Groveton rolls past Holy Family, 51-29, in D-IV semis

BEDFORD, NH —Holy Family’s state championship dreams came to an end Tuesday night, with a 51-29 loss to Groveton in the Division IV semifinals at Bedford High.

Leading by three (19-16) at halftime, Groveton blew the game open in the third quarter. The Eagles held the second-seeded Griffins to a single field goal, while their lead swelled to 35-21.

Holy Family (19-2) never got closer than 11 points in the fourth quarter.

”In terms of effort, they were definitely giving their effort. But I think maybe some of our youth showed today,” said Holy Family Coach Joseph Williams, whose roster  features just three seniors. “Our offense just wasn’t working. Our defense was working for a while, but then in that third quarter they got some quick transition points against us.”

The 29 points were a season low for the Griffins.

With the win, second-seeded Groveton (19-2) advances to the D-IV state final against top-seeded Littleton (21-0), Saturday at 1 p.m. at Colby-Sawyer.

Sophomore Ryenn Pedone led the Griffins with 10 points. Senior Elianny Gonzalez-Peña added seven points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Sophomore Mylee Kenison had a game-high 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead Groveton. Junior Julia Chappell had 13 points and senior Aspen Clermont added 12.

Groveton and Holy Family came into the game with remarkably similar resumes. The teams combined for three losses in the regular season — all coming against Littleton. (The Eagles and Griffins didn’t play each other in the regular season.)

The game was a story of missed opportunities for Holy Family. The Griffins were just 5 of 14 from the free-throw line and missed 13 layups.

“Those (missed layups) are always exasperating,” said Williams. “The looks we were trying to get on offense were disappointing but the missed shots, the layups are things you just need to work on in the off-season. Sometimes it’s about having the right footwork.”

Leaving so many points on the floor proved especially costly against a Groveton defense that allowed just 31.8 points per game during the regular season.

Holy Family, with a tight defense of its own, stayed close through the first half. A 7-0 run midway through the second quarter helped Groveton build a 19-10 lead. But Holy Family answered back with a three-point play by Pedone and a three-pointer from the corner by sophomore Grace Thibault to cut the deficit to 19-16.

The Griffins might have pulled even closer but freshman Linkenza Yonkeu shot in the paint at the buzzer rimmed out.

The third quarter belonged to Groveton, which opened the second half on a 14-2 run to take a 33-18 lead and complete control of the game.

Williams said the loss doesn’t take away from an otherwise successful season and he expressed optimism looking ahead.

”I’m incredibly proud of the girls,” said Williams. “The takeaway this season was there was real bonding on the team. There’s a real sisterhood and fellowship and family atmosphere on this team. And hopefully that’s something we can build on going into next year.”