BRISTOL – Ashlee Dukette gets a lot of attention on the basketball court, and it’s for the right reasons.
Coming off a 32-point game against Stevens in the first round of the Division III tournament, the Newfound sophomore was enemy No. 1 for Gilford in their quarterfinal matchup Saturday night. When Dukette had the ball, the Golden Eagles swarmed in. Off the ball, Gilford still kept a player in her vicinity in case a pass came her way.
With most eyes on Dukette, the offensive floor opened up as Newfound rifled quick passes back and forth until someone found an open look.
Amanda Johnston took advantage of that space on the block and led the Bears with 12 points and seven rebounds as No. 1 Newfound punched a ticket to its first Final Four since 2014 with a 45-34 win over ninth-seeded Gilford, the defending champions.
Dukette still fought through the Gilford (12-8) defense and hit double figures with 10 points. She led Newfound’s defense with four steals while pulling down four rebounds.
Dukette was feeling a little down at halftime after scoring only two points, but the attention she pulled away from her teammates was just as good as knocking down shots, according to her coach.
“I said ‘Ashlee, you’re not doing anything wrong,’ ” Peterson said. “ ‘They’re going to try to shut you down, so you do what you can do and someone else has to make the difference, somebody else has to make those shots.’ ”
Gilford Coach Rick Forge said his team had its best chance to win when Dukette was limited.
“We knew coming in (we) had to keep Ashlee off the boards,” Forge said. “She’s the best player in that program … and she’s one of the better players in the Lakes Region. You had to pick the poison and (Johnston) had a monster first half for them.”
Newfound (20-0) led by six at halftime and went on a 16-9 run in the third quarter with four 3-pointers. Three of those came from sophomore guard Madison Dalphonse, who brought the home half of the packed bleachers to its feet when her third one went through the net to give the Bears a comfortable 37-21 lead.
Dalphonse finished with nine points off the bench, third on the team behind Johnston and Dukette. Savanna Bony and Alexis Vantil scored five each, while Molly Schilling chipped in four and quarterbacked the offense at point guard.
“It was key when (Dalphonse) hit those three 3’s,” Peterson said. “The thing is when she starts hitting shots, she doesn’t miss.”
Gilford freshman Shelby Cole answered with a 3-pointer before the third quarter closed, but the Golden Eagles faced a steep 13-point deficit heading into the fourth against an unbeaten team.
Newfound played a quiet final quarter offensively with eight points while limiting Gilford to 10. The game ended on a buzzer-beater 3 by Cole, giving her a total of nine points for the night but it didn’t mean much on the scoreboard.
Kaitlyn VanBennekum led Gilford with 12 points and she was the only player on the roster to reach double digits. Stevie Orton was held to seven points, while Lexi Boisvert scored three and Lauren Dean had two.
The Golden Eagles cut a seven-point deficit down to one quickly in the first quarter and trailed 12-10 after Johnston hit a free throw with no time left, but Gilford fell back into Newfound’s wake in the second. Boisvert scored on a putback rebound to open the quarter and tie the score 12-12. A Gilford scoring drought ensued through the next seven minutes as Newfound added nine to its half of the scoreboard. Cole hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left before halftime, bringing the score to 21-15.
Newfound will face No. 4 Conant in the Final Four at SNHU on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)
No. 3 Monadnock 53,
No. 6 Kearsarge 33
Key players: Kearsarge – Caitlin Prescott (6 points), Courtney Lauster (6 points), Leslie Angus (5 points), Meg Roy (5 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars struggled to put the ball in the hoop in the first half and trailed 31-10 at halftime. Kearsarge outscored the Huskies, 23-21, in the second half, but the Cougars’ season came to an end in the D-III quarterfinals.
Coach’s quote: “It was a tale of two halves for us. We got down early. We couldn’t stop them offensively in the first half. We had a lot of trouble scoring. We couldn’t make any shots in the first half. In the second half we were able to pick it up a lot and hit some shots. The kids gave us everything they had tonight. It’s tough to end the season like this, but they played their hearts out. I’m super proud of this team to have the season they had. I’m unbelievably proud of them.” – Kearsarge’s Keith Roberts
Records: Monadnock 18-2; Kearsarge 15-5
Concord 1, Bishop Guertin 0
Key players: Concord – Ethan Donlon (goal), Matt Chorlian (assist), Alex Marceau (assist), Spencer Burgess (18 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Donlon scored with 5:04 left in the game and Marceau recorded his 100th career point as the Tide knocked off last year’s runner-up.
Coach’s quote: “A great hockey game. Our guys played well. A very tough game against a good team. We worked hard tonight.” – Concord’s Dunc Walsh
Records: Concord 15-3-0; Bishop Guertin 11-5-2
Oyster River 3,
Bishop Brady-Trinity-West 2, OT
Key players: Bishop Brady-Trinity-West – Sydney Herrington (2 goals), Brianna Brack (assist), Lauren Trippiedi (assist), Mary Anne Wiley (assist), Windsor (23 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Brady avenged an 11-1 embarrassment to Oyster River earlier this season by forcing overtime after scoring a goal with 7:39 left in the third period. Windsor stopped a penalty shot in the first, helping her team manage a 1-1 score after the first period before falling behind 2-1 after the second. The Giant Pioneers will likely be the No. 6 or No. 7 seed for the playoffs and travel to Berlin or Hanover.
Coach’s quote: “We really have improved a lot. We gave (Oyster River) a game.” – Brady-Trinity-West’s Dan Earley
Records: Brady-Trinity-West 8-9; Oyster River 12-5
Concord 56, Nashua North 55
Key players: Concord – Ashley Kelley (17 points), Kasie Maloney (16 points, 6 rebounds), Jada Duvert (8 rebounds, 4 assists) Brighid Weeden (9 points, 6 rebounds), Gabby Evans (8 points, 7 rebounds)
Highlights/key moments: Maloney scored all 16 of her points in the first half to give the Tide a 32-30 lead at halftime Friday night. Kelley made three 3-pointers in the second half and Concord had a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter. The Titans battled back to take a 55-53 lead with 28 seconds left, but Weeden sunk a 3 with 13 seconds left to seal the victory.
Coach’s quote: “The team played a solid game tonight. We received a lot of contributions from different players. It is a nice way to end the season with a win against a quality team.” – Concord’s Mike Achilles
Records: Concord 4-14; Nashua North 9-9