MANCHESTER, N.H. – Taking chances can often lead to mistakes, and those mistakes can multiply as the number of chances taken grows. However, one can look at the mistakes or one can look at the fact that nothing can be achieved if those chances are not taken.
That was the philosophy of Manchester Memorial girls’ basketball coach Greg Coutreau on Friday night as his squad narrowly defeated the Crimson Tide of Concord, 48-45.
When the two teams met on Tuesday in Concord, Memorial was down 41-15 with five minutes left in the third quarter before ultimately losing by just seven points. That loss gave Memorial a two-part template for victory for the home rematch.
First, a more compact defensive approach was needed to provide support against Concord’s three six-foot plus forwards. Second, Memorial would need to drive to the basket often and not be afraid to take shots.
The Crusaders did struggle offensively, going a combined 16-for-40 from the field as many shots appeared forced. However, they made enough shots that their defense could more than make up any shortcomings as Memorial held a healthy lead early on, building a 21-13 advantage heading into the half.
Concord started a full court press late in the third and it began to pay dividends as the Crimson Tide came back from a deficit as high as 13 to even the game up at 45 with three minutes before the final buzzer.
The Crusaders would ultimately hang on despite going 3-for-9 from the foul line after Concord tied the contest thanks in large part to the leadership of senior Jessica Carrier, who at one point managed to get a rebound off a missed free throw single-handedly against all five Concord players as her teammates waited on the other side of the floor to prevent a possible fast break.
“They’re a really good team, they’re a Top 4 team in Division 1, so we expected them to go on a run,” said Coutreau. “(But) we stayed composed and we did what we needed to do.”
Concord sophomore Ava Woodman led all scorers with 20 points, also adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Concord senior Jordyn Lengle fell just short of a double-double, ending with nine points, nine rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Freshman
led the Crusaders with 13 points while Carrier contributed six steals, eight rebounds and a block along with her nine points.
Concord now heads to Nashua for a Wednesday matchup against Bishop Guertin while Memorial begins a home-and-home against Winnacunnet next Tuesday.