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The WMCC Girls Basketball Playoff Notes and Thoughts

By Lance Legere, 03/04/21, 6:00AM EST

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McKenzie Kingsbury of Woodsville (photo by Corey McKean)

 At one time we didn't know if we would have a season. Now here we are, in the midst of what should be a great playoff run throughout the state. 

 Today I will dive into each Division and all four regions with how they stand today and what they may look like going forward. I will also dive into what our plans are for a potential NHSportspage girls basketball senior team. 

 Today's column is brought to you by our longtime friends and partners at White Mountains Community College who help bring you the coverage of everything in the North Country! 

 

Senior Team 

 The past few years Dave has put together a team of seniors and upperclassmen on the boy's side to go up against BABC, one of the top AAU programs in the country. 

 With our girl's coverage taking off like it has, Dave and I have spoken about putting together a senior team on the girl's side and putting them up against a top-tier AAU program. We plan to make that happen this June and will have more information in the coming months about a head coach and how the team shakes out.  

 This is something that the girls deserve that participate in and is something we look forward to working on as the winter season winds down in the coming weeks. 

 

We will be out at two games this Friday

Austin Grass and I will be in Bedford when they take on the Cardiac Crusaders for a chance at the quarterfinals 

'The Franchise" Jennifer Chick-Ruth and Dave Haley will bring you the coverage of Bow at Hanover in what should be a great Division II matchup. 

 

Division I 

Tournament Bracket 

Region 1: Portsmouth escapes the first round with a great defensive performance against a Winnacunnet team that is a year away from being a good playoff team. 

 The Clippers also get the benefit of the doubt and get to host Dover instead of having to go on the road. Exeter and Spaulding will be beating each other up on the other side of the bracket and then have to face a Portsmouth team who has played close contests with both squads this season. 

 We saw Spaulding take the last regular-season matchup with the Blue Hawks and having home-court will certainly be to the advantage of the Red Raiders. In a normal season, both of these teams would be competing for a chance at the Final Four, but this time around it will be for a shot at the quarterfinals. This game is a coin toss, I wouldn't be surprised if it went either way.

Region 2: Jess Carrier loves clutch moments against Manchester Central. It was no surprise that the Memorial-Central game went down to the wire and the Crusaders got it done in dramatic fashion in overtime to face a Bedford team that has Final Four aspirations. 

 This will be a great contest to be at Friday night. Greg Cotreau and Kevin Gibbs are two of the best coaches the state has to offer, and will both have their teams ready for battle. This is the toughest region in the division, and these are the types of games you live for in the playoffs. This game will all come down to who dictates the pace. If you let Bedford get out and push the tempo, Memorial is in trouble. If the Crusaders can make Bedford play at their speed and slow the game down they certainly have a chance at the upset. This is going to be a very good chess match. 

 Trinity grabbed a huge come-from-behind win over Goffstown and have another crack at Concord. Although the Crimson Tide got had their number to finish the regular season, I expect the cinderella Pioneers to put up a good fight. 

 Concord is finally healthy and playing well at the right time. This is exactly the momentum they needed heading into the playoffs to try and make a deep run. 

Region 3: It was definitely a bummer to see Pinkerton have to call it a season after a positive case within the program. I was very high on the Astros and certainly think they were a Final Four capable team. 

 That leaves Windham-Merrimack and Londonderry-Salem as your two matchups on Friday night. Windham is the favorite after the great regular season they put together and also the play of Sarah Dempsey has proven to be first-team all-state worthy. 

Gillian Waller has been spectacular for Merrimack and Bryan Duggan's squad certainly has a fighting chance against the Jaguars. These two split their regular season games and home-court advantage for Merrimack won't be taken lightly. Keep an eye on this game. 

We know what Londonderry is capable of in the playoffs, but we can't count out a Ricky Oliver-coached team. Salem has struggled this year, but maybe they have something up their sleeve for the postseason.

Region 4: Nashua South picked up a well-earned win over Alvirne in the first round but have the beast that is Bishop Guertin awaiting them on Friday night. South played BG to a 49-32 contest in late February and will give it their best against a well-coached and very talented Cardinals squad. 

 Nashua North should have their way with Keene to get to the quarterfinals, but with the way this postseason has gone who knows what could happen. 

 

Division II 

Tournament Bracket

Region 1: It is crazy to say, but Pembroke could be a quarterfinal team. Steve Langevin has done a great job with a very young group that should give Coe-Brown everything they can handle. 

 I think teams have discovered that forcing anyone outside of Jenny Bettencourt and Valentina White to score is the way to beat the Bears. Those two can break out at any moment, and have a shot advance on their home floor.  

 I predicted the winner of Sanborn-Bishop Brady would be the winner out of Region 1 and that still stands true. The Giants fought of a senior-leaden Sanborn team and should have their way with Timberlane. 

 Sanborn was the only team that had a chance to shut down the Brady offense. There isn't a team left in this region that has the same firepower to compete in a shootout with this group. 

Region 2: With how things stand, it looks like we will get Pelham-Hollis Brookline in the quarterfinals. It was great to see Manchester West get the opening round win over Souhegan, but the youth and inexperience that both West and Milford have on their rosters will make it tough to compete in the prelims. 

 Hollis-Brookline has been a bit all over the place this year. The Cavaliers haven't been at full strength the last few weeks, particularly without Catherine Colbert, which has made it tough to get a read on this group. 

 Pelham has a mix of youth and great senior leaders who feel this is the year to make a run. Bob Shephard felt his team was capable of going far last season, but injuries made it tough to go anywhere. At full strength, the Pythons are confident they can make it to the Final Four. 

Region 3: Hanover-Bow may be the best game in all of the state on Friday night. These two battled it out toa 60-50 contest in favor of Hanover just a few weeks ago, and this time around should be no different. 

 Hanover has a multitude of weapons that can hurt you, but Bow has a defense that can take many of those options away. How this game is called will dictate the outcome. If Bow can stay out of foul trouble and stay physical throughout, they have a shot of pulling an upset off on the road. If it is a tight-called game, don't be surprised to see a few of the Falcons foul out. 

 Lebanon will most likely await the winner as ConVal hasn't had enough time to get into a real groove this season with such a shortened schedule. The Raiders are never an easy out and would give either team a good matchup with a shot at the semis on the line. 

Region 4: Both games could go either way between Laconia-Merrimack Valley and Plymouth-Kennett. 

I like Merrimack Valley to get the upset, but it all depends on what team shows up. We have seen nights where they click on both ends, but we have also seen this team go through slumps where they can't buy a basket and mental errors get the best of them. If they bring their A-game, they will give Laconia all they can handle. 

 The offensive firepower for Laconia will be tough to compete with. If Laconia can get this game into the 50's-60's, they should be able to take this one with no problems. MV will need to turn this into a grind-it-out affair to keep it close. 

 Plymouth has been a sneaky group all year, and have shown that they can score with a team like Laconia. The only thing going against them is that Kennett handled them pretty easily during the regular season. Does that matter when it comes to the playoffs? The Eagles certainly have a mental advantage going into Friday night, but those games are a thing of the past once the ball gets inbounded. 

 

Division III 

Tournament Bracket 

Region 1: This is still Newfound's region until proven otherwise. Belmont is the second-best team left standing, but draw the Bears in the prelims. 

 Home-court advantage may play in the favor of Winnisquam, but don't sleep on White Mountains. Both teams have solid young cores that will benefit from a quarterfinal run.

Region 2: Kearsarge draws the toughest game in the division with Fall Mountain. Teams who have been able to shut down Caroline Camp and hold her to single digits have found success, and Fall Mountain has the personnel to do just that. I'm not counting the Cougars out, but they will have their hands full. 

 I like Stevens on the other side, and if they are to play Fall Mountain in the quarters I could see it going either way. Fall Mountain barely squeaked out a 50-49 win to end the regular season over Stevens, but they also handled them just fine the game before 58-25. The Cardinals always put up a good fight against this group, and I would expect nothing less especially in the playoffs.

Region 3: The Orioles got it done on the road in Hopkinton to start off the playoffs and should have no problem with the field that remains. Conant has dominated the regular season matchups with Monadnock and should have no problem this time around. We should see Conant in the semis with a chance to get back to the finals in sight. 

Region 4: Campbell having home-court throughout should only further their case that they are the favorites in Region 4. It will be interesting to see how St Thomas competes tomorrow night as Campbell holds a significant size advantage. 

 Prospect Mountain is still a mystery. Can they match up with Campbell? From what Rick Burley told me in the preseason they don't lack size. They have depth as well which should come into play. We saw the job Sean Hogan did last year with his group against Conant in the quarters last year, so I expect Campbell to be ready to go and move onto the semifinals. 

 

Division IV 

Tournament Bracket 

Region 1: Newmarket dominated PCA and I was very surprised to see them win by 25. That isn't a knock against the Mules, I just thought PCA was a tough draw in the first round. 

 It seems that Newmarket has figured things out since we saw them in early February, which is trouble for Epping. Being on their home floor will help, but they will need to play a complete game to beat Newmarket. There has been at least one quarter in nearly every game that Epping has struggled to score in. I don't think they can afford that to happen if they want to move onto the quarters. 

 Farmington should have no problem with Pittsfield and should be awaiting whoever makes it out of the top of the bracket. Both Epping and Newmarket have gotten the better of the Tigers this season and both teams have done so by forcing Farmington to beat them with anyone but Chloe Weeks and Jaclyn Peaslee. We will see how the quarters pan out here, but I like how Newmarket is playing coming in. 

Region 2: This region comes down to Derryfield and Hinsdale. Is Emmy Plage enough to get by Hinsdale? We saw her sister Ava Plage step up with 16 points in the first round against Mount Royal, but this Hinsdale defense is a much tougher opponent. 

 With a healthy Shawna Lesmeries, I think Derryifeld can force a different outcome, but there is no one on the Cougars who can contain Angelina Nardolillo and the shooters she has on the perimeter. 

Region 3: Concord Christian gave Woodsville quite the scare on Tuesday night and proved that they are going to be a very fun team these next few years with the young core they are starting to build. 

 What made that game close was the turnovers that Concord Christian forced with their full-court pressure. That is something Woodsville will have to clean up as the playoffs go on. The big positive from that game was their free throw shooting down the stretch. The Engineers know how to get it done in the clutch and that play should have them sitting in the semifinals on Sunday night. 

Region 4: The big question here is can either Groveton or Littleton catch Colebrook on an off night. The Mohawks beat both teams soundly in the regular season, but both also competed in their playoff matchups last season.   

 Groveton at home is always a tough game, but they will need a complete performance and a whole lot of scoring to compete with the Mohawks. 

 Littleton should get by Gorham (as much as that pains me to say) and will rely upon Hannah Brown, Olivia Corrigan, and Lauren McKee to keep them in it with the Mohawks. 

 Colebrook needs a third scorer to emerge to make a deep run. Whether it is Ariana Lord, Emma McKeage, or Sierra Riff, one of those players will be called upon to hit the double-digit mark if Colebrook wants to go back-to-back. 

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