The Hanover High and Lebanon High girls basketball teams both took care of business at home in the NHIAA Division II quarterfinals on Friday night to set up grudge match in each team’s backyard to play for a berth in the state title game. The two archrivals will now face off in the semifinals on Wednesday night in front of what should be a raucous crowd at Dartmouth’s Leede Arena.
The top-seeded Marauders took down visiting Bow, 58-25, and Lebanon held off John Stark, 56-44, a few miles away to seal their end of the bargain.
Hanover opened its game on a 16-5 run and used a suffocating defense to hold the Falcons to six points or less in three of the four quarters. Maddie McCorkle (15 points) and Stella Galanes (14 points) paced the Hanover attack. The pair combined for 17 points in Hanover’s decisive 21-point third quarter. Caroline Adams added 11 points.
“The key to tonight’s game was our defense. We held them for big stops several times,” Hanover coach Dan O’Rourke said.
Rebecca Wright had 21 points for No. 4 seed Lebanon, which held off a feisty John Stark team. Sally Rainey was a clutch 8-for-8 from the free throw line and finished with 12 points. Megan Gradijan added 11 points for the Raiders. Catherine Cole (five points) drew praise from coach Tim Kehoe for her play defensively.
“Our defense was really good. We struggled a little offensively, but when you get to the tournament it’s the defense that really steps up,” Kehoe said.
The defending state champion Marauders won both regular season matchups with the Raiders.
WINDSOR — The No. 2 seed Yellowjackets answered a 6-0 Vergennes run to open the game and built a 26-18 lead at halftime before pulling away in the VPA Division III quarterfinals.
The win sets up a semifinal matchup with rival Thetford at the Barre Auditorium at 8:15 p.m. on Thursday night.
Looking ahead to another battle with Thetford, Windsor coach Bruce Mackay said, “It’ll come down to whoever plays the smartest and who makes the right decisions late in the game. We’ve got to come ready to play.”
Olivia Rockwood (18 points) and Elliot Rupp (11 points) led Windsor (19-3). Adi Prior added seven points.
HYDE PARK, Vt. — Alexa Kosakowski made a free throw with 1.6 seconds on the clock help cap the Olympians’ wild VPA Division III quarterfinal win over the Wolves.
“It was awesome,” said Oxbow coach Barry Emerson simply.
The Olympians took possession with 28 seconds left and the game tied at 38-38. The O’s drove to the hoop in the final seconds before the ball was kicked out to Kosakowski, who was fouled. She made the first free throw to put Oxbow in front to stay.
Emma Parkin led Oxbow with 13 points. Melanie Neil added 11, Tiffany Longmoore had seven and Kosakowski finished with five points.
The Olympians (17-5) will face No. 1 seed Lake Region at the Aud on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
SHARON — It took a half, but the fourth-ranked Eagles (16-6) got comfortable in their noisy home away from home, holding the fifth-seeded Indians to just 11 second-half points, punching the program’s ticket to just its second VPA Division IV semifinal in school history.
Hayley Goodwin had 24 points and her sister, Sydney, came through with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Sharon contributors to the MVCS roster all had strong games, with Emma Foster scoring 10 points for the Eagles.
Mid Vermont, which lost to Danville in 2008 in its only other Barre Auditorium visit, will play Hazen or West Rutland in Monday’s 6:30 p.m. semifinal.
NEW IPSWICH, N.H. — Ben Seiler had 20 points, including six 3-pointers, but the Royals came up short in the NHIAA Division III quarterfinals.
Connor Thompson added 13 points. Mascoma (14-8 overall, 13-7 NHIAA) will graduate Ben Schwarz, Hunter Stewart, Hawk Shawn and Liam Hemmerling.
WEST LEBANON — Sage McGinley-Smith’s hat trick led the Marauders in a blowout victory in the NHIAA Division I quarterfinals.
Hanover scored five goals in the first period and then tacked on four more in the second. Natalie Morhun added a pair of goals for the Marauders (12-6-2 overall, 12-4-2 NHIAA). Greta Schutz, Gail Morse and Meredith Morhun each had a pair of assists.
Lily Seelig, Kaye Lindsay, Sophia Brackett, Chow and Mackenzie Liu also had goals for Hanover. No. 4 seed Hanover will face No. 1 seed Concord in the semifinals at Everett Arena in Concord on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.