The Conant girls were dominant from start to finish in Wednesday night’s 60-27 win over Newfound in the NHIAA Division III girls’ basketball semifinals at Keene State College.
“I thought it was a great overall team win,” said head coach Brian Troy after the game. “I thought they really came out hungry. You could tell pregame that the girls were really feeling it, really loose and comfortable.”
The No. 1 Orioles (20-0) held the No. 4 Bears (15-4) to just one basket in the first quarter, led 23-3 in the second, and pulled ahead by as much as 38 by the end of the game. Conant’s balanced scoring attack was spearheaded by senior Silas Bernier, who hit five of seven three-pointers for a game-high 18 points along with nine rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Emma Tenters scored 12 points (6-7 FT) and grabbed seven rebounds, and Teagan Kirby, activated with her injured ankle taped, scored 12 as well and didn’t look to have lost a step after missing the quarterfinal game against Campbell.
Elizabeth Gonyea had nine points and five assists, drawing the Bears’ defensive focus and then setting up Bernier from deep.
“It seemed like Silas really benefited from all the attention Liz gets,” Troy said.
Newfound’s Paulina Huckins got into foul trouble early against Conant’s versatile bigs, picking up her third midway through the first quarter. Head coach Kammi Williams took the risk of putting Huckins back in the the game in the second quarter, and she played the rest of the way without fouling out, scoring a team-high 10 points.
Conant has now won 20 straight games; the team they’ll play Saturday for a shot at their record eighth Division III championship is the last team to beat them, over a year ago in the Final Four – Fall Mountain. The No. 2 Wildcats (17-3) held on to beat No. 3 Hopkinton (16-4) 44-34 in the earlier semifinal to earn their spot in the title game, set to tip at 4 p.m. Saturday at Keene State College.
“Fall Mountain, they bring a lot to the table,” Troy said. “We know they have a lot of shooters, we know they play tough.”