Saugus girls take unbeaten Tanners to OT

  Riding the momentum of an eight-game winning streak, the Saugus High School girls’ basketball team came close to knocking off the Peabody Tanners on the road Tuesday night. Peabody is unbeaten in Northeastern Conference (NEC) play and was able to escape with a 73-62 overtime victory over the Sachems.

  Saugus owned a 15-13 lead after one quarter with the help of two baskets by Madi Femino and a three-pointer by Ashleen Escobar at the buzzer to end the period. The host Tanners raced out to an early 11-2 lead before the Sachems rebounded to tally 13 of the next 15 points in the opening quarter. Ahead by five at halftime, Saugus held on to the advantage through the third quarter and entered the final quarter up by a 43-42 count. Both teams had opportunities to win the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter, but neither team could muster the winning points. Saugus’s Jessica Bremberg made a huge defensive play that helped force the extra session.

  Peabody took control in the OT period and pulled away for the win. “We ultimately ran out of steam in the overtime,” said Saugus Head Coach Mark Schruender. “It was a great contest from start to finish, but unfortunately we just couldn’t get over the hump.”

  Guard Peyton DiBiasio scored 19 points to lead Saugus’s offensive attack. Taylor Deleidi tallied a career-high 12 points on four three-pointers.

  The loss left the Sachems at 13-5 on the season with two games against Lynn Classical – on Thursday night on the road and next Wednesday at home – to end the regular season. Playoff-bound Saugus finished tied with Winthrop for first place in the NEC’s South Division with a 9-4 league record.

  Last Thursday at home, the Sachems rolled to a 60-27 win over Danvers. It was the 100th career coaching victory for Schruender. The Sachems possessed a commanding 22-2 lead after one quarter and pretty much cruised from there. DiBiasio was once again the team’s top scorer with 18 points, followed by Juliana Powers with eight and Ashleigh Moore with six. All told, the Sachems knocked down 12 three-pointers in the contest.