DEERFIELD — A showdown with the top overall seed is set for the Deerfield Academy girls basketball team.
The fourth-seeded Big Green defeated No. 5 Thayer Academy, 81-57, in the NEPSAC Class A quarterfinals at the Class of 1953 Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Deerfield (17-4) advanced to play No. 1 Marianapolis Preparatory in the Class A semifinals on Saturday in Thompson, Conn. Marianapolis thumped No. 8 Choate Rosemary Hall, 75-25, in another quarterfinal on Wednesday.
“We have not seen them all season,” Deerfield coach Julie Schloat said of Marianapolis. “They will be a very tough team to beat. We will have to play some very good basketball.”
Deerfield showcased a balanced scoring attack against Thayer, with four players in double figures.
“We have a lot of scoring threats this year and I am really thankful for that,” Schloat said. “It’s going to be super important.”
The Big Green’s main scoring threat in Wednesday’s win against Thayer was Angela Czeremcha, who scored 26 points with three 3-pointers.
“My teammates get me open,” said Czeremcha, who hails from West Springfield. “I can’t do it without them. I give them a ton of credit. We are playing great as a team and I am thankful to all of them.”
Deerfield has a “one heartbeat” mentality with all five players on the court sharing the same goals, according to Czeremcha.
“We are all going to have to play together,” Czeremcha said. “Tuned in, locked in, focused. Playing our game.”
Czeremcha went 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
Greenfield’s Raegan Hickey scored a highly efficient 15 points for DA, and added six assists.
Hickey slashed her way through the Thayer defense, scoring if there was an opening and dishing if defenders collapsed.
Outside of a fourth quarter 3-pointer, Hickey scored exclusively in the paint for the Big Green. Her strong third quarter drive through traffic gave the Big Green their biggest lead at the time, 45-27.
While DA’s offense was efficient against Thayer, the defense will need to be next level against Marianapolis.
“Offense can win some games,” Schloat said. “Defense wins championships. We have been working on our secondary help rotations all week and really working on our defense. The girls know that’s where it needs to come from.”
Deerfield boasts some solid guard play in Katy Gilbert and Kelly Lahart, who scored 10 points and eight points respectively on Wednesday.
“We have a lot players who can handle the ball and be confident with the ball,” said Lahart, who is from Franklin. “That feeds our post play really well. We can really be unselfish. When the ball is in any hands, it’s in strong hands.”
Lahart hit a pair of first quarter 3-pointers for the Big Green. Thayer did have an early lead in the first quarter but the Big Green quickly erased the deficit with a big run and led 26-12 after the first frame.
“What’s special about this team is that even when we have those lulls, we can bounce back from it,” Lahart said.
Claire Cummings scored a bruising 15 points for Deerfield.
“We have completely expanded our ways of scoring,” Cummings said. “Every day somebody gets hot.”
The 6-foot, 2-inch forward had her way in the paint against Thayer.
“At the beginning of the season I had some struggles with moving too quickly,” Cummings said. “I take a second when I have a size advantage to center myself.”
Thayer had an early 10-8 lead but Deerfield closed the quarter on a 18-4 run. A baseline drive by Hickey found an open Lahart in the corner during the run, and her 3-pointer made the score 17-10.
A Hickey layup upped the lead to 21-10 and led to a Thayer timeout.
The teams played even in the second quarter, and Deerfield led 41-27 going into the intermission.
Deerfield outscored Thayer 22-9 in the third quarter to pull away.
