The Kearsarge girls’ basketball team saw its future on Monday night. It was the Merrimack Valley team that beat the Cougars in the Capital Area Holiday Tournament opener, 50-45.
“We want to be them,” Kearsarge Coach Keith Roberts said. “We’re trying to grow into them. I think we’re getting there.”
MV, which has started the season 4-0 in Division II play, is aggressive, defensive, fast-paced and opportunistic, and that’s what Roberts wants for Keasarge, which has started 6-0 in D-III. The Cougars have the athleticism, depth and grit to get there, but what they don’t have is a pair of stars like MV’s Carly Huckins (16 points, two assists, zero turnovers) and Abby Grandmaison (13 points, 17 rebounds).
“Those are two unbelievable players,” Roberts said. “We lost them at times tonight. We didn’t want to, and we paid for it.”
A pair of free throws from Grandmaison with 2:11 left on the clock gave the Pride a 48-37 lead. If the game had counted in the standings, the Cougars would have kept clawing away at the lead with their starters, even if things were out of reach. But the game doesn’t count in the standings, so Roberts decided to let non-starters close out the contest and play some crunch time minutes in front of a good crowd at the Dr. Goldie Crocker Wellness Center.
“It’s a hard call, but I thought that was for the best,” Roberts said. “Those kids deserve to play, it’s a Christmas tournament, their families are here. I also didn’t know if we could get back over the hump, but they deserve the opportunity to play, to be honest with you, so I gave it to them.”
MV Coach Dave Huckins followed suit and also pulled his starters for the final minutes. But if the game had gotten close enough, chances are good the Pride starters would have been back on the floor. MV has owned this tournament in recent years, reaching six of the last seven finals and winning four of them, including last year.
“We take it seriously and it’s a great tournament,” Carly Huckins said. “Our team loves coming here and playing the other local teams.”
Her team also loves playing defense. The Pride forced 19 turnovers, came up with eight steals, held a 36-34 rebounding edge over the taller Cougars and menaced Kearsarge’s half-court offense.
“In the half court, offensively, we turned it over way too much,” Roberts said. “We were careless with the basketball at times, but that’s (Merrimack Valley). That’s what they make you do.”
The Pride’s defense is a team effort, but senior Camryn Burr stands out among a group of solid defenders. The 5-foot-9 Burr was quick enough to harass Kearsarge’s talented freshman point guard, Madiysn Brayshaw (team-high 12 points), the length of the court. And then Burr is tough enough to battle with the bigs down low in the half-court, including the Cougars top interior threat, Devi Kraushaar, who had just five points and five rebounds going against Burr and the Pride.
MV needed some stingy defense early as it struggled from the floor. The Pride missed its first six shots and went just 3-for-16 in the first quarter. But all three of those field goals were 3-pointers, and the first two came from freshman Miah Boucher, who delivered six points, a block and a steal off the bench. Boucher’s first 3 started an 8-0 run that helped MV take a 12-9 lead after the first quarter.
“(Boucher) is a good shooter,” Huckins said. “She hit those 3s and that picked us up a little bit.”
The second quarter belonged to Grandmaison, who had 10 of her 13 points and five of her 17 rebounds in the frame. After Kearsarge had pulled to within one, 17-16, on a short jumper from Courtney Lauster (seven points, five rebounds), MV went on a 9-3 run over the next 2:08 to close the half. Grandmaison scored seven of those nine as she drained a 3, hit a ridiculous reverse flip shot as she was being fouled, buried that free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play, and finally hit one more free throw in the last seconds of the half as MV took a 26-19 lead into the locker room.
After an even third quarter, the Pride led 35-27 heading into the fourth. But five points and an assist from Huckins sparked a 9-4 run to open the final quarter and give MV a 44-31 lead with 4:22 left on the clock. That’s when the lead grew too big for the Cougars and the Pride started thinking about the semifinals.
Kearsarge will now face John Stark in today’s consolation round at 11:30 a.m.
“We’ll take on another Division II team and see how it goes,” Roberts said. “It was nice tonight because last year we were not successful at this tournament, we had two games that were not good for us. Tonight was a good night for us. We didn’t win, but we fought.”
The Pride will meet Bishop Brady in the semifinals at 4 p.m. on Wednesday as it tries to get to yet another Capital Area final.
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)
Bishop Brady 63, John Stark 36
Key players: Bishop Brady – Sam Will (22 points), Riley Bennett (16 points), Sofia Riccio (12 points), Lily Rivera (4 points, 6 rebounds); John Stark – Chelsea Woodsum (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Giants had a strong second quarter and solid energy in the second half, sparked by Lauren Roy’s defense and Sarah Doherty’s leadership, en route to a decisive victory in the first round of the Capital Area Holiday Tournament. Brady will take on MV in the semifinals on Wednesday at 4 p.m. John Stark will play Kearsarge in a consolation game today at 1 p.m.
Coach’s quote: “It was good to get back on the court after Christmas break. It was a strong team effort overall. Great to be back but always learning and time to improve.” – Bishop Brady’s Annie Alosa
Pembroke 43, Concord 39
Key players: Pembroke – Brooklyn Zanis (21 points), Morgan Allen (9 points), Olivia Langevin (9 points); Concord – Kasie Maloney (10 points), Ashley Kelley (10 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans knocked off the Tide in the opening round of the Capital Area Holiday Tournament. Pembroke plays in the semifinals against Bow on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., while Concord takes on Hopkinton in a consolation game today at 11:30 a.m.
Bow 49, Hopkinton 22
Key players: Bow – Taylor Darrell (20 points), Lea Crompton (10 points, 4 steals, 4 assists)
Highlights/key moments: Darrell scored 15 of her 20 points in the first half to help the Falcons fly to a 27-6 halftime lead. Bow will play Pembroke in the semifinals on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Hopkinton will take on Concord in a consolation game today at 11:30 a.m.
Manchester Central 49, Coe-Brown 34
Key players: Coe-Brown – Ahna McCusker (12 points, 10 rebounds), Shannon Riley (8 points), Kerry Riley (6 points)
Highlights/key moments: After a back-and-forth first quarter, Central pulled away and took a 28-18 lead over the Bears into halftime. Coe-Brown tried to battle back in the third, but Central extended its lead and held on to beat the Bears in the first round of the Queen City Tournament.
Coach’s quote: “Their a D-I team and their tough. … We didn’t rebound well and played with not a lot of inspiration.” – Coe-Brown’s Joe Vachon
Coe-Brown 73, Mascenic 71
Key players: Coe-Brown – Sam Lupinacci (27 points, 6 rebounds), Scott Spenard (22 points), Brody Ashley (14 points), Mike Mulligan (9 points, 6 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears trailed by nine points to D-III Mascenic with three minutes left in the game, but Lupinacci scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and Ashley hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds to go to give Coe-Brown the win. The Bears will face the winner of a game between Epping and a Rhode Island high school in the next round of the Keene State College Holiday Tournament tonight at 7 p.m.
Coach’s quote: “It’s hard to believe based on the amount of points we gave up, but the difference in this game was our fourth quarter defense.” – Coe-Brown’s David Smith
Concord 3, Trinity 2, SO
Key players: Concord – Alex Marceau (goal), Andy Cole (goal), Matt Chorlian (assist), Liam O’Brien (assist), Cam Larivierre (assist), Griffin Gilbert (14 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Concord outshot Trinity, 45-16, in regulation, but were forced to go to a shootout after a scoreless five-minute overtime. Marceau and O’Brien scored in the shootout, giving the Tide a 2-1 advantage
Coach’s quote: “A very uninspired effort tonight. We need to play much better against Bow (today).” – Concord’s Dunc Walsh
John Stark-Hopkinton 4,
Hollis-Brookline/Derryfield 1
Key players: John Stark/Hopkinton – Brett Patnode (2 goals), Elijah Chapman (2 goals), Cam Bourque (assist), Noah Chapman (assist); H-B/Derryfield – Patrick MacDonald (51 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The General Hawks ran into a hot goalie, resulting in a scoreless tie after one period. John Stark-Hopkinton scored the first goal of the game in the second period and H-B/Derryfield responded to tie the game, 1-1, after two periods, but Chapman scored a pair of shorthanded goals in the third for the win.
Coach’s quote: “The team played well. We controlled the play throughout the game. We ran into another hot goaltender (MacDonald). We shot the puck to the net 55 times and MacDonald made some really good saves.” – John Stark-Hopkinton’s Denis Kolehmainen
Records: John Stark-Hopkinton 2-0; Hollis-Brookline/Derryfield 0-2
UNH Morning Meet
Key players: MV – Ryan latorella (1st shot put at 41-11) Joey Baylus (2nd 55, 2nd 55 hurdles, 2nd high jump), Isaiah Shedd (2nd 600), Matthew Lyle (2nd 1,000), Herman Nixon (3rd 600), David Reynolds (3rd 1,500), 4×160 (3rd), 4×400 (3rd), Matt Reynolds (4th 1,500), Nick Barlett (4th shot put), John Barger (5th 55, 5th 300), Joe Ostrowski (5th high jump), Matthew Ostrowski (6th 55 hurdles); Belmont – 4×160 (1st), River Mathieu (1st 55 in 7.24, 4th long jump), Ian Remenar (2nd 300, 5th 55 hurdles), Nick Randos (2nd 1,500), Eli Allman (3rd 55 hurdles), Isaiah Knowlton (4th 3,000), 4×400 (4th), Cole Contigiani (5th shot put), Eddie Mann (6th high jump); Gilford – Michael Wernig (5th 600)
Highlights/key moments: Latorella was the only individual winner for Merrimack Valley, but the Pride finished second in five others, including three runner-up efforts from Baylus and had four third-place finishes to lead MV (68 points) to the win over D-I Alvirne (60) in a ten-team meet. Belmont (49) finished third behind wins from Mathieu and the 4×160 relay. Nashua South (36), Pelham (34), Milford (32), Souhegan (6), Prospect Mountain (4), Gilford (2) and Hollis-Brookline (no score) rounded out the team scores. Wernig scored all of Gilford’s points with a fifth-place finish.
UNH Evening Meet
Key players: Coe-Brown – Orion Clachar (1st 55 hurdles in 8.54), Isaiah Allen (2nd shot put), Colin Cain (4th 300), Isaac Wells (4th 1,500), Ethan Barbeau (5th 300), Riley Smith (6th 1,500); Pembroke – Jason Schoeller (2nd 3,000), Wyatt Yeaton (4th 3,000); Bow – Brian Bushnell (5th long jump), 4×160 (6th), Mac Kimball (tied 6th high jump)
Highlights/key moments: Despite missing their top distance runners, the Bears still tallied 20 points thanks to a win by Clachar in the hurdles and a second-place finish by Allen in the shot put. Bedford dominated the meet with 79.5 points, more than doubling Kennett (36) and Nashua North (31). Coe-Brown finished seventh while Pembroke (8) and Bow 4.5) finished 10th and 11th in the 11-team meet.
UNH Morning Meet
Key players: MV – Kaitlyn Covell (1st 300 in 45.94, 1st 55 hurdles in 9.34), Asia Grace Hanson (3rd 600), Cassidy Considine (3rd 55, 4th long jump, 5th 300), 4×400 (3rd), Addie Hodge (tied 4th high jump, 5th long jump, 6th 55 hurdles), Lauren Rouse (4th 3,000), 4×160 (4th), Noelle Coluarusso (5th 1,500), Courtney Palmer (5th 55), Tristan Beyer (6th 55); Belmont – Alice Riley (1st 1,500 in 5:11), Jasmine Syed (5th 1,000), 4×400 (4th), 4×160 (6th); Gilford – Madison Relf (5th 3,000)
Highlights/key moments: Covell won two events and the Pride had another set of great performances from its underclassmen, as MV took third in a 10-team meet. D-I Alvirne (70), Milford (57.5) and MV (52.5) were the top three teams, followed by Souhegan (42), Nashua South (31), Belmont (16), Pelham (11), Prospect Mountain (6), Hollis-Brookline (5) and Gilford (2). Riley led Belmont with a win and Relf scored all of Gilford’s points with a fifth-place finish.
UNH Evening Meet
Key players: Pembroke – Emily Carignan (3rd shot put), Julia Valotto (4th high jump); Coe-Brown – Kathleen Collins (2nd shot put); Bow – Emory Bayer (3rd 55 hurdles);
Highlights/key moments: Pembroke, Coe-Brown and Bow each had one or two scoring performances in an 11-team meet at UNH. Bedford (106) and Central (66) dominated the meet, with Spaulding and Kennett tying for a distant third with 19 points. Pembroke (7), Coe-Brown (5) and Bow (4) finished ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively.
Concord 58, Exeter 18
Concord 62, Milford 0
Key players: Concord – Chris Munnell (2 wins at 160), Jake Pickard (2 wins at 152), George Tarwo (2 wins at 182)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide had wins from 13 different wrestlers to win a pair of dual meets on Friday at home to remain undefeated.
Records: Concord 5-0