The top four seeds made it out of the quarterfinal round and are ready to square off in a new location at Keene State College. 

 Jennifer Chick-Ruth and I will be in the house tomorrow night to bring you the coverage of both Hopkinton vs. Fall Mountain and Newfound vs. Conant.  

 Today’s preview is brought to you by our friends and partners at Concord Orthopaedics with locations in Concord, Derry, Windham, and New London. 

 

#3 Hopkinton vs #2 Fall Mountain  

Hopkinton Team Page 

Fall Mountain Team Page

 Fall Mountain took the only regular-season meeting between these two 51-39 back in early January. Since then, Hopkinton has not dropped a game since January 17th and Fall Mountain has lost just two games to Conant.

 Both deserve to be here and both have a chance to make it to the title game on Saturday afternoon.  

 Jen and I saw Hopkinton grind out a win over #11 Monadnock in what was an instant classic (check out the highlights here). A Brooke Carlson three to win it was quite the way to cap off a win that meant so much to this group.  

 Monadnock did a really nice job of limiting the amount of open looks Maurgan McGrath could get off. She was held to just three points on Saturday night but she impacted the game by making the right reads. Pat Roye is going to do his best to get his all-state shooting guard open-looks because they will need all of the offense they can get.  

 Katie Meserve will be asked to control the rebounding game just as she did against Monadnock. The second she touches the ball in the low post instant double-teams are thrown her way. A lot of plays that get Meserve open looks are when she down screens and pins the smaller defender. Fall Mountain has decent size, but Meserve should be able to dominate if she can get the right looks. 

 Elle Owen willed this team offensively in their win over Monadnock. She played arguably her best game of the season when it counted the most. The senior can attack you in a variety of ways. She is a great glue player for this team, doing everything you ask of her on the court. If she can put together another performance like we saw on Saturday that is a huge plus for Hopkinton.  

 Fiona Beane is a great pass-first point guard for this team. You can tell she has a great understanding of the game and makes the right pass a good amount of the time. Point guards are so important in the playoffs because if you have one who can manage the game, especially on the big floor, it can be the difference between a win and a loss. Beane can really control the outcome with her decision-making.  

 Brooke Carlson hit the shot of her life to help Hopkinton get to this point.   A player who is not known much for her scoring had the confidence to take the shot with the game on the line. Carlson is such an easy player to have on the floor simply based off of the effort she puts in. We will see what she brings on Wednesday night. 

 Hopkinton will want this to be another low-scoring contest. They forced Conant into a low-scoring game earlier in the year and are hoping to do the same to Fall Mountain. If they can control the pace they can win this game. 

 Fall Mountain took care of business with Prospect Mountain in the quarterfinals and are ready to keep the momentum going forward. 

 Avery Stewart has been terrific for Fall Mountain. I have talked about her inside-out game all year long, but it really is remarkable the way she has dominated at times as just a sophomore. Her experience from last season's playoff run will be so valuable this year. She looked poised as a freshman, so I am expecting an even better version of that player this time around. 

 Sophie Bardis has really come on the last few weeks. The junior led the team in scoring with 17 points on Saturday night and her play has elevated this group's ceiling. Having a player like Stewart alongside Bardis makes it a tough combination for opposing defenses to stop. 

 Makenna Grillone has elevated her play drastically over the course of the season. She has stepped up when called upon and has done her best to impact the game both offensively and defensively. She is the X-factor in this game. She is the third option for Fall Mountain but with the amount of pressure Stewart and Bardis will most likely face, Grillone instantly becomes the second or even first option at times. 

 Morgan Beauregard and Shea Pickering are the players to watch for. What production do you get out of them on the big stage? Role players are extra important in the playoffs, especially on a bigger floor like Keene State. If Hopkinton wants to play a defensive game, you need Beauregard and Pickering to step up and get you 6-8 points. 

 Fall Mountain has been in this situation before. With a good core of last year's group back and a year older, they hold the advantage. They have vengeance on their minds and want back in the title game. 

 

#4 Newfound vs #1 Conant 

Newfound Team Page 

Conant Team Page 

 Newfound protected home-court against a White Mountains team that had their number twice this season and Conant remains the last standing undefeated team in Division III with a close victory against Campbell. This will be the first time the teams will be getting a look at each other. 

The third time was a charm as Newfound finally got past White Mountains. The deciding factor in that game was putting a box-and-one on Aviara Challinor which caused some confusion on the Spartans side.  

 Malina Bohlmann has at times been the best player on the floor for Newfound as just a freshman. She has been the number one option at points this year and her play on the defensive end has been underrated. She was huge defensively guarding Challinor in the quarterfinals and her play ultimately got them to this point. It will be interesting to see how she plays on the big floor.  

 Paulin Huckins's play has only gone up during her sophomore season. From January 31st on, Huckins really started stringing together strong performances. I am interested to see how long Conant goes before putting Emma Tenters into the game to match up with Huckins. The Orioles are athletic enough to keep up with Huckins, but they will need height to keep her off of the boards.  

 Junior Tiffany Doan will be important as ever tomorrow night. Doan put together two of her best performances of the season with 15 and 18 points against Gilford and Somersworth. With Doan playing good basketball at the right time, she is instantly a player to look out for in the scouting report.  

 Bailey Fairbank is another player who is playing well at the right time. Conant is the best of the best in the division, the Bears will need everyone to step up and contribute in one way or another.  

 Campbell gave Conant quite the scare in the quarterfinals. Conant handled the Cougars pretty easily during the last game of the regular season in a 73-29 win but found themselves down to that same exact team at the half 29-27.  

 The Orioles needed a game like that. It was by far their closest game of the season, and to be able to pull out the victory in the playoffs is a great sign.  

 Silas Bernier put the team on her back on Saturday night, scoring a team-high 18 points before fouling out. As a senior, Bernier has been in these situations before. I have always said she is a player who steps up when the lights are brightest and I am sure she will do just that tomorrow night. I am sure Bernier has envisioned where she wants her career to end, and I don't think she wants it to be Wednesday night. 

 Elizabeth Gonyea will be needed on both ends of the floor. I wouldn't be surprised to see her get a few possesions on Paulina Huckins. Her play defensively is just as good as her play on the offensive end. She can disrupt the flow of an opposing offense, and in the playoffs defense means everything. 

 With the health of Teagan Kirby up in the air, the Orioles are going to need freshman Brynn Rautiola and Emma Tenters to be relied upon even more. The moment has never fazed these too, and I don't expect that to change on the big floor. 

 Rautiola has a sweet outside shot. Her ability to score has really shown over the past two months and she has grown with every game. She is never afraid to take a shot. Conant needs the same confident player they have seen all season. 

 Tenters at 6'0" has locked down the paint for Conant. I am intrigued to see how she handles Paulina Huckins as I am sure she will be going back and forth with her on multiple possessions. 

 Mylie Aho and Regan Despres provide yet another defensive spark for this group. Despres was key in the win against Campbell and Aho has been very consistent throughout the year. 

 Conant has been the team to beat all season long. If they play with the same mentality they have all year and use the quarterfinal game as fuel, the Orioles have a very good chance of moving onto Saturday's title bout.