RallyNorth.net

Fri, Dec 21, 2007 06:30 PM @ Pentucket

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Georgetown	3	9	4	4	20
Pentucket	17	12	18	12	59

Sachems tough down the Lane

Friday, December, 21 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

WEST NEWBURY | Sophomore guard Emily Lane is making the most of her opportunity for the talented Pentucket girls basketball team.

Primarily a JV player last year, Lane is among those battling to provide the Sachems with added depth this season and, in last night's 59-20 romp over Georgetown, she once again stated her case, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting with one 3-pointer and generally moving the ball effectively in the backcourt.

In what was supposed to be a mini-showdown between Cape Ann League unbeatens, Pentucket took control early, moving out to a 17-3 first-quarter lead, before going to the bench on a frequent, rotating basis.

The Sachems (4-0) had used all 12 of its players by halftime and, by the end of the game, all but two had scored. But none of the players off the bench were as impressive as Lane, who has scored at least five points in each game.

"She's doing a nice job for us," said Pentucket coach John McNamara. "I don't want to outdate myself, but she's like Vinnie Johnson when he was with the (Detroit) Pistons | instant offense. We want to get our bench at least as deep as last year and she's helping us get there."

Lane was the high scorer for the 14-6 JV team last year before being brought up for the postseason tournament. She wasn't sure how she'd fit in with the varsity this year but so far, so good.

"I'm just really excited to be playing," said Lane. "I know offense is my strong suit, but I'm trying to work hard on defense | whatever they need."

Lane actually had the best shooting percentage on the team yesterday. Despite the lopsided score, Pentucket did not have a strong shooting night, missing 14 layups and connecting just 34 percent (23 of 65) of the time.

"It's something we have to work on," said McNamara. "We didn't shoot well again tonight, but we played some intense defense, so I was pleased with that."

Kirsten Daamen led the Sachems with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks and Andrea Attenasio also scored 10. Holly Jakobsons, Ashley Viselli and Erin McNamara all scored seven points.

Georgetown (2-1) was probably in trouble anyway, but it entered the game without two starters from last year. Junior guard Gina DeGenova is out until at least January with a thigh injury and senior Julie Fehlmann was out sick.

Without them, the Royals managed only five field goals, had 29 turnovers and was outscrapped underneath. Only aggressive Taryn O'Connell (13 points, seven rebounds) was at all effective.

'Not having two of our starters is never helpful, we played a particularly bad game and Pentucket is up a division from us," said Georgetown coach BarriAnn Alonzo. "There were a lot of factors."

And, in fact, there may have been one more. Prior to last night's contest, a pre-game ceremony unveiled a new banner on the wall, citing Pentucket's Division 3 North championship of a year ago. That seemed to charge up the Sachems in the early going.