The starting lineup for the Hopkinton girls’ basketball team included four underclassmen in Tuesday night’s home opener against Stevens. The first two players off the bench? A sophomore and a freshman. The top free-throw shooter? A freshman. The leading scorer? You guessed it, a sophomore.
But when the Hawks needed a big play, they looked to junior Abby Houston, the only upperclassmen to suit up Tuesday.
“We’ve gotta be the youngest team in the state,” Hopkinton Coach Pat Roye said after a hard-fought 40-36 loss to the Cardinals (2-0).
Roye wasn’t making excuses for the loss. In fact, he was quick to point out “all the little things” the Hawks did wrong that contributed to their second straight loss to open the year. And those mistakes, covered in inexperience, are what prevented Hopkinton from closing the game out in the fourth quarter.
“We had control of the game for awhile then we missed a couple (free throws). But you know, you could point to that. You could point to missed fast-break opportunities with turnovers or a couple of times we didn’t rebound the ball very well and they got two or three chances,” Roye said. “So there’s a lot of little things to clean up but a lot of them are experiential in nature. They need to go through that stuff to learn and to grow.”
The Hawks (0-2) went 9-for-22 from the free-throw line and hit just three of 11 attempts in the fourth quarter, while the Cardinals finished the night 6-for-8 from the stripe and hit all four of their foul shots in the final frame.
Hopkinton opened up a five-point lead with four minutes left but couldn’t close the door, despite four Stevens turnovers down the stretch and 30 altogether. The Hawks committed 24 turnovers and out-rebounded Stevens, 30-28.
Stevens freshman Alexis Aiken led her team with 13 points, all of which came in the second half. Hopkinton sophomore Amelia Thomas scored a career-high 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field and pulled down six rebounds. Houston tallied a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman Katie Meserve finished with seven points, all coming from the free-throw line.
When Roye talked about the things his team did right Tuesday night, Houston’s name was the one that kept coming up.
“Abby, she’s our glue. Defensively, she covers up for other people’s mistakes. She’s our leading rebounder. She had a nice offensive game tonight,” Roye said of his team captain. “Late in the game, when we needed a play, she was out there trying to make that play. She showed really strong leadership.”
Houston has had to take even more on her shoulders with Taylor Signor (illness), the only other upperclassmen on the roster, missing from the first two games.
“She still had our back every time we came off the court,” Houston said of Signor, the other team captain who watched from the bench in street clothes. “She had something to say every time we came off the court. She had something positive to tell us and I think she was still with us even though she wasn’t playing.”
Roye added, “Taylor Signor is a real important piece to us. She’s on the bench trying to help anyway she can, but you know it’s killing her not to be out there.”
When asked about the missed free throws, Houston had a quick and easy solution to fix that issue: “We just need to take more of them. … We just have to do 10 this practice, 20 the next, 30 the next and just keep trying to get better and better.”
Houston hit a buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter to cut Stevens’ lead to 9-7 and also contributed a huge block in the third quarter that helped key a 13-5 run for the Hawks and tie the game 25-25 going into the fourth.
The goal for Roye and his team moving forward? Just keep on growing and getting better every day.
“Hopefully as we go forward, we will start to clean up some things,” he said.
The Hawks host Mascoma Valley on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
(Michelle Berthiaume can be reached at 369-3338, mberthiaume@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @MonitorMichelle.)
Fall Mountain 55,
Hillsboro-Deering 14
Key players: H-D – Hannah Grimes (6 points, 5 rebounds), Fayth Grimes (7 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats battled a slow start, surrendering 29 first-quarter points, and tried to play catch-up the rest of the way, but they couldn’t make up the deficit.
Coach’s quote: “It’s still very early in the season and there are a lot of things that we are looking to improve with this team. Things will start to fall in place and everyone will continue to see improvements.” – H-D’s Tiffany Lewis
Records: H-D 0-2; Fall Mountain 2-0
Belmont 28, Somersworth 25, 2OT
Key players: Belmont – Julianna Estremera (13 points), Sarah Chase (6 points, 9 rebounds), Taylor Yelle (5 points, 14 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: With the score tied, 21-21, at the end of regulation, Estremera took over. The sophomore guard drained a big shot and hit the foul shot to give the Raiders a three-point cushion they used to notch their first win.
Coach’s quote: “The defenses were rock solid. They talked, communicated and have grown so much as a group.” – Belmont’s Mark Dawalga
Records: Belmont 1-1; Somersworth 0-2
Newfound 47, Gilford 44
Key players: Gilford – Stevie Orton (17 points, 12 rebounds), Kaitlyn VanBennekum (16 points, 13 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Golden Eagles received steady contributions from their seniors, but Newfound’s Molly Schilling dropped in a clutch 3-pointer – one of seven for the Bears – late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Records: Gilford 1-1; Newfound 2-0
Franklin 43, Winnisquam 40
Key players:Franklin – Hannah Hicks (14 points), Zoe Kaplan (8 points); Winnisquam – Mackenzie Snow (14 points)
Highlights/key moments: Franklin took control of the game over its rival in the third quarter, outscoring the Bears 11-2 after trailing 20-15 at halftime.
Coach’s quote: “Our pressure in the third quarter turned the complexion of the game as we were able to get some turnovers and convert on the other end.” – Franklin’s J.J. Winters
Records: Franklin 2-0; Winnisquam 0-2
Mount Royal 47, Pittsfield 33
Key players: Pittsfield – Katie Rollings (14 points, 9 rebounds), Lindsey Massey (11 points, 4 steals), Alyssa Sullivan (5 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists)
Highlights/key moments: Pittsfield came out strong in its season opener, taking a 16-15 lead into halftime, but Mount Royal changed things up for the third quarter and took off as the Panthers were plagued by foul trouble.
Coach’s quote: “We came out strong in the first half attacking their zone, but Mount Royal made adjustments on their defense and it took us a bit to respond.” – Pittsfield’s Heidi Hall
Records: Pittsfield 0-1; Mount Royal 1-0