There shouldn’t have been any surprises for the Concord High School girls’ basketball team on Thursday night against Keene. The Tide played – and lost – to the Blackbirds on the road exactly one week ago and both the players and coaching staff had a pretty good sense of what to expect in the rematch.
That was until Keene put on its best Golden State Warriors impression.
“We tried to stay on, what we thought from the last game and scouts, were their best 3-point shooters,” Concord Coach Mike Achilles said. “I don’t know many people they had make a 3, but it was very widespread … We didn’t realize that all of them would be taking the 3 tonight. They weren’t hesitant with it and give them credit, they were able to put those down.”
By the time the final whistle was blown the Blackbirds (4-7) had piled up 10 3-pointers in all, blowing past an eight-point halftime deficit to pound the Tide (2-9) in the second half en route to a 57-49 victory in Concord.
“Usually we match up pretty well with the bigs and outside shooters but I don’t know, I think we struggled with that tonight,” Concord senior captain Emily Otto said. “Actually (last Friday), they didn’t shoot much from the outside. There were a couple players that did, but a lot of them showed up again today so it was a lot harder to get out there.”
Keene connected on four triples in the first quarter alone to finish with five at the break and nullified a 15-0 run from the Tide in the second quarter by adding three more in the third and a pair in the fourth – the last of which was part of a 7-0 run to give the Blackbirds a six-point cushion.
Keene’s Jocelyn Pellerin (16 points, three 3’s), Rian Soucia (9 points, three 3’s) and Mayzie Hunter (13 points, two 3’s) contributed to most of the damage as the Tide was outscored in the second half, 35-19.
“We were a little tentative in the first five, six minutes, but then when we came out with a lot of energy, we got that lead up and they were running the ball well,” Achilles said. “I thought near the end of the third when they started coming back in, we couldn’t respond to their energy. I think they fed off cutting down the lead and we just didn’t have that same level of energy that we had in the first half.”
Concord’s halftime lead stuck until he final moment of the third quarter when Maddy White snuck inside for an easy layup to give the Blackbirds a 38-36 advantage. While Keene’s shooting remained hot, the Tide hit a cold spell as a one-point deficit quickly ballooned to eight with a quick spurt from Keene.
The Tide shot 19 of 57 from the floor and never found its stroke from deep, going 1-for-15 from beyond the arc in a contest where just a few 3-pointers could have swung the game in a different direction.
“Regardless of our record and how we’ve been playing … I was just really proud that the girls came out and put down a solid effort for as long as they could,” Achilles said. “When you scuffle a little bit like we have, it can be hard to turn back a run, especially after you’ve exerted a lot of energy for three quarters.”
Junior Brighid Weeden filled the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and five steals to lead Concord while Kasie Maloney added 13 points with seven rebounds and Jada Duvert chipped in with eight points. Otto finished with four points to go along with seven rebounds for the Tide.
Concord, which has lost eight in a row, will resume play on Tuesday at home against Salem (5-7).
“I think our team is coming together overall,” Otto said. “Just seeing how it’s gone and how our team has come even closer throughout the season, I still have some hope left. … I think everyone’s spirits are still up and we’re still looking forward to these games and hopefully we can pull out a couple more wins and maybe make the playoffs.”
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3340, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)
Bow 41, Pembroke 39
Key players: Bow – Taylor Darrell (16 points), Lea Crompton (10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists); Pembroke – Olivia Langevin (19 points), Morgan Allen (10 points)
Highlights/key moments: Crompton hit a basket with less than five seconds to play for the game-winner, snapping the Falcons out of their brief two-game losing streak.
Records: Bow 7-4; Pembroke 4-8
Portsmouth Christian 33, Pittsfield 22
Key players: Pittsfield – Lindsey Massey (15 points, 8 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: Pittsfield came out of the gates strong with 11 first-quarter points, but the Panthers struggled to find ways to score against PCA’s defense for the remainder of the game.
Coach’s quote: “When you have one player scoring over half the total points it becomes difficult to win. Lindsey had a good game but we needed other players to contribute.” – Pittsfield’s Heidi Hall
Records: Portsmouth Christian 7-7; Pittsfield 2-11
Franklin 60, Newport 37
Key players: Franklin – Jayden Torres (18 points), T.J. Laramie (17 points), Bryan Sweet (8 points), Matt Hennessey (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: With a narrow lead at the half, the Golden Tornadoes opened things up with a 27-6 run in the third quarter. The victory snapped Franklin’s five-game losing streak.
Coach’s quote: “I thought we were over confident and it gave Newport early life. A little pep talk at half might of cleared some things up.” – Franklin’s Michael Donnell
Records: Franklin 4-8; Newport 0-12
Concord 2nd
Key players: Concord – Gracey Devanny (9th, 1:11.16), Ella Fabozzi (11th, 1:16.41), Lily Desgroseilliers (15th, 1:16.70)
Highlights/key moments: Matching up with some of Division I’s best Alpine teams at a six-school race at Pat’s Peak, the Tide skied to second place finish with a score of 371 in the giant slalom event behind Devanny, Fabozzi and Desgroseilliers. Bedford earned the top spot with 394 points
Concord 2nd
Key players: Concord – Shane Hyland (3rd, 1:02.30), Aidan MacWhinnie (9th, 1:05.72), Cole Gorham (14th, 1:09.48)
Highlights/key moments: Behind top-10 finishes for Hyland and MacWhinnie, the Crimson Tide pulled out a second-place team finish in a six-school giant slalom race at Pat’s Peak. Concord finished with a score of 369 points, 17 shy of first-place Bedford.
Bow 7, Goffstown 3
Key players: Bow – Doug Champagne (4 goals), Chris Mead (1 goal, 3 assists), Colin Tracy (3 assists)
Highlights/key moments: In a tight contest through the first two periods, the Falcons exploded for four goals in the third led by Champagne and Mead to take total control in Wednesday’s game.
Coach’s quote: “We came out slow and Goffstown took it to us early taking an early lead. The kids fought back and showed our senior leadership in the third period.” – Bow’s Tim Walsh
Records: Bow 11-1-1; Goffstown 8-3
Berlin-Gorham 10, Laconia-Winnisquam 2
Key players: Laconia-Winnisquam – Cole Reid (goal, assist), Noah Wirth (goal, assist), Christian Vaughan, Noah Smith
Highlights/key moments: Reid got the Wolfpack going in the second period but the Mountaineers matched a season-high in goals scored to hand Laconia-Winnisquam its 10th straight loss on Wednesday.
Coach’s quote: “Berlin looks good and should be competing for a Division championship this season. … We hung tough and played hard.” – Laconia-Winnisquam’s Kent Finemore
Records: Laconia-Winnisquam 0-10; Berlin-Gorham 9-2