Pembroke seniors Hailey Steinmetz, Ava Strazzeri and Kate Stephens and junior Anne Phillips all scored in the last three minutes as the Spartans outplayed Pelham down the stretch in a 47-42 Division II semifinal matchup.
“At one point, we were only up one point and I think that really helped us step it up,” Stephens said. “We work every single day on these types of situations in practice. It really helped in that moment.”
The Spartans will play No. 2 Derryfield (18-2), which defeated Merrimack Valley in the earlier semifinal, at UNH on Saturday at noon.
On Wednesday, the No. 1 Spartans (20-0) proved to be too powerful and got a big win over No. 4 Pelham (16-5) to keep their streak going in hopes of completing an undefeated season. It almost wasn’t so, though, as Pelham brought it as close as a one-point game after going down by 12 points.
Pembroke coach Noah Cummings said his team has been undefeated because of their versatility throughout the squad. He tried to prepare them mentally — to feel confident in their abilities when it matters most.
“It goes to one point, some teams can get rattled in those moments and I give the girls so much credit because they stayed composed,” he said.
The Pembroke Spartans advanced in a nailbiter against Pelham in the D-II semis, with a 47-42 win on March 11, 2026. Credit: CHIP GRIFFIN / Photos by Chip 
First-year Pembroke girls’ basketball head coach, Noah Cummings, watches his team against Pelham in the D-II semifinals, fighting to stay undefeated to reach the state championship. Credit: CHIP GRIFFIN / Photos by Chip
The win returned Pembroke’s girls to the state championship for just the second time this century, last making it in 2024, and kept them in the hunt for the program’s second state title since last winning it all in 1980.
“Last year we fell short, the year before that we fell short. It just feels really great to be in this situation,” Steinmetz said after the win.
Everyone did a little bit of everything defensively in the first half. Stephens had multiple assists, steals and blocks to kickstart the attack, complemented by strong positioning generally. The team went up 12-4 after the first quarter and 22-10 at the half.
The game seemed to be headed in a similar direction as the regular season match-up between the two, 58-34, in Pembroke’s favor.
In the second half, Pembroke still had to be careful. It took tireless effort throughout to stay ahead.
“We know that’s a team that’s going to battle no matter what,” Cummings said about Pelham’s resolve to fight back.
The Pythons had a monstrous 19-point third quarter, primarily powered by junior Jess Phillips and senior Ava Milley.
It was a complete back and forth with Pelham pressuring the ball closely and winning the battle on the boards. Both teams racked up over five fouls in the mayhem.
Only down six, Pelham scored another seven to start the fourth quarter and bring the game within one point, 36-35, with three minutes left.
“They worked hard. They knew they could come back and we had it [down to] one point,” said Pelham’s coach, Robert Shepard.
Pembroke’s Tessa Love had been the only one to score since Ava Strazzeri in the third quarter, and the Spartans knew they needed more.
Strazzeri broke the drought first with a pull-up jumper. Phillips drove into an open lane to lay one up. After the Pythons lost possession out of bounds, Stephens saved a long throw from Love and flipped it to the cutting Steinmetz for an easy bucket.
With two minutes remaining, Steinmetz ran back the other way and came up with a big block on Pelham’s driving Phillips to keep the score at 43-36.
The lead would whittle down to as close as 43-40, and then Stephens came up clutch again with an and-1 drive to seal the game.
“I’m so glad I made that, it was really big,” she said. “I knew the game was ending after that.”