AMESBURY — Ground control to all Newburyport girls basketball fans: You have a player who's about to be a 1,000-point shooter. Commencing countdown engines on 10 ...
Ten points is all that stands in Beth Castantini's way to a place in the Newburyport rafters along with all the 1,000-point Clipper scorers after her game-high 20 points led the team to a win over River Rival Amesbury, 61-32.
In all likelihood, the senior will topple the mark next Wednesday afternoon on the road versus Marblehead.
The current top scorer in the River Rival region, Castantini has been the model of consistency throughout her career, starting since her freshman year and contributing a double-digit point per game average all four years.
"I think it's a fantastic accomplishment and we have one more regular season game plus a playoff game to go," Newburyport coach Gregg Dollas said. "I'll say with anything with her, she knows she's been close. But she hasn't even talked about it, hasn't mentioned it, hasn't even been a thought in her mind. She has other goals, team goals and that's how she is anyway, which is great.
"I know she wants it," Dollas said. "At the end of last season we talked about it. She knew she could get it. She had 300-something points last year, and she'll probably be close to 300 this year, so she's been a prolific scorer in terms of the program."
An All-Cape Ann League selection a year ago, Castantini has been a significant part of the Clippers' success over the past few seasons, helping Newburyport (12-7) become a Cape Ann League power again and making Dollas' job that much easier his first two seasons.
"I think she's a huge piece of the whole program," said Dollas. "Just looking at the camps we run, all of the younger girls look up to her, and she's great with the kids.
"With the team, she's done a great job adjusting to a different role," the second-year coach said. "She gets double- and triple-teamed a lot because there is no Sam Leahy from a year ago, who was a lockdown scorer, and Molly (Rowe) got hurt. (Beth) was trying to do everything, but she adjusted her game and let it come to her more. The last couple of games she's done that and it's allowed her to have better games lately, especially with the emergence of Mary (Pettigrew) and Lilly (Donovan)."
One person on the Newburyport bench that knows the hard work that goes into reaching quadruple digits for a career is Newburyport assistant coach Rachael Dobbs. Just a little over a decade ago, the assistant coach, who went by Rachael Wile back then, put the wraps on a 1,300-point career for the Clippers as well.
"I think exactly what Gregg said, you've just got to play the game, you can't think about the points," Dobbs said. "When you start thinking about stats, you lose what the focus is: playing the game and winning the game. It's not an easy thing to do. That's her top sport, she plays the game year-round, and that's what you have to do to be that caliber of a player."
Working with Castantini the past two years, Dobbs has been very impressed with Castantini's work ethic and believes she will be a terrific player at the next level.
"She deserves every accolade she gets because she's such a hard worker," Dobbs said.
"Inside, outside, her defense, she never gives up. She's a great rebounder because she can really get off the ground, but she can post up, she can shoot the three, and she can dribble," said Dobbs of the aspects of Castantini's game that make her such a terrific player. "She can bring all aspects to the game to the court, which is great to see, and wherever she ends up next year, they're going to be lucky to have her."
As for the game, Pettigrew (19 points) and Donovan (10 points) had their best games together as a front court, according to Dollas. Emily Martin led the Indians with 15 points.
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