Merrimack Valley 44, Concord 38
Key players: MV – Alyssa Woodman (10 points, 4 steals), Hayley Kenney (7 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds), Aislinn McDonald (8 rebounds, 3 steals), Lauren Pettingill (7 points), Macy Gordon (6 points, 2 steals); Concord – Ava Woodman (10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, block), Kylar Buchholz (14 rebounds, 5 points), Jordyn Lengle (11 rebounds, 7 points, 2 steals, block), Jessica White (8 points, 7 rebounds)
Highlights: The Pride trailed, 18-15, at halftime, but outscored Concord in the third quarter, 14-7, to secure a spot in the Capital Area Holiday Tournament championship. MV advanced to the finals despite getting outplayed on the glass by the Tide, 46-26. The Pride will play against Bishop Brady in Tuesday’s final, which tips off at NHTI’s Crocker Wellness Center at noon. Concord got into foul trouble early and couldn’t recover in the second half, while the Pride took advantage of its opportunities at the free throw line.
Coaches’ quotes: “I thought our girls played real well. We had a game plan defensively that we stuck to and we executed down the stretch offensively. I think our bench provided a huge boost for us vs. a tough Concord team on a big floor. They have a lot of size and I thought our bigs did a good job limiting offensive possessions for Concord. Good team win and the girls look forward to the challenge vs. Brady.” – MV’s Bob McNutt
“We faced quite a bit of adversity today. Our girls did a nice job of keeping their composure and focusing on the things that we could control – attitude and effort. With all of our foul trouble we were never really able to get into a rhythm offensively. This game will be a good lesson to learn from moving forward.” – Concord’s Tim LaTorra
Records: MV 1-1 in D-II; Concord 1-0 in D-I