MANCHESTER, NH – The New Hampshire high school winter sports season has gone the way of the snow on the ground.
And though some flakes may yet still fall, Granite State high school basketball and hockey players will have to wait until next December to compete again at the varsity level.
Many local same local athletes, however, now carry with them memories playoff success, some having been a part of deeper tournament runs than others.
Here’s a glance at how it all shook out over the last month, starting with the Queen City’s one varsity championship:
Girls basketball
The Derryfeld School girls basketball team lost twice in the regular season. That’s two more losses than they experienced in the postseason.
Competing in the Division-II tournament, the second-ranked Cougars ran the table, first avenging a regular season loss against No. 7 Souhegan, with a 38-31 home win on March 7 in the playoff quarterfinals.
Then, after earning a 44-40 win over Merrimack Valley in the semifinals, which were hosted at Rochester Community Center, Derryfield avenged its other loss of the season on the state’s biggest stage.
Indeed, the Cougars, who lost to to top-ranked and undefeated Pembroke Academy, 43-36 in their season opener on Dec. 12 – earned a 57-41 victory over those same Spartans on March 14 to capture the program’s first D-II statescrown in dominant fashion.
Better yet, Derryfield is expected to return all but one player for their title defense next season.
Additional playoff teams:
- The No. 7-ranked Manchester Central/West girls basketball team hosted a first-round playoff game in the D-I tournament on March 2 but fell to No. 10 Salem, 39-24.
- Also in the D-I tourney, No. 9 Trinity High School girls were narrowly defeated at No. 8 Bishop Guertin, 44-40.
- The third-ranked Holy Family girls basketball team reached the D-IV quarterfinals where they were upset at home, 51-47, against No. 7 Farmington. To get there, the Griffins thumped No. 14 Pittsfield, 52-19, in the first round.
Boys basketball
The third-ranked Trinity High School boys basketball team followed-up a 15-3 regular season with a 60-46 home victory over 14th-ranked Londonderry on in the first round of the Division-I tournament.
Then, after surviving an upset scare to edge No. 7 Alvirne, 62-60 in overtime of the quarterfinals, the Pioneers pulled off an upset of their own, traveling to Rochester Community Center and defeating second-seeded Bedford, 60-46.
Trinity’s title bid came up just short, however, as they fell to No. 4 Pinkerton, 63-50, in the D-I championship game on March 14.
Additional playoff teams:
- Manchester Memorial (8-11), the No. 12 seed in the D-I tournament, nearly pulled off an upset against fifth-ranked Bishop Guertin, but fell, 45-41, in the defensive battle.
- In Division II, Manchester West carried a 14-4 record into the playoffs where the Blue Knights were the No. 3 seed. They won, 58-4, in the first round over No. 14 Milford on March 3 and triumphed over No. 11 Souhegan, 48-38, in the state quarterfinals on March 7, but met their match against second-ranked Pelham, 54-49, in the D-II semifinals at Rochester Recreation Center.
- Missing a couple key players for disciplinary reasons, the eighth-ranked Derryfield School boys basketball team hosted a first-round playoff game but were defeated by ninth-seeded Kearsarge, 41-32.
- In D-IV, the 7th-seeded Holy Family boys reached the state quarterfinals where the Griffins fell at No. 2 Hinssdals, 59-47. pulled away late for a 56-46 victory over No. 10 Moultonborough on Feb. 24. Two-days later, the Griffins fell to second-seeded Hinsdale, 59-47, in the D-IV quarterfinals.
Boys ice hockey
Division I
Despite entering the Trinity High School boys ice hockey team entering the playoffs with a 15-2-1 regular-season record and first-round bye, the Pioneers were upset in the quarterfinals by No. 10 Hanover, 5-2, on March 7,
Girls ice hockey
Division I
The No. 5-seed Bishop Brady-Trinity-Bow (Brinity) girls ice hockey team earned a 4-1 victory over No. 4 St. Thomas/Winnacunnet/Dover in the first round, but then lost to No. 8 Hanover in the state semifinals on March 10.
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