Semi-sweet: Derryfield girls fall in final four

DERRY, NH – Two years after rising from Division IV to Division II, the Derryfield School girls basketball team found itself two wins from a D-II championship.

Check that.

The Cougars earned the right to be there.

Though they fell to second-ranked Milford (18-3) in the state semifinals at Pinkerton Academy Wednesday night, 37-29, the third-ranked Cougars (17-4) certainly proved they belong among the D-II elite this season.

“They are an excellent, excellent man-to-man defense team, probably the best in the division,” said Milford head coach Mike Davidson. “You know you’re in for a dogfight defensively when you play them.

“They’re going to try to hold you in the 30s, so we knew we had to match that,” he said.

It was, in fact, a low-scoring affair throughout the evening, with Milford taking a 12-9 lead after the first quarter before entering halftime with a 16-13 advantage after the teams held one another to eight combined points in the second quarter.

Derryfield made a push in the third, outscoring Milford, 12-10, to draw within one, and then took a 29-28 lead with 5:34 remaining.

Those were the Cougars’ last points, however, as the Spartans swarming zone defense proved too much in the final minutes, not allowing Derryfield to penetrate the paint, pulling down rebound after rebound and slowly pulling away for the eight-point victory.

“They have some length, which bothered us,” said Derryfield head coach Courtney Cheetham. “You know, you look at our team, we’re not the largest kids, so we just had a hard time getting it into the middle area, which is how you have to attack the zone, so we struggled.”

Despite the season-ending setback, the Cougars made their mark on the D-II court this season.

“I love her team. Courtney’s a very good coach and I’ve got nothing but respect for what she’s done with that program and what they were able to accomplish this year,” said Davidson. “They’re a really good team, and they’ve got some young kids. They’ll be back. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the final four again next year.”

Indeed, the team returns a wealth of young talent, including freshman point guard Anna Fazelat, who scored seven points and provided numerous assists against Milford.

Junior Ella LaFlamme and sophomores Emma Sloper, Bre McCabe, Kelsey Beekman and Angie Kenison – who led the team in scoring with 10 points in the semifinals – have also been regular contributors for the Cougars this season.

“You lose some very quality kids and senior leadership, but you’ve got some kids now who have some experience … and we’ve got a strong group of eighth graders who will step right into some good roles next year,” said Cheetham, “so hopefully we just keep moving in a positive direction.”

Still, the program must now bid farewell a group of seniors that put the Cougars on the D-II map over the last couple years, including standout senior guards Tia Ferdinando and Katie McCormick and starting forward Chloe Bremberg, as well as classmates Kim Amendah and Briana Sanchez Camilo.

“It’s pretty cool, right? You know, I’m not into moral victories, but I think it’s pretty cool they’ve put our name out there for girls basketball (in New Hampshire), which is pretty fun for them and for our school,” said Cheetham. “Our school is kind of an academic-based school – every junior and senior on our team has a B+ average or above, which I love – so to have scholar athletes and have athletics that can match that and be able to compete on the court is amazing.”