New Bedford beats Brockton for Whalers' first playoff win in 12 years
NEW BEDFORD — With one teammate not feeling well and another on the bench with foul trouble, Zaria Anderson stepped up on Monday night.
The New Bedford sophomore scored a game-high 22 points to power the No. 28 Whalers to a 55-44 win over 37th-seeded Brockton at the Beardsworth-Gonsalves Gymnasium in the preliminary round of the Div. 1 state tournament.
It was New Bedford’s first playoff win since 2011 when the Whalers capped a perfect 20-0 regular season by winning the Div. 1 South Sectional championship before falling to Andover in the state semifinals.
“We knew we were capable of winning a tournament game,” said New Bedford head coach Jordan Pina, who in his ninth season, captured his first playoff win. “We knew it was going to be a good crowd here with a lot of young kids so we really wanted to put on a show. I’m happy for these kids. They work their butts off. They come to work every day. They earned that one.”
Brockton, which was making its first playoff appearance since 2019, won both regular season meetings with New Bedford by a combined seven points.
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“We wanted to go as far as we could, but I thought New Bedford played a really, really good game. They really did,” said Brockton first-year head coach Barbara Enos. “They knew what they had to do. They boxed out. Credit to them. They worked their butts off and they really deserved it tonight.”
With two early fouls, New Bedford junior guard Lexi Thompson spent almost the entire second quarter on the bench.
Senior guard Vanessa Bucha and Anderson combined for 15 of the Whalers’ 26 points in the first half as New Bedford entered halftime ahead by seven.
“We couldn’t afford her to have three (fouls) at that point because she’s an aggressive defender,” Pina said. “To be up seven without her playing that’s a great spot to be in. That was huge. She’s our facilitator and we need her on the court, but the subs — Hayleigh (Chenard) and Alexis (Rebello) — played huge minutes.
“In the second half, Lexi was huge and we needed that from her.”
Thompson scored nine of her 11 points in the second half, but it was Anderson who sealed the deal for New Bedford.
She scored 14 points in the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers from the left corner and right corner in the fourth quarter to put the Whalers out front 54-38 with 2:10 to play.
“The kid can shoot the ball,” said Pina, noting she had 52 3-pointers in the regular season. “She air balled a few and missed a few open ones, but we kept telling her to keep shooting. For her to hit two, that really opened it. They were fighting and battling back and she hit some timely ones that we really needed. Those two to push it to 16 were huge.”
Anderson added, “It felt so great. I haven't gotten some of those off in a long time so it felt so good.”
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Anderson opened the regular season red hot, hitting a school-record 10 3-pointers against Sandwich in December. As teams focused on shutting her down from the outside, she has developed into a more complete player able to take the ball to the basket.
“She’s got a better approach that if the three isn’t there to attack the basket,” Pina said. “She was getting into the paint and she’s strong and it showed tonight. The sky's the limit for her. From game one until now she’s grown so much.”
In addition to knocking down four 3-pointers, Anderson’s other four baskets came inside with two of them as part of and-ones where she completed the three-point plays.
“Going into the season, I did work a lot on shooting, but as the season progressed, my teammates and my coaches said I should expand my game because I’m a lot more than just a shooter,” Anderson said. “I really started to open up my game into doing more things because it will make it harder for the defense and it’ll give more opportunities for my teammates. I try to do everything I can to help my teammates out.”
Enos added, “She was lights out tonight. Good for her and good for them. They played awesome.”
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The first quarter was a close one with neither team leading by more than four points. Brockton pulled within 11-9 on a basket by junior Sunali Carter entering the second quarter. Brockton’s Tajeiha Madison ended a 5 ½ minute scoring drought by both teams with a basket down low to tie the game at 11. New Bedford outscored the Boxers 15-8 for the rest of the second quarter to enter halftime up by seven points.
The Whalers opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run to go up by 15, but the Boxers battled back to pull within seven on multiple occasions before Anderson closed the door with 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“We played as a team and we kept the momentum going,” she said. “Even when they went on their runs, we bounced back and answered.
“I told my seniors that I didn’t want them to close out the season on Brockton and I wanted to get another one for them. I love playing with them. I want their season to extend as far as possible.”
WHAT IT MEANS: With the win, the Whalers improve to 14-7. They will visit fifth-seeded Brookline (16-4) at 6 p.m. on Friday in the Round of 32. “We’ll go to Brookline and we’ll be ready for them like we were tonight,” Pina said. … With the loss, the Boxers finish the season with an overall record of 13-8.
ENOS: “I’m so excited for this younger class. We have a great group coming up. I think we’re going to be here again. I told them we’re going to get another chance next year. I really think this team showed they can do it.”
PINA ON BUCHA: “She didn’t want it to be over. And she was really sick. We had to take her out at one point because she said she didn’t feel well. Since her freshman year, she’s always played hard. We said in pregame, ‘This could be your last game on this court. How do you want to go out?’ For her to play like that, she’s a true leader.”
SENIOR SENDOFF: It was the final game for Brockton seniors Fanorah Francois, Lucieny Tavares, Naveiha Madison, Ngozi Nwosu and Aissata Conde. “I had a fabulous group of seniors this year,” Enos said. “They brought the energy and they were a great, fun group. I hope I gave them a good experience.”
STATS: New Bedford shot 47% (20 of 42) from the field and 50% (10 of 20) from the foul line with 16 turnovers. … Brockton shot 34% (17 of 50) from the field and 70% (7 of 10) from the free throw line with 18 turnovers.
NEW BEDFORD 55, BROCKTON 44
Brockton
Nevaeh King 5, Sunali Carter 10, Tajeiha Madison 12 (2), Ngozi Nwosu 6, Naveiha Madison 7 (1), Aissata Conde 4.
New Bedford
Vanessa Bucha 10 (1), Tatum Reis 6, Lexi Thompson 11, Hannah Pereira 2, Zaria Anderson 22 (4), Alexis Rebello 2, Hayleigh Chenard 2.
Brockton;9;10;12;13 — 44
New Bedford;11;15;14;15 — 55
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford beats Brockton in 2023 Div. 1 girls basketball playoffs
