Holderness, n.h.
But the Engineers senior knows her history. Sometimes, the curse feels real.
Woodsville ran into a brick wall named Angelina Nardorillo in Monday’s 41-34 loss to No. 2 Hinsdale in the NHIAA Division IV semifinals at Plymouth State University’s John C. Foley Gymnasium. The Engineers, who entered the game on a 10-game win streak dating back to Jan. 15, have never appeared in a divisional championship game in school history, according to NHIAA records. The program’s last semifinal appearance was nine years ago.
“It just feels like we always fall short,” Clough said. “We’re always right there, but we never pull through and finish it. It’s really frustrating.”
Nardorillo, Hinsdale’s tall, athletic freshman star, made sure the Engineers (16-5) went home disappointed. She made life miserable for Woodsville’s shooters, using her length to bother Clough, senior Lily Kinder and freshman Olivia Sarkis underneath the basket. On the other end of the floor, Nardorillo worked magic, scoring a game-high 22 points to send Hinsdale (19-1) to its second state championship game in five seasons.
“Not only offensively, but defensively,” said Hinsdale head coach Terry Bonnette. “(Woodsville) had two girls her size. Even in foul trouble, she was still blocking shots, changing shots. … She started last year as an eighth-grader, and we worked with her over the summer. She’s going to be a good player.
“Angelina, not only is she big, she has nice post moves,” he added. “Tonight, she might have been a little tired. She had two girls on her all game. I knew they tried to wear her down and get her in foul trouble, and they did.”
Nardorillo fouled out with 1 minute, 6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, with the Engineers trailing by five points. Hinsdale made four of eight free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
“We had trouble with Nardorillo. Man, that’s a pretty solid freshman,” said Russ Wilcox, Woodsville’s fourth-year head coach.
“She played awesome tonight. We thought we had a pretty good game plan and she still scored at will, when she wanted to.
“And on the offensive end, we were pounding it in. Lily and Sarkis are not used to shooting over (someone that’s) 6-foot-1. It surprisingly changed their shots enough that they didn’t score 40 for me tonight.”
Kinder and Sarkis scored 12 points each for Woodsville, which finished the game scoring a season-low 34 points and shooting 21.9 percent from the floor. The Engineers trailed 13-10 at halftime, staggeringly low production that surprised the team’s seniors.
“We came out really flat,” Clough said. “Ten points in a quarter, let alone a half? That’s never happened to us. … The first half, we weren’t ourselves at all. But I think after the first few minutes of the second half, we really brought the intensity. I think it just came a little too late.”
Nardorillo did her most significant damage in the third quarter, scoring eight straight points on nearly identical turnaround layups to give Hinsdale — normally a proficient 3-point shooting team — a 13-point lead, its biggest of the night.
But Woodsville stormed back with Nardorillo on the bench in foul trouble, cutting Hinsdale’s lead to 28-24 headed into the fourth quarter.
A shot banked off the backboard from Clough early in the fourth cut the deficit to two points. Woodsville senior Kyleigh Lamarre then went to the free-throw line with two shots and a chance to tie the game. Both missed their mark.
Although never tied, the Engineers cut Hinsdale’s edge to one possession three more times in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers will go for their second title in five years when they take on top-ranked and undefeated Littleton in the NHIAA D-IV final at Plymouth State on Saturday at noon.
Woodsville returns a proficient group of young players next season, among them Sarkis, who averaged 12.6 points per game in her freshman season and scored double-digit points in all three of Woodsville’s playoff appearances. Wilcox is also excited about the players freshmen Emily Prest and Morgan Wagstaff can develop into.
Each were on the court for 31 minutes against Hinsdale.
Clough, a four-year athlete for the program, said she feels like she leaves Woodsville in better place than she found it. Even so, losing longtime leaders Kinder, Clough, Lamarre, Morgan McHugh and Alyssa Prest will take a while to get used to.
“I think there’s just three words, right? I love you,” Wilcox said of his seniors. “I love every single one of them.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.