RallyNorth.net

Danvers, Fenwick will fight for postseason lives

Friday, January, 18 By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer

Part of the excitement of covering girls basketball is following the teams as they make a run for state tournament qualification down the stretch.

Unfortunately, it seems there won't be many teams to root for in such a capacity this winter.

Normally at the midpoint of the season, you can count on six or seven teams that are hovering around .500, holding onto hope that they can knock out a few wins in a row to solidify a spot in the postseason. This year, the North Shore really only features two teams that appear to be facing a fight for an extended tourney run.

Danvers is sitting at 6-4, while Bishop Fenwick is 6-5, with nine games to play. Neither has an easy road to tournament qualification.

This looked like the year that the Falcons could make a move in the Northeastern Conference Small division. But early-season losses to Swampscott and Winthrop put them at a quick disadvantage.

With high-scoring guard Danielle Sherry leading the offensive charge, Danvers still needs four wins to qualify. The Falcons still have tough games against Lynn Classical, Lynn English, Swampscott, Winthrop remaining, as well as two in the North Shore Invitational on their home court next month.

If the Falcons want to reach 10 wins before the always difficult North Shore Invitational, then they'll need to record a victory over one of the aforementioned four teams, plus secure wins over Salem, Marblehead and Saugus.

Bishop Fenwick, meanwhile, faces the same problem with playing in the North Shore Invitational at the end of the year. The Crusaders also have tough games left against Catholic Central League powers Archbishop Williams, Arlington Catholic and Cardinal Spellman. It's imperative that the Crusaders avoid upsets against future opponents Amesbury, Austin Prep, St. Mary's of Lynn and Tewksbury.

Fortunately for Fenwick, freshman guard Amy Pelletier has started hitting her stride. She provides an excellent complement to junior point guard Bridget Dullea.

Salem has played good basketball at times this season, but it doesn't have the record (3-8) to show for it. The Witches still hope that they can reach the postseason, but they'll need a couple upsets with teams like Danvers, Lynn English, Peabody and Classical still remaining on their schedule.

If Danvers and Fenwick do qualify, it will still be a slow year for tournament qualifiers, with only six teams from the area punching their postseason ticket.

The sure things at the moment are Masconomet, Peabody, Swampscott and Ipswich. Those four teams have a combined record of 36-4.