EXETER – Merrimack Valley stormed back from an 11-point deficit to within one point of Derryfield late in Wednesday’s Division II semifinals. But the Pride’s longest postseason run in more than a decade came to an end down the stretch in a 44-40 loss to the No. 2 seed.
Pride head coach Bob McNutt said he was proud of the team’s defense to get back in the game and their ability to push ahead after an arduous three quarters.
“They work extremely hard, that’s who we are,” said McNutt, whose team finished the season at 15-5 and reached the semis with a dramatic win over Bow. “We’re a team that fights, a team that defensively gets down.”
Merrimack Valley seniors Jada Lucas, Izzy Navoy and Lauren Bailey all had high-impact steals, while Lucas and junior Lila Gray cleaned up the boards.
Down seven going into the fourth, the team came close but struggled from the line late in the game. The team also had key baskets off the bench from freshman Amelia Mottram and senior Aaliyah Tsao.
In their lone meeting this season, the Cougars came away with a 44-35 win. It wasn’t entirely comfortable for Derryfield and was one of its closer wins, but a victory nonetheless. Derryfield had also bested Merrimack Valley in last year’s quarterfinal, 50-45.
Derryfield head coach Courtney Cheetham said her team did well to stay calm and take good shots down the stretch under pressure in a very similar game to the previous encounters.
“They made a run, we overcame it. And that’s what teams that get to the finals can do, and that was all just heart,” Cheetham said.
Derryfield came out of the gate hot and went ahead 14-3 with three three-pointers by junior guard Holly Dufoe. Valley’s Lauren Bailey scored the only three for the team, but was supported by senior Izzy Navoy and sophomore Emma McNutt to cut it down to 14-7.
The second quarter was more of the same. Dufoe added eight points to her tally while the Pride searched and searched for high-quality shots.
Navoy assisted on three baskets and scored six points to keep the Pride fighting. The team went into the half still down, 27-21.
The Merrimack Valley offense had come alive, but the defense was getting out-rebounded inside as it tried to apply more pressure on the perimeter.
Its defense held much better in the second half, but for the second consecutive year, Derryfield had the Pride’s number.
“They’ve sort of been our Achilles’ heel. We’re losing five seniors that I’m very proud of, that put a lot of time into this program,” McNutt said.
Derryfield managed a 10-point fourth quarter to stay ahead after the Pride cut the score to 36-35. Dufoe led the team with 21 points, followed by sophomore guard Anna Fazelat with 11.
Derryfield will move on to play No. 1 Pembroke (20-0) in the championship on Saturday at UNH’s Lundholm Gym with tip-off scheduled for 12 p.m.
“Pembroke’s pretty well spread out and anyone can score on any night. So, they’re undefeated for a reason,” Derryfield’s Cheetham said.