BRIDGEWATER – A 39-point night from senior captain Katherine Cheesebro helped lead undefeated Dartmouth to a 55-43 Southeastern Conference girls basketball victory over Bridgewater-Raynham.

It was the first matchup of the season between the rivals. Dartmouth head coach Brian Jalbert said he was nervous going into the game, but his team really showed what it’s capable of.

“We’ve had some challenges this year but this was the first big challenge,” Jalbert said. “It’s always a challenge coming here. We were lucky enough to have the full week off and could prep for them all week. I thought everyone played well on both teams, I was really proud of the adjustments we made.”

The Trojans actually held a 13-12 lead after the opening quarter and were able to limit Cheesebro to just two points. Following the break, she noticed a change in the defensive pressure and how to take advantage.

“They switched to a 2-3,” Cheesebro said. “They were allowing us to take threes, but I knew to attack the seam. I knew not to rely on the three, so I pushed it for some closer shots before extending out.”

She would score 14 points in the second quarter alone and helped lift Dartmouth to a 29-23 halftime lead. Jalbert said Cheesebro’s approach in practice all week paid off.

“She’s had a different aura this week in practice,” Jalbert said of Cheesebro. “She’s just such a great player and she came into this game and said ‘we’re winning this game.’ She made that decision early on and carried us there.”

The third quarter featured some tight defense from both sides and Kaelyn Zuber aided in the offensive effort. She finished with 10 points in the game and many of those came in that quarter.

“We tried many new different plays,” Zuber said. “My role on the team is not really to score, it’s to play good defense, rebound and make passes. I feel like our whole team did that really well.”

Dartmouth entered the final quarter up 39-29 and Cheesebro drew several fouls and hit a bunch of shots to bring her to her final total in the final quarter.

“They were playing really high on me, and I knew I could get by them,” Cheesebro said. “I just tried to get to the paint and either make a pass or shoot the ball.”

Camden Strandberg led the Trojans with 17 points and joined Zuber and Cheesebro as the only players to reach double figures.

Zuber said the work in practice all week made the final result even sweeter.

“It feels good,” Zuber said. “We’ve been working on it all week and we all put in the time and the effort. It feels good to pull through.”

As Dartmouth prepares for a challenging second half and a rematch against the Trojans, Cheesebro said this win puts the team on the right track.

“This is huge,” Cheesebro said. “To win it is giving us good momentum as we go into playing other top teams.”

BRIDGEWATER – A 39-point night from senior captain Katherine Cheesebro helped lead undefeated Dartmouth to a 55-43 Southeastern Conference girls basketball victory over Bridgewater-Raynham.

It was the first matchup of the season between the rivals. Dartmouth head coach Brian Jalbert said he was nervous going into the game, but his team really showed what it’s capable of.

“We’ve had some challenges this year but this was the first big challenge,” Jalbert said. “It’s always a challenge coming here. We were lucky enough to have the full week off and could prep for them all week. I thought everyone played well on both teams, I was really proud of the adjustments we made.”

The Trojans actually held a 13-12 lead after the opening quarter and were able to limit Cheesebro to just two points. Following the break, she noticed a change in the defensive pressure and how to take advantage.

“They switched to a 2-3,” Cheesebro said. “They were allowing us to take threes, but I knew to attack the seam. I knew not to rely on the three, so I pushed it for some closer shots before extending out.”

She would score 14 points in the second quarter alone and helped lift Dartmouth to a 29-23 halftime lead. Jalbert said Cheesebro’s approach in practice all week paid off.

“She’s had a different aura this week in practice,” Jalbert said of Cheesebro. “She’s just such a great player and she came into this game and said ‘we’re winning this game.’ She made that decision early on and carried us there.”

The third quarter featured some tight defense from both sides and Kaelyn Zuber aided in the offensive effort. She finished with 10 points in the game and many of those came in that quarter.

“We tried many new different plays,” Zuber said. “My role on the team is not really to score, it’s to play good defense, rebound and make passes. I feel like our whole team did that really well.”

Dartmouth entered the final quarter up 39-29 and Cheesebro drew several fouls and hit a bunch of shots to bring her to her final total in the final quarter.

“They were playing really high on me, and I knew I could get by them,” Cheesebro said. “I just tried to get to the paint and either make a pass or shoot the ball.”

Camden Strandberg led the Trojans with 17 points and joined Zuber and Cheesebro as the only players to reach double figures.

Zuber said the work in practice all week made the final result even sweeter.

“It feels good,” Zuber said. “We’ve been working on it all week and we all put in the time and the effort. It feels good to pull through.”

As Dartmouth prepares for a challenging second half and a rematch against the Trojans, Cheesebro said this win puts the team on the right track.

“This is huge,” Cheesebro said. “To win it is giving us good momentum as we go into playing other top teams.”