With the playoffs underway for Division I and II, today's Thursday Thoughts will take a look at Division III and IV and where both divisions currently stand as the regular season wraps up in the next few weeks. 

 Expect a podcast from Jennifer Chick-Ruth and I on Friday breaking down quarterfinal matchups for Division I and II. 

 Today's column is brought to you by our friends at partners at White Mountains Community College! 

Division III

Division III Standings & Scoring Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches: Matt Baird-Torney of Fall Mountain, Scott Currier of Gilford, and Pat Roye of Hopkinton 

Power Rankings

1. Conant 

2. Fall Mountain 

3. Stevens 

4. Kearsarge

5. Monadnock

6. Newfound

7. Hopkinton 

8. Prospect Mountain 

9. Gilford 

10. St Thomas. Aquinas

Notes from the week: Newfound is back and picked up their best win of the year over Stevens 45-33 on their home floor. Stevens is a team with size, but it seems like they had no answer for all-state center Paulina Huckins who scored 19 points in the win. This win really makes things interesting in Division III. It is fair to say Conant is a Final Four team, but after that, it could be any combination of Newfound, Fall Mountain, Stevens, Kearsarge, Monadnock, or Hopkinton. Even teams like Prospect Mountain and Gilford won't be an easy out in the quarterfinals. We needed to see more of the Bears before properly assessing them, and that win certainly puts them in top-four contention... Monadnock did arguably the unthinkable up to this point in the year and were neck-and-neck with Conant for four quarters. Defense has been the recipe for success for the Huskies and that was on full display as Grace LeClair held Division III Player of the Year candidate Emma Tenters scoreless in the first half. A Brynn Rautiola free throw was the difference-maker as the Orioles escaped with a narrow 43-42 victory. Watch out for the Huskies folks...  Prospect Mountain at 13-2 have the potential for a top-four seed which could certainly make for an interesting tournament. They have proven they can stay with a team like Newfound, splitting regular-season matchups, and have also split games with a team like Gilford who is in top-eight contention. While they haven't seen the likes of a Conant or Fall Mountain, they have won the games they are supposed to. Hannah Capsalis has put together another all-state level season and the Timberwolves can be considered a dark horse for the Final Four. They have taken care of business on their end, and it will be interesting to see who they could potentially see in a quarterfinal matchup. 

Division IV

Division IV Standings & Scoring Leaders

 Gold Level Coaches: Derek Tremblay of Mount Royal, Courtney Cheetham and Mark Gouveia of Derryfield, and Duane Call of Colebrook

Power Rankings

1. Concord Christian

2. Derryfield

3. Pittsburg-Cannan 

4. Littleton 

5. Woodsville

6. Groveton

7. Colebrook

8. Newmarket

9. Sunapee

10. Hinsdale

Notes from the week: Groveton bounced back with a 48-37 win over Colebrook behind a 21 point performance from Marissa Kenison. We saw two weeks ago the all-state forward scored just 8 points and was unable to get anything going up in Colebrook, so that performance was huge for her and the Eagles who hope to stay in contention for a top seed... Littleton picked up a big win over Division III White Mountains to split the season series with the Spartans.  A big one with Colebrook is up next on Friday and then a meeting with Woodsville is on the schedule for the following day. This next stretch could make or break the Crusaders as it pertains to a top-four seed. Colebrook is never an easy gym to go into and with Woodsville back at full strength, Saturday's game should be much different than the first time these teams meet a few weeks ago. Lauren McKee has been one of the best players in the division all season long and has been good for nearly 15 points a night. If that can keep up and the supporting cast continues to play well on both ends Littleton should be a tough out in both outings... Hinsdale hasn't been able to consistently be on the floor much this year, but a 59-36 win over PCA followed by two wins over Holy Family was deserving a top ten spot this week. Hinsdale has been atop the division for the past few years and still have experienced players in Megan Roberts (14.3 ppg) and Addy Nardolillo (12.7 ppg) who can light you up from anywhere on the floor. If the Pacers can find some momentum in these next few games they can carve out a spot for themselves in the playoffs... BIG win for Colebrook 50-44 over Pittsburg-Cannan to split the season series with the Yellow Jackets. This creates even more havoc in the North Country, as seeding will certainly come down to the last day of the regular season.