The Newfound girls’ basketball team reached the Division III semifinals a season ago.
The team took a step toward repeating that accomplishment – and perhaps more – as the third-seeded Bears eliminated No. 14 Franklin with a 73-22 thrashing Thursday night in the first round of the Division III tournament at Newfound.
The Bears will host No. 6 Hopkinton on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the right to play at Southern New Hampshire University in the division semifinals on Wednesday.
Newfound coach Karri Peterson knows the competition will be tougher as the tournament progresses.
“We got a little flat after a while and we need to understand that we cannot lose our intensity level on the defensive end,” Peterson said, “especially when the shots stop falling.”
Reigning D-III Player of the Year Ashlee Dukette paced the Bears with 25 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and four blocked shots.
Newfound never allowed the Golden Tornadoes to build momentum toward a possible upset, as the Bears were up 23-5 after the first quarter.
Savanna Bony added 18 points and six rebounds for Newfound, while Jasmine Peterson delivered a well-rounded performance featuring 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block. Leah Bunnell chipped in six points for Newfound (17-2).
No. 2 Gilford 53, No. 15 Stevens 25
Key players: Gilford – Brooke Beaudet (22 points, 6 assists), Shelby Cole (14 points, 3 steals), Hannah Perkins (7 points, 12 rebounds), Lauren Dean (4 points, 7 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Golden Eagles pounced early for a 29-11 halftime advantage and advanced to the D-III quarterfinals.
Records: Gilford 17-2; Stevens 6-13
No. 4 Sanborn 55, No. 13 Belmont 42
Key players: Belmont – Julianna Estremera (27 points), Makenzie Donovan (6 points), Jordan Sargent (4 points), Lizzie Fleming (defense)
Highlights/key moments: The Raiders gave Sanborn an initial scare, but the Indians went on a surge late in the second half to take a 27-20 lead into the break and pulled away from there to avoid the upset.
Coach’s quote: “I’m proud of the way the girls finished up the season. They played hard all season and they worked hard tonight.” – Belmont’s Mark Dawalga
Records: Sanborn 16-3; Belmont 7-12
D-II regular season
Laconia 75, Plymouth 43
Key players: Laconia – Sophie George (19 points), Hannah Dow (16 points), Delia Cormier (9 points), Sydney Stevens (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Sachems used a 19-4 run in the first quarter and a half-court buzzer beater from Cormier to take a 39-15 halftime lead en route to a lopsided win in the regular-season finale.
Coach’s quote: “As a coaching staff, we were really pleased on our team’s effort this evening. All of our athletes contributed and executed our game plan for 32 minutes.” – Laconia’s Jeff Greeley
Records: Laconia 10-8; Plymouth 1-17
Pembroke 50, Merrimack Valley 36
Key players:Pembroke – Noah Cummings (21 points), Sean Menard (12 points), Jake Sherman (7 points, 6 rebounds), Tyler Smith (7 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals), Brandon Linscott (defense); MV – Ryan Defina (13 points), Kyle Dube (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: Pembroke extended a three-point halftime lead to 10 by the start of the fourth quarter and never relinquished the lead.
Coach’s quote: “Great road win. That’s a huge game for us.” – Pembroke’s Rich Otis
“It just wasn’t our night, and it’s better to lose now than in the playoffs.” – MV’s Tim Mucher
Records: Pembroke 12-4; Merrimack Valley 12-5
Berlin 67, Winnisquam 29
Key players: Winnisquam – Kyle Mann (team-high 8 points), Avery Hutchinson (work ethic)
Highlights/key moments: Berlin jumped out early and cruised to victory to clinch a top-four seed in the Division III tournament.
Coach’s quote: “We were playing good enough basketball to hang with the middle tier, but right now, we’re not ready to take on the top tier. We had been playing good basketball.” – Winnisquam’s Kevin Dame
Records: Berlin 15-3; Winnisquam 5-13
Hillsboro-Deering 55, Franklin 43
Key players:Franklin – Jayden Torres (23 points), Oliver Lemay (9 points); H-D – Zach Rowell (15 points), Ben Ketterer (12 points), Elijah Winters (10 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats picked up their first victory of the season – and then some – in their final try with a triumph over the Golden Tornadoes.
Coach’s quote: “Wansn’t happy with the end result, but in a way happy to see the Hillsboro boys get their first win in over three seasons. There were a lot of tears on that floor tonight.” – Franklin’s Michael Donnell
Records: Hillsboro-Deering 1-17; Franklin 3-15
John Stark-Hopkinton 3,
Somersworth-Coe-Brown 1
Key players:JS-H – Paul Molnar (goal, 2 assists), Brett Patnode (goal, assist), Noah Chapman (goal, assist), Jameson Bourque (18 saves); S-C-B – Jack Percy (goal), Jake Spainhower (assist), Cal Welch (29 saves)
Highlights/key moments: JS-H took a 2-0 lead Wednesday night with two goals in 33 seconds from Chapman and Patnode near the end of the first period. Molnar scored in the second period to extend the lead to 3-0, before Percy found the back of the net for S-C-B to cap the scoring in the third.
Coach’s quote: “We adapted quickly to them leaving a floater out near our blue line creating a lot of good chances for us in their zone.” – John Stark-Hopkinton’s Denis Kolehmainen
Records: John Stark-Hopkinton 12-2-2; Somersworth-Coe-Brown 8-9