KINGSTON – No. 1 Bow (20-0) found itself in unfamiliar territory midway through the first period of Wednesday night’s Division II semifinal at Sanborn High School: trailing by multiple possessions.
No. 5 Laconia (14-5) opened up a 7-0 lead to start the game; the Falcons couldn’t find any offense, and because of that, couldn’t set up their lethal full-court press defense.
“Probably all season, they’re the only team that has done that to us with a solid 7-0 start,” Bow head coach Phil Davis said. “Our group hasn’t played from behind very much. … They played a 2-3 zone against us, and they have the length, they’re big, they slowed us down and we didn’t get into transition. Without us making baskets, it’s hard to put our press into play and really push the pace.”
Through the second quarter, the Falcons started to find rhythm, ultimately taking a 17-16 lead to halftime. Bow then led 30-27 after three, before securing a 42-35 victory and a spot in the D-II championship game on Sunday at the University of New Hampshire against No. 2 Kennett.
Bow keyed in on slowing down Laconia’s Macy Swormstedt, one of the top players in the state. She finished the game with just 10 points. Meanwhile, the Falcons received 16 from Lyndsey LaPerle and 14 from Juliette Tarsa.
But the game wasn’t one for much offense, as the final score indicates. And that shouldn’t necessarily have come as a surprise. When these two teams matched up on Jan. 18, Bow won, 40-28.
One wrinkle Laconia presented that the Falcons haven’t seen much of this year was a more emphasized use of ball screens. Even for players bringing the ball up the floor, Bow’s press couldn’t disrupt in the backcourt as much as usual because screens impeded clear trap and steal opportunities.
“Our goal wasn’t necessarily to steal with our press, it was just to make them work up the court, and then we were going to try to spring it on them a couple times in trapping situations,” Davis said. “That’s why they were able to get up the court. Our goal was trying, best we could, to keep it out of Macy’s hands, but they did a such a good job of setting high screens and making sure she had good cuts to the hoop and certainly saw her towards the end with dribble drives to the hoop.”
But regardless of how ugly the performance looked, Bow secured the win which, at this point in the season, is all that matters. Now a date with a Kennett team the Falcons beat by just 10 in early February awaits.
Wednesday night presented a test Bow hadn’t truly faced all season, but it showed that even if pushed out of its comfort zone, the Falcons can still find a way to win.
“Just to be in that situation, be in a tight game, I think it’s a perfect recipe for us going against an excellent Kennett team who we’ve seen already, but we know how good they are,” Davis said. “I think it just prepared us. We had to grind one out. The only March (adage) is survive and advance. The girls did a great job of that.”