Pelham slips past Memorial, 46-44, moves into Chandler semis

MANCHESTER, NH – Grace Riley sank a pair of free throws with 30.5 seconds remaining lifting Pelham High to a 46-44 win over Memorial High, Wednesday night in the nightcap of the opening round of the 2023 Doug Chandler Christmas Basketball Tournament at Central High.

Memorial had a chance to send the game into overtime but Pelham’s Olivia Todd blocked a potential tying shot by Jocelyn Eosue, at the buzzer to send the Pythons into a matchup with Lebanon in the tournament semifinals, Thursday at 6 p.m. Lebanon knocked off Trinity, 52-50, in overtime, Wednesday.

The other semifinal will pit host Central/West against Bow at 4:30 p.m. Central/West advanced with a 55-28 win over the Memorial JV (Monadnock was a late scratch). Bow overpowered Derryfield, 39-27.

“We dug ourselves a hole early, fought back, made it 21-21 at halftime. But I told the kids, we can’t let them get another 8-0 run because it’s going to be too big of a hole,” said Memorial Head Coach Greg Cotreau. “We don’t have the offensive firepower be able to come back from that.”

Pelham went on exactly that time of run late in the third quarter and into the fourth. The Pythons looked to have the game in hand, building a 42-32 lead with 5:30 left in the regulation. Memorial looked tired, giving up consecutive baskets on offensive rebounds by Sophia Guinazzo (7 points) and Abigail King.

But just when it looked like the Crusaders might be ready to pack it in for the night, they fought back behind their core group of seniors. Center NyAsia McKelvey began to dominate the paint, sparking a 12-2 run. After Eosue drained a 3-pointer from the wing, McKelvey (10 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks) dropped in 20-foot jumper to tie the game, 44-44, with 1:20 remaining.

Memorial played a tough defensive game, mixing full-court presses with tight man-to-man half-court sets. But the aggressiveness came at a cost.Torle Abumene fouled out with 1:50 left to play and fellow senior co-Captain Payton Moran would follow her to the bench as the result of a bizarre sequence in the final minute.

With the score tied, Memorial had possession and a chance to play for the final shot. As Moran dribbled near midcourt, looking to drain the clock, Riley slapped the ball free, gained control and headed to the hoop. Chasing the play, Moran prevented the layup with a hard, but clean, foul. Sitting on the floor, Riley pumped her first before knocking down both free throws.

On the following possession, Riley again went for the steal, this time fouling Moran with 24.5 seconds to play. The two exchanged words and were hit with matching technical fouls by the referee. The problem for Memorial was that Moran already had four fouls and technical was her fifth, knocking her out of the game.

With Moran fouled out, she couldn’t shoot the free throws she had coming and Cotreau had to go to his bench. Freshman Jaelyn Hartford, entering the game for the first time, missed both shots.

“That’s such a tough situation for a player to come in cold off the bench like that, shooting free throws,” said Cotreau. The things is, and I told the girls this, we had fouls early in the game that we didn’t need to take. And that cost us later on.”

Memorial was able to regain possession with under five seconds to play. After a pair of timeouts, the Crusaders inbounded the ball from midcourt and got it into the hands of Eosue. But her shot at the buzzer was blocked by Todd.

Memorial, which entered the tournament with wins in its previous two games, found itself playing from behind, almost from the opening tap. The Crusaders played a sloppy first quarter, and fell behind 16-5 early in the second, before rallying behind the outstanding play Adumene.

Adumene had five of her team-high 14 points as part of an 11-2 run, pulling the Crusaders within 18-16 with 4:40 to play in the first half. The run was capped by a pretty backdoor inbounds play under the basket, with NyAsia McKelvey scoring off a feed from Moran.

A 3-pointer by Sophia Jones (10 points) gave Pelham some breathing room but Eosue answered immediately with a trey of her own and Adumene’s fastbreak hoop tied the score, 21-21, at halftime.

Memorial was able to maintain its momentum in the third quarter, thanks to some aggressive defense and rebounding. A jumper by Moran put the Crusaders on top, 30-27, midway through the third quarter. But the aggressive defense came at a cost, as both Moran and Adumene got into foul trouble. Pelham took advantage, closing the third quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 36-30 lead.

First-round highlights

Lebanon 52, Trinity 50, OT

Trinity’s Sadie Mungere drilled three 3-pointers, en route to a game-high 22 points, but it wasn’t enough in Trinity’s 52-50 overtime loss to Lebanon.

The Pioneers raced out to a 13-4 lead after one quarter before Lebanon began clawing its way back. Trinity led just 21-17 at halftime before Lebanon rallied to tie the game, 33-33 after three quarters. That set the stage for a thrilling and fast-paced final 11 minutes of action, which featured several outstanding individual performances.

Lebanon guard Sara Belk erupted for 11 of her season-high 17 points after halftime and scored the only field goal of the overtime session. Summer Crowell added 12 points for the winners, while Izzy Hamilton chipped in with 11.

Bella San Trosso added 13 points for Trinity, including 10 in the second half.

Central/West 55, Memorial JV 28

Monadnock Regional was a late scratch from the tournament and was replaced by the Memorial High School JV squad. The junior Lady Crusaders trailed by just seven at halftime (19-12) before host Central/West pulled away for the easy win.

Layla Mohammed led the winners with 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Ajaelah Polin and Chloe Murphy added nine points each. Marley Oates chipped in with eight.

Bow 39, Derryfield 27

Juliette Tarsa dropped in 12 points to lead Bow past Derryfield, 39-27. Kate Labrecque added 10 for the winners.

Tia Ferdinando led Derryfield with 10 points. The Cougars trailed just 19-14 at halftime, before Bow was able to pull away for the win.

Thursday Schedule

Central/West will take on Bow in the first semifinal, Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Lebanon and Pelham square off in the nightcap at 6 p.m. The winners will meet for the tournament championship, Friday at 6 p.m.

Trinity will take on the Memorial varsity in the consolation round, Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Derryfield will face the Memorial JVs at 3 p.m.