State championship
Hanover 384, Kennett 352, Plymouth 349, Merrimack Valley 271, Lebanon 180, Concord 172, Mascoma 94, White Mountains 87
Key players: MV – Mychal Reynolds (3rd), Austin Valliere (11th), Wyatt King (20th); Concord – Sebastian Christie (8th); Hanover – Schulyler Clapp (1st)
Highlights: Competing with just three skiers, the MV Pride nearly pulled off a top-three finish at the NHIAA ski jumping state champsionship at Nansen Ski Jump in Milan. MV had excellent performances from its three jumpers, but were one athlete shy of the maximum competitors that can count towards the team score.
No. 2 St. Thomas 45, No. 7 Winnisquam 30
Highlights: The Bears struggled offensively, trailing 12-4 after the first quarter and 21-14 at halftime, as the Saints won a low-scoring quarterfinal matchup in Dover.
Records: St. Thomas 17-1; Winnisquam 12-6
No. 16 Gorham 51, No. 17 Franklin 35
Highlights: The Tornadoes made it back to the playoffs after not qualifying last year, and stayed in the game most of the way, but ultimately fell to the Huskies on the road in the D-IV play-in game. Gorham led 11-8 after the first quarter, 25-17 at halftime and 33-27 heading into the fourth.
Records: Gorham 9-10; Franklin 8-11
Bow 61, Plymouth 47
Key players: Bow – Jake Reardon (23 points), Mark Folsom (11 points), Brendon O’Keeffe (9 points)
Coach’s quote: “Coming off a hard fought game Tuesday, we certainly played tired. I thought we fought through times when we struggled to play offensively and defensively. Proud that we pushed through and got a win.” – Bow’s Scott Drapeau
Records: Bow 8-9; Plymouth 3-14
Souhegan 52, Merrimack Valley 50
Key players: MV – Buddy Eddy (18 points), Brandon Dukette (16 points)
Highlights: The Pride narrowly lost an intense game against the defending champions.
Records: Souhegan 14-1; MV 11-6
Pembroke 72, Milford 58
Key players: Pembroke – Mike Strazzeri (22 points), Joe Fitzgerald (17 points), Joshua Pilotte (16 points, 8 rebounds), Shondell Hadley (12 points, 11 rebounds); Milford – Brady Hansen (19 points), Kai Laiquan (14 points), Will O’Connell (13 points), Chuck Urda (11 points)
Highlights: Pembroke won in front of a packed house on senior night.
Coach’s quote: “These boys continue to make me proud every single day and brought it again tonight against a motivated Milford team. We got all nine seniors playing time, which was important to me, and everyone of them responded. I was also ecstatic to see Shondell Hadley score double digits tonight. He is one of the most unselfish players I have ever coached. We finish out Monday at Coe-Brown which could have huge importance in the standings.” – Pembroke’s Michael Donnell
Records: Pembroke 15-2; Milford 7-10
Concord 59, Windham 53
Key players: Concord – Delaney Duford (18 points, 3 assists), Aidah Smalley (16 points, 3 rebounds), Jaylyn Jefferson (13 points, 6 rebounds)
Highlights: The Crimson Tide won its fifth game in a row.
Coach’s quote: “Another 32 minute team effort and another win. This group just keeps grinding out tough wins.” – Concord’s Rob Darrell
Records: Concord 10-7; Windham 10-6
Oyster River 50, Coe-Brown 43
Key players: Coe-Brown – Kalina Kasprzak (9 points), Emma Broadstone (9 points), Jennifer Noni (8 points), Hannah Meehan (8 points), Alexis Cowan (7 points)
Highlights: The Bobcats had a narrow 18-17 lead at halftime and went on a 14-6 run in the third quarter that made the difference.
Coach’s quote: “We had defensive lapses in the third quarter and it cost us the game. Girls battled all the way to the end as they always do.” – Coe-Brown’s Joe Vachon
Records: Oyster River 11-6; Coe-Brown 4-12
John Stark 57, Sanborn 24
Key players: John Stark – Abby Duclos (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Emma Dobbins (12 points, 10 rebounds), Izabel Korbet (11 points, 6 rebounds)
Highlights: The Generals led 26-7 at halftime and had very balanced scoring effort throughout the game. Stark controlled the boards and the tempo of the game, while Duclos, Dobbins and Korbet all scored in double figures for the second game in a row.
Coach’s quote: “Everyone on our roster scored tonight. We shared the ball really well and that was nice to see as our regular season is coming to a close.” – John Stark’s Tiffany Lewis
Records: John Stark 9-8; Sanborn 2-14
Pembroke 59, Milford 56
Key players: Pembroke – Annelise Dexter (23 points), Kaitlin Arenella (19 points)
Highlights: Pembroke Academy trailed, 40-21, early in the third before going on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes. After PA scored eight in a row in the fourth to tie the game, Arenella drilled a 3 to give PA the lead, 52-49, with 2:02 left in the game. Then with 8.5 seconds remaining and Pembroke leading 57-56, freshman Kate Stephens stepped to the line and hit both free throws to secure the win.
Coach’s quote: “We really got outhustled in the second quarter and Milford was making everything. In the second half, we matched their intensity and once again came back from a big deficit, Even if we are struggling at times, this group has the belief now that they can always come back.” – Pembroke’s Steve Langevin
Records: Pembroke 12-5; Milford 13-4