Font ResizeHINSDALE, N.H. -- The Groveton girls basketball team won the last four Granite State titles in Division 4.
On Friday night, Hinsdale made sure that streak wouldn’t continue.
The third-seeded Pacers used a late surge to knock the No. 6 Eagles out of the tournament with a 46-40 victory at "the Stable."
Hinsdale (17-3) will now play at Plymouth State College in the semis on Monday at 5:30 p.m., versus the winner of the Pittsfield-Moultonborough contest.
"This was a big win for us. This gave us a lot of confidence," said Pacers coach Terry Bonnette. "I’m proud of the girls. There’s no quit in us."
Using a 2-3 zone, the hosts held Groveton scoreless for the first 9:38. Bridget Bourne swatted two shots, Roxy Toussaint had a pair of steals, and Skylar Bonnette had one block and one takeaway to lead the defense.
Coach Bonnette said that he had gotten a scouting report before the game, which let him know that Jena Wheelock was Groveton’s shooting star. He then had his girls pack in the zone and keep an eye out for Wheelock on the perimeter.
Bourne and Skylar Bonnette each scored four points in the opening quarter, highlighted by Skylar’s finish on a 2-on-1 break with backcourt mate Allison Scott. Toussaint added a free throw and Scott banked home a deep deuce as the Pacers stole an 11-0 lead in the first quarter.
But after Scott delivered again from just inside the arc to
"We lost our composure. That’s what happens with a young team. That’s what happens to us," noted the Hinsdale coach.
Wheelock led the comeback, as she drained a 15-footer, went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and also sank a trifecta from the right corner. The visitors also got four points from Caroline Hall and a bunny from Shauna Randall before taking a 15-14 advantage to the break.
It was McKenzie Bonnette that kept the hosts in it in the third quarter. She drained two outside jumpers and then her third attempt rimmed out, but Bourne was there to clean up.
Meanwhile, the Eagles got a couple of buckets in transition and a pair of putbacks to help them take a 29-24 lead into the fourth quarter.
The home crowd went crazy when Skylar Bonnette’s make from downtown put the Pacers up 31-29 with 6:20 remaining. But six points from Hall allowed Groveton to go ahead 37-33 midway through the fourth quarter.
Hinsdale’s backcourt mates -- Skylar Bonnette and Scott -- would take over down the stretch, however, and score six points each during their team’s 13-3 rally.
Notes: Groveton won the Division 4 Championship from 2008-2011. They finished second to Sunapee in 2006 and 2007.
Shane Covey can be reached at scovey@reformer.com or by calling 802-254-2311, ext. 163.
