DARTMOUTH — Like many of her teammates Remy Barber worked hard in the offseason to improve her game in hopes of helping Dartmouth build a stronger team after a 13-9 campaign in 2022-23.
That hard work is paying off.
With Tuesday’s night 70-40 rout of rival New Bedford High, undefeated Dartmouth became the SouthCoast’s first team to punch its ticket to the playoffs with its 10th victory of the season.
“It’s awesome,” Barber said. “We’re all very happy and proud of ourselves because we all work very hard so it’s good to see our hard work paying off with the qualification for the tournament.
“I feel like we’ve all put in the work in the offseason because we’ve all wanted to be a better team and we’ve gotten significantly better.”
Through 10 games, Dartmouth is averaging 63 points while the defense hasn’t given up more than 43.
Barber, and her younger sister, Lindsey, a freshman, have been impact players on defense for Dartmouth this year.
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“Remy’s defense is incredible and Lindsey’s defense and energy off the bench is the same,” said Dartmouth head coach Brian Jalbert. “The Barber girls bring the defense and the energy.”
The pair also made solid offensive contributions against New Bedford.
Remy Barber knocked down a pair of 3-pointers during a key stretch of the first quarter, sparking a 16-2 run that allowed Dartmouth to break the game open.
“She’s starting to find her shot and we’re starting to turn the corner with Remy’s offense,” Jalbert said.
Lindsey Barber had five of her nine points off the bench in the first quarter.
“I feel like I bring good energy off the bench,” she said.
Jalbert agreed, “We don’t lose anything when we go to Lindsey off the bench. Lindsey is very aggressive. For a freshman, she’s got a lot of confidence. She’s the opposite of nervous. She is very confident. She’s done a really good job of fitting in with the team and we’re happy to have her.”
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Lindsey said that having Remy on the team has made for a smooth transition.
“Playing varsity is pretty tough, but I think I hold my own,” she said. “It’s really beneficial having someone that I've played basketball with for many years. We have a good connection and it’s brought me closer to the team.”
Remy said having her sister on the team has made her a better player too.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “We’ve been competitors our whole lives so it makes us better basketball players and better people because we have someone there to compete against.”
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Eight out of Dartmouth’s 10 wins have come by 18 points or more with the closest margin of victory coming against Apponequet (46-38) in its season opener.
“I say this all the time, ‘I never have to coach effort with them,’” Jalbert said. “Their effort is there everyday in practice and in every game; they don’t take anyone lightly. When we’re up by 20, they want to get up by 30. They don’t ever relax. They’ve done a really good job.”
Jalbert knew his team had potential this year, but didn’t foresee this.
“I did not expect this. I did not expect to be 10-0,” he said. “Obviously the goal is to be 10-0, but I didn't expect to be where we are.”
New Bedford head coach Jordan Pina was impressed with Dartmouth’s play.
“Cheesebro is amazing, but the way they’re all buying in and the way that they’re moving the ball and the way they defend,” he said of what makes Dartmouth so good. “When they’re all clicking like that, they’re tough to beat.”
WHAT IT MEANS
With the win, Dartmouth improves to 10-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC. It hosts Durfee on Friday. … The loss drops New Bedford to 3-5 and 0-2 in the SEC. Three of the Whalers’ five losses have been by six points or less. New Bedford hosts Barnstable on Friday.
DARTMOUTH 70, NEW BEDFORD 40
New Bedford
Lexi Thompson 20, Haleigh Chenard 2, Alaysha Sylvia-Figueroa 5, Zaria Anderson 10 (1), Alisha Pires 1, Jayana Rozario-Sylvia 2.
Dartmouth
Kaelyn Barber 8, Remy Barber 6 (2), Kat Cheesebro 35 (1), Lily Gagni 9 (1), Hailey Martin 1, Lindsey Barber 9 (1), Kate Sullivan 2.
New Bedford;9;9;15;7 — 40
Dartmouth;16;22;18;14— 70
