Pembroke Academy head coach Steve Langevin knew what to expect when his Spartans took on Concord Christian Academy on Tuesday night. Simply put, “We know what they do. They do things really well.”

Concord Christian did most things really well, forcing turnovers and pushing the ball, making easy looks in transition, shooting a near-perfect 14-for-17 from the free throw line, and breaking open a one-score game in the fourth quarter as the Kingsmen won 65-55 on their home floor in a battle of unbeaten teams.

Concord Christian is now 10-0, the only undefeated team in Division II girls’ basketball, while Pembroke sits at 10-1.

“Well coached. Multiple scorers,” CCA assistant Matt Smith said of Pembroke. “A game like this is fun because it challenges you. Both teams got better tonight.”

Both teams feature 1,000 point scorers and a strong supporting cast, and both were on display throughout the night.

Sophomore Emma Smith had a game-high 27 points, scoring in every possible way, including perfect 7-for-7 shooting from the free throw line (the Kingsmen shot 14-for-17 as a team). 

Junior Lilli Carlile hustled all over the place, forcing turnovers with multiple steals near the midcourt and scoring on nearly all of her fastbreaks up the floor to finish with 22 points.

Pembroke senior Annelise Dexter scored 25 points and played well in the paint, while junior Kaitlin Arenella connected on more than half of her 3-point attempts scoring 15 points, all of them from deep.

Smith scored 10 points in the first quarter to give Concord Christian an 18-11 lead, but the Spartans went 4-for-7 from 3-point land in the second quarter. Arenella connected on three 3-pointers in the second frame, including one with 2:13 left in the half to give Pembroke its first lead of the night, 29-27.

The Kingsmen led 31-29 at halftime and led by as much as 38-31 in the third, but Dexter scored 13 of her 25 points in the quarter to Pembroke within two, 46-44, heading into the fourth.

“We decided at halftime that we needed to play our game and push the ball,” CCA head coach Rebecca Carlile said. “They did much better pushing the ball and making (Pembroke) work harder on defense and not just settling for a quick shot.”

Arenella made another 3 with 6:15 left in the game to give Pembroke a 51-50 lead. The Spartans didn’t score again until 44 seconds remained on the clock and the Kingsmen shot 6-for-9 from the field and 7-for-10 from the line in the fourth to secure the victory.

“Our defensive rotation, when we’re doing it correctly, is really unbelievable,” coach Carlile said. “The girls do a really great job talking to one another and getting where they need to be to shut down whoever is hot.” 

The 10-point victory is the closest game that Concord Christian has played in Division II. The Kingsmen might be D-II debutants, but this win established that they’re the favorites.

Coach Carlile credited Langevin’s coaching and Pembroke’s shooters for creating so many challenges for the Kingsmen, preventing them from establishing their high tempo, pressure game that they love for three quarters.

Despite the outcome on the scoreboard and Pembroke’s undefeated streak coming to an end, this game didn’t feel like as much of a loss as the Spartans walked off the floor.

“We were ready for what they did and they were ready for us too. It was a really good game, you get excited for games like this,” Langevin said. “We know we can compete with the best team. Now we can move on and focus on the rest of our games. We still have a lot. This is one game. It’s nice to have a game like this, but we have a bunch more tough games coming up. This (loss) isn’t a down for us, it’s a measuring stick to see where we are and where we can go from here.”

Both teams have more big games this week, with Concord Christian hosting D-I defending champions Bishop Guertin and Pembroke hosting Bow on Friday.