No. 9 Kingswood 55, No. 8 MV 43
Key players: MV – Carly Huckins (17 points), Abby Grandmaison (13 points), Sara Osborne (8 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Pride was ousted from the playoffs in the first round in a tough loss to the hot-shooting Knights.
Coach’s quote: “When you are outrebounded, commit numerous fouls and send (your opponents) to the free-throw line, it’s a hard combination to overcome to win. The girls played hard and ran into a hot shooting team tonight.” – MV’s David Huckins
Records: Kingswood 13-6; MV 12-7
No. 2 Portsmouth 56,
No. 15 John Stark 25
Key players: John Stark – Jillian Douzanis (6 points), Chelsea Woodsum (5 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Clippers used their height to their advantage, jumping out to a 32-6 lead in the first half and sending the Generals home in the first round of the playoffs.
Coach’s quote: “The team was very compatible this year compared to years past, this competitive spirit is only getting brighter and the future is bright.” – John Stark’s Don Poitras
Records: Portsmouth 18-1; John Stark 6-13
No. 3 Bishop Brady 65,
No. 14. Pembroke 37
Key players: Bishop Brady – Sam Will (18 points, 6 blocks), Lauren Roy (11 points), Riley Bennett (9 points), Sofia Riccio (7 points); Pembroke – Brooklyn Zanis (12 points)
Highlights/key moments: Roy played great defense on Pembroke’s top shooter and Cait Mallahan scored crucial transition points to lift the Green Giants to a first-round victory in the playoffs. Bishop Brady will host No. 6 Hollis-Brookline in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Coach’s quote: “The girls came out with great fire and focus from the tip. We are excited to move on and advance in the tournament.” – Bishop Brady’s Annie Alosa
Records: Bishop Brady 17-2; Pembroke 7-12
No. 16 Winnisquam 65,
No. 17 Fall Mtn. 46
Key players: Winnisquam – Thomas Marchese (29 points, 8 assists), Logan Morrison (17 points), Kyle Mann (14 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears took a 22-8 lead after the first quarter and held on for a first-round victory over the Wildcats. Winnisquam’s lead was cut to 29-20 at halftime, but the Bears led 42-32 heading into the final frame. The Wildcats cut the lead to two points, but Marchese did a good job attacking the basket in the fourth to seal the win. Winnisquam will play at top-ranked Kearsarge in Thursday’s second-round matchup.
Coach’s quote: “Marchese refused to lose and kept attacking the hoop. Our guys didn’t want to be done.” – Winnisquam’s Kevin Dame
Records: Winnisquam 9-10; Fall Mtn. 6-13
No. 13 Portsmouth Christian 66,
No. 4 Pittsfield 56
Key players: Pittsfield – Cam Darrah (17 points, 5 rebounds), Josh Whittier (10 points, 10 rebounds), Dylan Bocash (10 points, 5 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: Pittsfield led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but Portsmouth Christian closed out the second quarter on a 6-0 run and cut the Panthers’ lead to 30-25. The Eagles outscored Pittsfield, 20-7, in the third quarter and shot 9-for-11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to seal the upset in the first round of the playoffs.
Coach’s quote: “A poor shooting night and not being able to execute on the defensive end caused us to have to take chances and PCA was able to exploit them and capitalize. I was happy with the boys’ effort, it just wasn’t our night.” – Pittsfield’s Jay Darrah
Records: Portsmouth Christian 8-11; Pittsfield 16-3
Pinkerton 54, Concord 52
Key players: Concord – Matt Giroux (14 points), Teddy Blodgett (13 points, 7 rebounds), Jacob Knowles (9 points, 7 rebounds), Collin Maloney (5 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: Giroux led the Tide with 14 points and became the second highest all-time scorer in program history and Blodgett played his best game of the year to fuel a second-half comeback that fell just short. Concord trailed 37-18 at halftime, but tied the game, 52-52, with 52 seconds left. The Tide had a chance to win, but turned the ball over and the Astros scored the winning basket with 18 seconds left.
Coach’s quote: “We were down 37-18 at halftime. We shot 7-for-29 (24 percent) in the first half. We had an opportunity to quit and just pack it in, but the resilience to come out of halftime and battle and outscore them 34-17 in the second half, I’m pretty proud of the effort they put forth in the second half. It’s a tribute to them.” – Concord’s Dave Chase
Records: Pinkerton 7-10; Concord 4-13
Hanover 48, Bishop Brady 40
Key players: Bishop Brady – Bryce Johnson (18 points, 10 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: Johnson recorded a double-double, but the Green Giants fell in a loss on the road to the Marauders. Bishop Brady closes out the regular season on Friday at home against second-place Lebanon.
Records: Hanover 7-9; Bishop Brady 9-8
Bow 55, Plymouth 41
Key players: Bow – Ryan Andrews (17 points), Ben Guertin (8 points), Nate Alford (8 points, 7 rebounds), Brendan Winch (8 points, 5 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: Bow outscored Plymouth 13-2 in the third quarter to overcome a one-point halftime deficit and pull away for the victory in the second half.
Coach’s quote: “The kids continue to battle. That’s two out of our last three that we’ve played really well. Now we need to get a win on Friday and get a little help to sneak in the back door of the playoffs.” – Bow’s Chris Gaudreau
Records: Bow 5-12; Plymouth 4-13
John Stark 70, Pembroke 67
Key players: John Stark – Cooper Gorski (22 points), Drew McQuarrie (16 points, 8 rebounds), Parker McQuarrie (13 points, 12 rebounds), Troy Gamache (4 4th quarter points); Pembroke – Jake Sherman (28 points, 6 3s), Noah Cummings (13 points), Sean Menard (11 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans got possession of the ball with 4.2 seconds left in the game, but couldn’t score on their final possession. The Generals built a lead as large as 10 points in the third and fourth quarter and Gamache hit some key buckets to stymie Pembroke runs to close the gap.
Coach’s quote: “I was proud of how the guys closed out the game.” – John Stark’s Mike Smith
Records: John Stark 10-7; Pembroke 6-10