'Best player I've ever coached against': Dartmouth's star ends Middleboro's season
DARTMOUTH – In five years coaching at Middleboro, Jeff Powers had never come across a high school girls basketball player quite like Dartmouth's Katherine Cheesebro.
Powers has been tasked to scheme against her three times this winter. More than any other coach in the state.
The latest time, Monday evening in the preliminary round of the Division 2 state tournament, Cheesebro detonated for 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 29 Dartmouth to a wire-to-wire 58-41 win over the No. 36 Sachems to advance to play fourth-seeded Westwood in the Round of 32 on Friday at 6:30.
Oh – and Cheesebro, the top scorer in the Southeast Conference at 22.8 points per game (plus 8.4 rebounds), is only a sophomore. She led Dartmouth (12-9) to a three-game season sweep of the Sachems this winter.
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“I told her that in the handshake line. I said, I think you’re a great player but I never want to coach against you ever again,” Powers said. “She’s, I think, the best player I’ve ever coached against. She’s just phenomenal. She gets up and down the floor lightning quick, can finish, can shoot. I mean, she torched us three times this season.
“I can’t say enough about how incredible she is. And her teammates made plays, too. I can’t say it was just her, but she’s tough.”
Cheesebro also recorded 28 points and 7 rebounds in the last meeting between the two teams on Feb. 16 (a 53-49 win), and 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals in the first on Dec. 14 (a 61-37 win).
The 5-foot-8 guard scored a season-high 39 points against Dennis-Yarmouth, a masterpiece of a performance in which she also hauled in 12 boards.
“She was great to start the season and just kept getting better, and made her teammates around her better," Dartmouth head coach Brian Jalbert said. "They all look up to her, and respect her. How she goes is how we go, usually. She’s just such a coachable player and she’s such a leader. And, obviously, she steps up for us big-time on the court all the time.”
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Monday night, Cheesebro banked a floater in off the glass to end the first half as Dartmouth maintained a 28-19 advantage. She converted a steal into an and-one finish on the other end moments prior, as Dartmouth mounted a 26-13 lead with 2:23 to go until the break. She scored 15 of her 28 in the first half.
“A few times tonight, we went on little scoring droughts and I could see the look in her eyes," Jalbert said. "She got the ball, and I knew she’d take care of things. And she did. It’s nice to have a player like that.”
“I’d say one of the strongest parts of my game is my ability to penetrate," Cheesebro said. "I’m always trying to find the open person but if there’s a lane, I’m going to take that lane. I like driving in, but I try to work on my mid-range game, and even a little bit of the 3-point game.”
Cheesebro kicked it out to freshman guard Kaelyn Zuber for an open 3-pointer as Dartmouth imposed its biggest lead up to that point, 49-31, with 4:41 to play. Dartmouth stretched its lead by as much as 23.
For Middleboro (11-12), the team's lone senior Lila Peddie was the only double-digit scorer with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. Freshman forward Hailey Iwanski followed with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals and the surrounding cast of sophomore Jessica Perry, freshman Julia Fernandes and freshman Olivia Mather each tallied 7 points apiece.
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“I think, tonight, we showed our youth. We had some tough turnovers, where we would stop them and then go down and give it right back. Had some good opportunities that we didn’t necessarily hit. Young teams will do that,” Powers said. “You’ve got to be able to stop the opposing team’s best player and make shots. We didn’t do either of those things tonight.”
To qualify for the tournament, Middleboro snapped a three-game skid by winning three of its final four regular-season games to break even at the .500 mark and make the dance for the fourth time in Powers' five seasons (there was no state tournament in 2020-21 due to COVID-19).
The one loss during the three-of-four winning stretch was the four-point loss to Dartmouth on Feb. 16. Powers viewed it as a quality bounce-back after falling by a 24-point margin in the first meeting, only the team's third game of the season.
But the third overall matchup turned out to be the season finale.
“It saved me some time scouting because we just played them last week,” Jalbert said. “Especially with the quick turnaround because we only had Saturday and Sunday to prepare and we only knew it was Middleboro by Sunday (due to the bracket/schedule release). It was nice to have a familiar opponent but I never like playing someone three times.”
“It was a really good feeling. We played Middleboro twice – it’s always hard to beat a team three times. Last time, they gave us some trouble," Cheesebro said. "So to come out, play hard and beat them by a good amount, it felt really good for us.”
Dartmouth's surrounding cast of senior forward Abbie Zuber (4 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), sophomore center Kate Sullivan (3 points, 10 rebounds), sophomore guard Remy Barber (8 points, 2 steals) and Kaelyn Zuber (6 points, 4 rebounds) also chipped in the win on Monday.
“We just try to keep the momentum going," Jalbert said. "We try to build off any mistakes we had in this game and try to improve on them. We know Westwood is a great team and it’s going to be a significant challenge for us but I’m so happy to be coaching this crew, attacking that challenge.”
Senior send-off
When Lila Peddie was subbed out in the waning moments of the loss, the entire Middleboro bench stood and applauded the careerlong contributions of its only senior.
Powers and Peddie shared an embrace after she made her way through a wave of teammates.
“I love that kid," Powers said. "She’s awesome and her teammates love her too. She’s the only senior amongst probably 14 underclassmen, including the eighth graders on JV. She’s the big sister and they all look up to her. She’s very supportive. She’s put in a lot of work from her first day as a freshman to now. I can’t say enough how proud I am of her.”
Peddie, who said she took over more of a leadership role this season, played well beyond the stat sheet as she recorded 2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block in the win Middleboro needed to clinch the state tournament berth last week, a 48-42 final over New Bedford.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Cheesebro dominates as Middleboro girls hoops' tourney run ends short
