Tori Andrewski sparked the Cougars to start, and Rayna Tucker provided the finishing touches on Monday night in North Sutton.
Andrewski scored eight of her nine points in the first quarter, and Tucker went 6-for-8 from the free throw line in the fourth to help the Kearsarge girls’ basketball team claim a 47-36 win against John Stark.
“We played well tonight,” Kearsarge coach Keith Roberts said. “John Stark is a very physical team and I think we matched that.”
The Cougars improve to 3-0 with the win while the Generals drop to 0-2. With the school district under strict safety guidelines, Stark had just three practices before playing its season-opening game on Saturday against Bow, a 54-22 loss. There was some improvement in this one, but Stark is still well behind most teams.
“It went about as expected. We have a young team and we haven’t had any time to get them ready,” Stark coach Bruce Johnson said. “We executed for a few minutes, but most of the time it was non-existent. The kids are willing to work, they just haven’t been able to.”
And the Generals won’t get any more chances to work this week. Stark athletics are back on pause until Saturday, which means the rematch between these two scheduled for Thursday has been canceled.
Behind Andrewski, who also had 13 rebounds, Kearsarge (3-0) took a 13-9 lead after the first quarter on Monday and pushed it to 21-14 by halftime. Caroline Camp then scored seven of her team-high 13 points in the third quarter and Kearsarge was up 33-23 headed to the fourth.
“All the kids really played well tonight with our young players really contributing to the win,” Roberts said.
Merrimack Valley 46, Pembroke Academy 45
Key players: Merrimack Valley — Hayley Kenney (13 points), Macy Gordon (7 points), Emily Koufos (7 points), Hadleigh Sargent (11 points); Pembroke Academy — Annelise Dexter (20 points), Britney Hill (9 points)
Highlights: It was another back-and-forth game between these two area rivals. MV had the last possession and Kenney, a senior, made it count with the game-winning free throw.
Coach’s quote: “We struggled offensively early and didn’t do many things well. In the second half we did a better job of rebounding on the defensive end and getting baskets in transition. We played with some energy and toughness and it showed. We will see PA again on Thursday and I’m sure it will be another battle.” — MV’s Bob McNutt
“The fourth-straight game for us that was decided in the final minute. Great effort from both teams. I think the biggest lead was four or five points for either team. Freshman Annelise Dexter has been good in our first three games, but this was her best game not only scoring but setting up her teammates for good chances.” — PA’s Steve Langevin
Records: Merrimack Valley 2-4; Pembroke Academy 1-3
Bishop Brady 76, Coe Brown 52
Key players: Bishop Brady — Halle Laramie (19, points), Ami Rivera (14 points), Libbey Hicks (13 points), Isabella Rivera (10 points), Meg Pellerin (7 points); Coe-Brown – Jenny Bettencourt (18 points), Valentina White (11 points), Molly Ewing (6 points), Natalie Riley (6 points)
Highlights: Bishop Brady was making shots from the start, building a 12-point lead in the first half that only grew as the 3-pointers kept raining down in the third quarter.
Coach’s quote: “It was a good to see our girls come out and play well tonight. It is the third time we are playing (Coe-Brown) this year and sometimes that is difficult, but our girls came out and played well. We have a tendency to come out slow in the third quarter, but we didn’t allow that to happen tonight, so it was nice to build on that.” — Brady’s Sal Alosa
“The Brady girls are experienced and we aren’t there yet. Every game, the younger girls get more comfortable the better chance we have in March.” — Coe-Brown’s Joe Vachon
Records: Bishop Brady 5-0; Coe Brown 2-4
Bow 66, Hillsboro-Deering 18
Key players: Bow — Alex Larrabee (12 points), Bella LaPerle (12 points), Maddie Speckman (8 points), Juliette Tarsa (8 points); Hillsboro-Deering — Emily Howell (12 points), Gracie Atkins (3 points)
Coach’s quote: “Tonight we had an unbelievable balance on offensive side of the floor.” — Bow’s Phil Davis / coach
Records: Bow 4-0; Hillsboro-Deering 0-4
Bedford 39, Concord 31
Key players: Concord — Ivan Yen (14 points), Nate Bengtson (7 points), Shaddy Fleurant (great effort and energy)
Highlights:
Records: Bedford 3-0 ; Concord 2-2
Pembroke Academy 57, Merrimack Valley 43
Key players: Pembroke Academy — Mike Pittman (21 points, 7 rebounds), Preston Wallis (18 points), Shondell Hadley (8 points, 7 rebounds); Merrimack Valley — Griffin Wheeler (20 points), Eli Gove (16 points)
Highlights: The Spartans built a nine-point advantage in the first half in Pembroke, 26-17, and then posted 17 points in the third to up their lead to 43-26 going into the fourth. Effective defensive pressure from MV cut its deficit to 10 points in the final frame, but PA found a few layups in the closing moments for the comfortable win. These two meet again on Thursday in Penacook.
Coach’s quote: “I thought we did a tremendous job controlling the glass and controlling the tempo of the game. We did a pretty decent job defensively, although we did have some defensive breakdowns in the second half that we certainly will have to address before Thursday. I take my hat off to Merrimack Valley. Those kids played hard every possession offensively and defensively until the final buzzer, each and every one of them. It was a typical Merrimack Valley-Pembroke game.” — Pembroke’s Rich Otis
Records: Pembroke Academy 3-1; Merrimack Valley 2-4
Bow 64, Hillsboro-Deering 54
Key players: Bow — Shaun Lover (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), Matt Lamy (16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals), Lincoln Routhier (13 points), Owen Petretta (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), Cooper Larrabbe (7 rebounds); Hillsbor-Deeringo — Zack Coombs (21 points), Owen Coombs (10 points)
Highlights: Division II Bow used its depth, and took advantage of some late errors and missed free throws from D-III H-D, to pull out this win on the road.
Coach’s quote: “Our depth and balance helped us again tonight, but we also understand there’s room to growth, especially on the defensive end.” — Bow’s Tim Lee
Records: Bow 4-0; Hillsboro-Deering 0-3
Kearsarge 68, John Stark 38
Key players: Kearsarge — Chris Stanchfield (20 points, 4 assists), Sam Carl (14 points, 5 assists), George Jallah (7 points, 6 rebounds), Adam Reeve (7 points), Connor Pillsbury (6 points, 5 rebounds)
Highlights: The Cougars turned defense into offense to earn the win in Weare.
Coach’s quote: “Great defense led to some great run outs and fast break points. It’s nice to see their hard work on defense lead to buckets on the offensive end. We had tremendous balance tonight, with Chris and Sam leading us once again, but many players chipping in to help our cause. It was a great team effort on the road against a well-coached D-II school.” — Kearsarge’s Nate Camp
Records: Kearsarge 3-0; John Stark 0-1
Pittsfield 53, Franklin 39
Key players: Pittsfield — Jesse MacGlashing (14 points, 6 rebounds), Ben Marcotte (12 points, 8 rebounds), Jordan Roode (11 points); Franklin — Zack Douville (7 points), Justin Kurinsleas (7 points), Dawson LaFrance (6 points)
Highlights: The Panthers hopped out to a 12-4 lead, but Franklin responded with an 8-4 run, and only trailed 16-12 after one. The Tornadoes continued their tough play in the second, briefly taking the lead, 21-20, only to see Pittsfield end the quarter on a 5-0 run and carry a 25-21 edge into the locker room at halftime. The Panthers cranked up the defensive pressure in the third, holding Franklin to just five points in the quarter to take control of the game.
Coach’s quote: “I was really pleased to see Riley Reed step up and play point for us with Jah Gordon in foul trouble all night. MacGlashing did a great job defensively holding their leading scorer to single digits and limiting his quality looks.” — Pittsfield’s Jay Darrah
Records: Pittsfield 5-0; Franklin 2-2
Bedford 2, Concord 1
Key players: Concord — Noah Drew (goal), Tyler Coskren (assist), Colin Nelson (assist), Kevin Jones (16 saves)
Highlights: Bedford jumped out to 2-0 lead just three minutes into this game on Sunday. The Crimson Tide cut the lead in half late in the second period on Drew’s goal, but couldn’t get any closer against the Bulldogs.
Coach’s quote: “We hung in and had chances, but we just couldn’t tie it up.” — Concord’s Dunc Walsh
Records: Bedford 3-0; Concord 4-1
Pembroke Academy-Campbell 3, Belmont-Gilford 1
Key players: Pembroke Academy-Campbell — Matt Dexter (goal, assist), Andrew Durfee (goal, assist), Cameron Plumb (goal), Zach Sonia (2 assists), Nathan Perry (assist), Matt Dunn (30 saves); Belmont-Gilford — Max Bartlett (goal)
Highlights: PAC took a 1-0 lead on Plumb’s goal (assisted by Sonia and Durfee) in the first period at Everett Arena on Saturday night. Dexter and Bartlett both scored in the second period as PAC took a 2-1 lead into the third, where Durfee added an insurance goal. B-G held a 31-24 advantage in shots, but freshman Dunn came up big in net for PAC for his first varsity win.
Records: Pembroke Academy-Campbell 3-0-0; Belmont-Gilford 0-1-0
Boys: Concord 36, Goffstown 32; Girls: Concord 51, Goffstown 50, John Stark 4
Key players: Concord boys – James LeMahieu (1st 200 IM, 1st 500 free, 1st 100 breast), David Wicks (1st 50 free, 1st 100 free, 1st 110 back); Concord girls – Lexi Quinn (1st 50 free, 1st 200 free, 1st 500 free), Rayya Burns (1st 100 back, 2nd 50 free, 2nd 100 free), Lily Peterson (1st 100 free), Catie Gaudette (3rd 200 free); John Stark girls – Abigail Gaudette (3rd 100 fly, 5th 50 free)
Highlights: LeMahieu and Wicks, the only two boys’ swimming for the Tide, were both triple winners to sweep all six boys’ races, while Quinn also won three races for the Concord girls, leading the Tide to a pair of victories over Goffstown and John Stark at the Allard Center YMCA on Sunday. The Concord girls won five of the eight events.
Coach’s quote: “The boys did all they could do with a team of two. The team showed up to swim today. We had some really nice swims. This season has been, and will be, short but they are taking advantage of the opportunities they have. Again, I was very pleased that these kids have put their heads down and focused on what they are there to do.” – Concord’s Bill Quinn.