HOOKSETT, N.H. — It’s safe to say that no one — not Hanover High girls basketball coach Dan O’Rourke, not Marauder senior guard Diana Schwarz, not even NHIAA basketball committee chairman Sean Moynihan — saw the kind of dominance put on display by the Marauders at Tuesday’s NHIAA Division II girls basketball semifinal coming.
Top-seeded Hanover dismantled No. 5 John Stark, 63-30, at Southern New Hampshire University’s Stan Spirou Field House, punching its ticket to its first D-II final since 2016. The Marauders scored 32 points and forced 34 John Stark turnovers and 20 steals; out-rebounded the Generals 36-28; outscored them 50-20 in the paint, 21-2 in transition; and added 30 points from the bench. The game also went into running time in the fourth quarter — an NHIAA rule triggered by a 35-point margin in the fourth quarter.
The win was also Hanover’s 20th straight since falling by a point to Lebanon, 43-42, on Dec. 11, improving the streaking Marauders to 21-1 this winter.
“Very (surprised),” O’Rourke said of his team’s dominance in the first half. “Someone said today, ‘Oh, you’re going to win by 40.’ I said, ‘If we win by 10 we’ll be lucky. If we win by one, I’ll be happy.’ Games like this you never expect, especially in the semifinal.”
The Marauders will play No. 3 Kennett in Friday’s D-II final at SNHU after the Eagles knocked off No. 2 Lebanon in the opening semifinal match on Tuesday. Hanover defeated Kennett in the only regular season meeting between the two programs, 62-54, on Feb. 16. The Marauders will play for their first title since 2008.
“I was a little surprised (by the first half),” Hanover senior Diana Schwarz said. “It’s a lot of pressure playing in here, every game is going to be close. … You never really know what you’re going to get. We just played our game in the first half, ran the floor and got some easy buckets off of transition.”
This year’s tournament run means a little bit more for Diana and Lois Schwarz.
The identical twins are standouts on the school’s field hockey and girls basketball teams, starting with varsity with both since their freshmen seasons. The Schwarz sisters have helped the Marauders to three state finals — two with field hockey, one with basketball. They’ve fallen short every time.
This winter’s run with the basketball team is their last chance at a title, bringing with it a mixture of familiarity, excitement and a tad of desperation.
“I really want this one,” Diana Schwarz said. “It’s my last sport, I don’t play a spring sport. Me, Lois, we both want this really badly. It’s hard to lose three and not win the last one. That gives me, especially, a lot of (motivation) to want to win.”
Diana Schwarz led the way with 15 points, nine steals and five assists, helping the Marauders run away with the game early in the first half.
Hanover led, 24-8, after the first quarter, taking advantage of 12 first-quarter turnovers by the Generals. Maddie McCorkle and Anna Kirkpatrick led the way with seven points each in the opening stanza; McCorkle finished the period off with a driving layup at the buzzer.
Then the Marauders piled on, scoring 14 unanswered points in the second quarter before John Stark’s Anna Stenger got a basket and a foul with 1 minute, 14 seconds remaining. Hanover outscored the Generals, 14-3, before halftime and led, 38-11, at the intermission.
“This is the closest team I’ve ever been on,” Diana Schwarz said. “Everyone gets along, we have two underclassmen, a lot of great leaders on the junior and senior end. … We just click really well. There’s a really good dynamic and it shows on the court.”
A 9-2 run early in the third quarter put the game out of reach for the Generals (17-4). Chelsea Woodsum led John Stark with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds; the Generals finished the game shooting 32.4 percent from the floor.
Hanover’s Kirkpatrick finished the game with 12 points, three rebounds and two blocks off the bench. Willet Parkins had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. McCorkle scored nine points with five assists and two steals. The Marauders had 32 points from their bench.
“We’ve been knocking on the door the last few years, but we’ve been on an 11-year drought,” O’Rourke said. “It’s hard to get back here. We’ve been fortunate to have high-quality kids. But as I told the kids in the locker room, we haven’t won anything yet. Tonight was a good feeling, but we still have work to do.”
It’s the kind of run O’Rourke, in his 18th year at the helm, has been waiting for. The team has been together for years; Diana Schwarz, Lois Schwarz and McCorkle have been manning Hanover’s backcourt since their freshman seasons. Adding in juniors Kirkpatrick, Parkins and sophomore Charlotte Johnson from the bench have made the Marauders as dangerous as ever.
Finally, the pieces have fallen into place in just the nick of time — giving the Schwarz sisters one last shot at a trophy.
“It’s obviously a little nerve-wracking because there’s a lot of pressure in the game, a lot of pressure because it’s my senior year, it’s my last sport,” Diana Schwarz said. “It’s also just like, I know if we play our game we can contend.
“It’s just a matter of taking a deep breath, relaxing and giving in to the faith of my team, trusting everybody and trusting that we’ll play our game.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.