Passes, a column on North Shore girls basketball, runs in The Salem News every Friday during the winter sports season. Contact Gianna Addario at GAddario@salemnews.com, 978-338-2615 and follow her on Twitter @GiannaAddarioSN.
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