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Clippers avenge last year's Amesbury sweep

Tuesday, December, 18 By Dan Guttenplan
Sports editor

NEWBURYPORT | No pep talk was needed last evening when Newburyport girls basketball coach Neil Reardon addressed his team prior to its showdown with rival Amesbury.

Two bitter defeats were fresh on the minds of his players.

The first came last Dec. 19 of last year when Amesbury beat the Clippers on their home floor, 47-42. The second came two months later when the Indians completed the season sweep with a 54-51 victory in double overtime.

The Clippers held serve at home last night, besting Amesbury, 51-26, at Newburyport High.

"We lost two really tough games to them last year," Reardon said. "I'd like to think the girls are motivated every night, but it's always bigger with Amesbury. And I'd say they were more pumped up based on what happened last year."

It could be said that the Amesbury losses typified Newburyport's season last winter. The squad posted a 6-14 record one year after winning a Cape Ann League Tier 2 title.

Newburyport's 2-1 start this season could be viewed as a surprise. The Clippers have beaten Triton and Amesbury | teams they were 1-3 against last year.

"Our goal is to improve from last season," Newburyport captain Taylor Hickman said. "I think we're getting better each game. We work hard in practice, and it shows in the way we box out and play defense. Our offense starts clicking when we make steals on the defensive end."

Perhaps it is no coincidence that in both of Newburyport's wins, the Clippers have held the opposition to exactly 26 points. Their lone loss came to defending Division 3 North champion Pentucket. Even that game | a 49-31 Sachem victory | was closer than many expected.

"Last year we really struggled, so I'm hesitant to make any predictions as to how far we can go," Reardon said. "We have strengths, and we have weaknesses. We need to work on the weaknesses and let the chips fall where they may."

Hickman led all scorers last night with 16 points. Lindsey Tomacz added 10 for Newburyport. Taylor Bresnahan had eight. Breanna Comeau led Amesbury with 11 points. Kelsey Fournier and Kate Hathaway had six each.

"Amesbury's has a lot of good athletes," Reardon said. "We had a few good spurts that gave us some breathing room, but I expected a barn burner. They'll win games, and we'll have our work cut out for us when we see them again."