Manchester
Friday night’s NHIAA Division II championship game was the latest shining example, as the top-ranked Raiders held Hollis Brookline to just 12-for-44 shooting from the floor to lead from the middle of the first quarter onward in a 44-35 win over the No. 6 Cavaliers at the Southern New Hampshire University Field House.
It’s the second time in five years the Raiders (24-1; 22-0 D-II) have gone undefeated in league play, their lone loss coming in a holiday tournament against D-I Bedford.
With its sixth championship overall, Lebanon improved to 3-3 in finals appearances since 2007. Unlike some of their predecessors, this year’s Raiders dominated with more grit than glamour.
“I don’t mean this in a negative way, but this wasn’t the best team we’ve ever had in terms of sheer talent,” said 25th-year Lebanon coach Tim Kehoe, who wrapped up his fifth title. “But it was, by far, the most consistent. It’s a very smart team that makes good decisions, and it plays excellent man-to-man defense.”
So learned Hollis Brookline leading scorer Cassandra Stapelfeld (15 points), who was limited to eight points through three quarters after dropping 27 in the Cavs’ win over Portsmouth in the semis.
Stapelfeld finished 4-for-14 from the floor while struggling in man coverage against Lebanon senior Josephine Brown — who filled in admirably this year for guard Meredith Melendy following the latter’s season-ending knee injury in December — as well as sophomores Anna Wolke and Zoe Soule.
“It wasn’t the type of game you normally see from Cassandra Stapelfeld,” Hollis Brookline coach Bob Murphy said. “They gave us problems in the defensive end all night.”
The Cavaliers (16-6 league) also were strong defensively, especially in limiting Lebanon forwards Rebecca Wright (11 points) and Joslin Wainwright (seven points) on the blocks.
Fortunately for the Raiders, they had the smooth-moving Wolke, who dashed her way for 10 of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter.
The sophomore sank three quick baskets around a Stapelfeld 3-pointer to start the game. After Hollis Brookline seized its only lead of the night at 7-6 midway through the quarter, Wolke responded with two more transition buckets, first on a feed by Kassidee Rogers and the next on a steal and fast-break layup to make it 10-7.
“(Hollis Brookline) was playing zone, so she was able to get open, and she’s the type of kid who isn’t afraid of these moments,” Kehoe said. “She was great in that situation.”
The teams combined for just nine points in the second quarter, trading turnovers and struggling from both the field and the free-throw line. Hollis Brookline’s Joanna Balsamo (eight points, eight rebounds) stuffed in a putback late in the first half, but Wainwright found Maddie Hastings (seven points, five rebounds) to make it 18-10 at halftime.
The Cavaliers hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter to twice pull within four points, but Wolke and Wright answered with jumpers.
An underhanded scoop by Wainwright early in the fourth quarter gave Lebanon its largest lead, 33-24, but Raider turnovers helped Hollis Brookline respond with a 7-0 run to pull within 33-31.
Hastings stopped the bleeding for Lebanon with a layup before Wainwright began taking over for the Raiders. The senior scored six points and pulled down nine of her game-high 18 rebounds in the final period, hitting a layup on a feed from Hastings and grabbing consecutive offensive boards that caused Cavaliers center Elizabeth Atkinson to foul out.
Wainwright put back a Wolke free throw miss to give the Raiders a 39-32 lead with 1:30 to play. Stapelfeld drained a 3 moments later to make it a four-point game with 1:10 to go, but the Raiders went 5-for-8 from the line in the final 54 seconds to ice it.
Hastings (2-for-4), Wright (2-for-2) and Brown (1-for-2) contributed during the high-pressure final minute.
“We had so many girls step up for us this year, and you saw that tonight,” Wainwright said. “We played with a lot of leadership and confidence.”
Free Throws: Wolke also led the Raiders in scoring with 15 points during their 55-38 win over the Cavaliers in January. … It was Kehoe’s first championship since his brother, Ed — a longtime basketball coach who won three state titles at Mascoma — died of brain cancer at age 50. “We were at all of each other’s championship games and always pointed at each other after we won,” Kehoe said. “Tonight I made sure to point at the sky for him.” … As soon as the final horn sounded, Wainwright ran to the bench to share a long embrace with best friend Melendy, who’s been out since tearing her ACL on Dec. 13 against Bishop Brady. … Lebanon improved to 6-9 all-time in championship games. … Lebanon shot 40.9 percent (18-for-44) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from the free-throw line. The Cavs (6-for-14) also struggled at the line … Lebanon loses Wainright, Melendy, Rogers, Brown and Olivia Greeley to graduation.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.