The Viking girls made big strides through the course of the regular season, which wrapped up last week with a pair of tough battles against Division I Keene – just the challenge Mascenic needed to raise their game in time for Thursday’s playoff opener.
The Vikings didn’t win either of their matchups against the Blackbirds, falling in Keene Tuesday and then losing 59-32 Friday in New Ipswich. But their late-season ability to hang in and execute their offense against a bigger, deeper, DI opponent is all head coach Troy Shaw needed to see. Shaw pointed out that the Blackbirds pulled their starters in the fourth quarter of their first matchup, but played their best lineup the whole way Friday night.
“I told the girls they deserve a pat on the back because we made [Keene] think ‘we can’t take this team lightly,’” Shaw said.
The Vikings had no answers for Keene’s size Friday night, especially without injured forward Hannah Zina, and Kaitlyn Lemnah took advantage. Lemnah exploded for 12 of her game-high 19 points in the second half as the Blackbirds pulled away for the win.
Even in the loss, Mascenic displayed increased confidence and evolved execution compared to their season’s start about six weeks ago. Kenzie Cormier led the Vikings with nine points on three three-pointers and Ella Pearson added seven points.
Mascenic will need to click on all cylinders if they’re going to win their first game of the season in their road NHIAA Division III tournament matchup at Hillsboro-Deering Thursday at 7 p.m. In a normal year, the Vikings might have played the Hillcats twice, but this year, they never crossed paths, so all Shaw and the Vikings can do is prepare themselves for whatever might come their way.
“I have the utmost confidence in our team,” Shaw said, “and look forward to the opportunity to play Hillsborough in our first playoff game.”
Monadnock 49, Conant 40
The Orioles lost their third straight game to the Huskies Friday night in Jaffrey. Conant is now 1-3 against the Monadnock team they’ll host in the NHIAA Division III tournament opener at the Pratt Monday night.
Garrett Somero (14 points) and Colson Seppala (13 points) were both in double figures for Conant.
Keene 57, Mascenic 31
The Blackbirds locked up the Vikings Friday night, holding Mascenic under 10 points in every quarter on the way to a Keene win.
Dylan Barthel led Mascenic with nine points and Gabe Turner added seven.
Mascenic is at Hillsboro-Deering for their playoff opener on Wednesday.
Hinsdale 62, Wilton-Lyndeborough 44
The Pacers started their game in Wilton on a 24-0 run Friday night and never looked back, leaving the Warriors winless at the conclusion of the regular season.
WLC is at Mount Royal Monday night after press time to open the NHIAA Division IV tournament.
Salem 44, ConVal 31
The Cougars played tremendous defense at Salem Thursday night, but couldn’t buy a bucket. ConVal only scored nine points in the first half before returning the favor and holding Salem to eight in the second half, but the early lead was plenty for the home team, despite the Cougars cutting the 27-point halftime lead in half.
Thirty-one points is the lowest total for ConVal (1-5) all season; the Cougars scored their highest total of theyear, 63, in the previous game.
“We had all the same looks,” head coach Kevin Proctor said. “Ball just wouldn’t drop.”
The Cougars have a home playoff game against Lebanon Friday night at 7 p.m.