PEMBROKE – It had all the makings of a classic rivalry game between Bow and Pembroke: both teams were 3-0, both were coming off dominant wins and Pembroke wanted to avenge last year’s 42-26 loss in the D-II semifinal.

And while the Spartans hung tough through the first quarter, their relative inexperience cost them in their first game of the new year, a 45-22 loss.

From the opening tip, Bow’s defense did the talking.

“It’s kind of cliche, but that’s what we hang our hat on,” Bow head coach Phil Davis said. “We do a good job of pressuring, so we try to make people play against us for 94 feet, and (that) certainly can wear them down after a while."

Specifically, Davis singled out the performance of junior Sidney Roberge.

“She certainly is a defensive masterpiece,” he said. “She can slow down guards, she can slow down bigs, she did a good job on Annelise Dexter, who’s one of the best players in our division.”

Dexter, the Pembroke junior, finished with just six points on 3-for-14 shooting. Her offensive struggles were no anomaly on a night where Pembroke just couldn’t find any rhythm.

After hanging with Bow through a 13-5 first quarter, the lead gradually grew for the visitors. It was 28-11 at halftime and 40-18 by the end of the third quarter. The Falcons’ relentless effort defensively was just too much for the Spartans to overcome. Notably, Pembroke struggled to get second-chance opportunities on offensive possessions.

“We work on putting a lot of pressure on the ball, being in passing lanes,” Davis said. “If we’re properly in passing lanes, we should be in a good box-out position, and tonight we did a good job of boxing out against a team that’s much taller than us.”

Entering 2023 off a thorough 56-29 victory over Timberlane and three consecutive wins by double digits, Pembroke had every reason to feel confident coming into Tuesday’s game. But as head coach Steve Langevin explained, Bow’s skill level required an extra notch that his team just didn’t have.

“It was getting to see real defense played against you and (learning) how to deal with it,” he said. “When we’ve just been more talented than some of the teams we’ve played, we’ve gotten by with some things. When you’re playing a better, high-level team, you have to work together more to help each other get open.”

Langevin particularly highlighted his team’s struggles asserting any sort of physicality.

“They’re a feisty bunch, and we need to get to that point,” he said referring to Bow. “We need to get a lot more aggressive and fight for those loose balls and get stronger. Part of it is physically we’re not as strong as they are. We’re young.”

The Spartans have only one senior and three juniors on their roster; Bow has three seniors and two juniors. The difference in experience was clearly a deciding factor in the game’s outcome, one that saw the Falcons get the last laugh in this rivalry yet again.

“Anytime you can come down to a great gymnasium like this and win is good because there’s always fight in these games,” Davis said. “It’s just a lot of fun to be part of this rivalry. Local rivalries are great.”

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