HANOVER — Hanover High fell behind early and were not able to make up the deficit despite a valiant second-half effort, as the Derryfield Cougars defeated the Bears, 51-37, in an NHIAA Division II girls’ basketball contest in Hanover on Friday night.
Junior Harper Lewis, the lone Bear to score in double figures, had 17 points in the loss.
“They came out and hit us pretty good in the first quarter, and we dug ourselves into a hole,” Hanover Head Coach Dan O’Rourke said. “We had our chances. I’m very proud of how hard the girls played; they gave us a chance.”
With the loss, the Bears dropped to 4-6 on the season.
The Cougars, now 9-2 and one of the top teams in Division II this season, raced out to an 18-7 lead by the end of period, and junior Holly Dufoe was a big reason for it, as she hit three three-pointers during the frame.
Things did not improve much for the Bears in the second quarter as they were held to just seven points again while Derryfield built on its lead.
By the end of the first half, Hanover found itself in a 20-point hole, down 34-14.
Down big, O’Rourke had a simple message for his team: “There’s no 20-point play, we’ve got to get back to fundamentals, focus on what we’ve been doing all year, and one basket at a time.”
O’Rourke’s players seemed to put that message into action in the third quarter with better offense and some strong defense.
The Bears held the Cougars to just seven points in the third quarter and began to chip away at their deficit as Lewis scored nine in the frame. By the end of the third quarter, the Bears trailed by 12 at 41-29.
Hanover’s strong second-half play continued into the early portion of the fourth quarter. They cut Derryfield’s lead to nine with about 6:00 remaining after a free throw from Lewis and a layup by freshman Alienor Baertschiger.
But nine points was as close as the Bears would get. Cougars’ freshman Clara Johnson hit a three to put her squad back up 12 points, and Hanover could not muster enough on the offensive end to complete a comeback.
“We’ve been talking about mental toughness, and the first half was disappointing, adversity hit us,” O’Rourke said. “And we either can hang our heads and give up. Or we can bear down and get back to what we do, and to the girls’ credit, they did.”
He added that he thought his team moved the ball, rebounded, and defended the pick-and-roll better during the stretch.
As the season continues, O’Rourke wants his squad to become the team that nobody wants to play against come playoff time.
“We’re almost there. We haven’t yet put together 32 minutes consistently, and we’re young, but that’s no excuse; kids are working really hard,” he said. “We’re only going to get better as the year goes on.”
Hanover will travel next to Hollis-Brookline (6-4) for a battle on the hardwood at 6 p.m. on Monday.
