Do you want the good news or the bad news first? All right, good news it is. The Conant girls’ basketball team is cruising through Division III right now; after a pair of wins against Stevens and Hopkinton last week, the Orioles are 7-2. The bad news? There are four undefeated teams – Monadnock, Kearsarge, Newfound, Prospect Mountain ahead of them in the division. Plus, Sanborn, with only one loss (against Prospect Mountain), is just ahead of Conant at 7-1.
Of those threats, none are more immediate than Monadnock. The Huskies already handed the Orioles one of their two losses this season, and as the two play twice a year, at least, Monadnock and coach Curt Dutilley are quite familar with Conant. The Orioles had games scheduled against the division’s two worst teams, Raymond and Hillsboro-Deering, before squaring off with the Huskies once again on Tuesday night.
Conant will follow that tough matchup with a game against the only other team to beat them this year, Fall Mountain. Counting holiday tournaments, the Wildcats and Orioles have played six times over the past two years, and each game has been tooth-and-nail.
Conant head coach Brian Troy said he has a lot of respect for both of those programs, but that the Orioles can beat them.
“I think, first and foremost, the energy, enthusiasm and excitement need to be at a tremendously high level,” Troy said. “If you come out flat and don’t have that intensity, it’s a tough hill to climb.”
And he said, the Orioles need to limit second chance opportunities and take care of the ball to have a chance.
“If you turn the ball over and don’t rebound at a championship level, you will be exposed by both of those teams.”
After those two, the Orioles’ schedule isn’t terribly tough – Hillsboro-Deering, Campbell and ConVal are a combined 5-19. However, the slate ends with two of those top teams – Sanborn and Kearsarge.
Conant travels to winless Raymond Friday at 6:30 p.m., Monadnock Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and Fall Mountain next Friday at 6:30 p.m.