NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. - It is only five games into the season, but the two-time defending Kelley-Rex champions have already shown vast improvement and on Saturday at the Pickering Gym proved just how far they have come by getting revenge for a loss on opening night.
Behind 22 points, four rebounds, and four assists from senior forward Melissa Beaupre and 18 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks from sophomore Caroline Collard, North Attleboro controlled the paint and dominated the glass to beat Durfee 75-50 and split the season series with the Hilltoppers.
When asked what changed between the opening night and Saturday, North Attleboro coach Derek Herber responded, “There were first game jitters; you go down there and that gym is just a big huge cavern. I think for our kids it was a little nervewracking. I think we played much better defensively and better offensively than we did down there.”
Collard made an instant impact off the bench for North. She scored eight points and collected five rebounds in the opening quarter and her aggression on the boards turned the tide on Durfee, which started well on the boards. Collard and junior forward Emily Peters (six points and eight rebounds) combined for 12 of North’s 18 first quarter points.
“[Caroline] does a lot of good things and between her and Peters the two of them give us a double-double every night,” said Herber. “So, we’re trying to work them in together because I think when we have a great post presence than we’ll be alright.”
The Rocketeers continued to crash the boards in the second quarter and at times would get three or even four chances on one possession. Beaupre emerged in the second with eight of her game-high 22 and sophomore Samantha Taggert buried a big three-pointer (North’s only three of the game) to help extend the lead to 39-26 at the break.
Herber explained, “We made a concerted effort after watching the film of the first game. We just thought that we had such an advantage there that we could do a lot of good things and try to force them to play us in the post. That sets up our offense when we go inside to outside.”
After the break, North ratcheted up its defensive effort and forced a number of Durfee turnovers. Suddenly, the close-range shots that were not falling in the first half started to drop and North exploded for a 23-8 quarter to break the game wide open.
Beaupre was again involved in so much of North’s positive play on both ends of the floor. She forced turnovers and finished a number of transition baskets on her way to 12 points in the third. Beaupre also assisted on a pair of fast break layups for sophomore Ashley Ahern who scored seven of her nine points in the quarter.
North built its lead to as many as 22 points and went into the fourth leading by 18.
“We have some limitations in the half-court offense,” said Herber, “so if we can get some easy baskets and use our athleticism than it gives us a better opportunity to be a better team. Our defense sets up our offense but the flip side is the same way we kind of feed off the energy.”
Durfee tried to make a comeback in the fourth quarter with leading scorer Brianna Camara breaking loose for eight of her team-high 15 points, but the Hilltoppers were too far behind and rarely troubled North.
Collard added six more points in the fourth and classmate Liz Morehouse (five rebounds) and junior Kiersten Bixby (three points) both contributed off the bench.
“It was a great team effort and I thought we were balanced all game,” said Herber.
North Attleboro will host highly ranked rival Bishop Feehan on Tuesday before getting into the meat of its league schedule with Mansfield, Franklin, and Attleboro to follow.
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.