Slow start dooms Derryfield girls in loss to Concord Christian

A high school basketball team can be excused for sloppy play on opening night, as it shakes off the rust of the off-season and blends new players into its lineup.

But when the team you face in your opener already has two games under its belt, sloppiness can have predictably unfortunate results.

Such was the case for the Derryfield girls, Thursday night, in a 47-33 loss to visiting Concord Christian (3-0). The Cougars fell behind 12-2 after one quarter and 24-9 at the half, thanks to ice-cold shooting and numerous turnovers. It was a hole they could never dig themselves out of.

“We’re going to keep learning and keep getting better,” said Derryfield Coach Courtney Cheetham. “That first quarter showed it was our first quarter of the season. We were a little sloppy, the pressure got the best of us. But then I felt like we did a better job as the game went on, continuing to handle the pressure.”

Derryfield’s roster features several first-year varsity players and some who had sat out out last year’s campaign due to the pandemic. Senior Emma Losey, the lone senior on the squad, missed last year with a torn ACL  but is expected to return soon. Cheetham knows it will take some time for the Cougars to gel.

“We’ve got 12 kids on the roster and we played 10 in this game tonight, in different amounts, so I think we’re just going to see what the game brings us,” said Cheetham. “We’ll switch up our starting lineups a little bit, depending on what the other team as, which is cool. Depth is a good thing.”

One source of encouragement from the opening night loss was the play of freshman Elyse Ngenda, who poured in a game-high 17 points (including a pair of 3-pointers) and 11 rebounds. Fellow freshman Tia Ferdinando chipped in with 7.

Sarah Muir and Emma Smith, a pair of super-talented 8th graders, led Concord Christian with 14 points each. Freshman Lilliana Carlile added 12 points and eight rebounds as part of the Minutewomen’s balanced offense.

Muir poured in 12 of her points in the first half, with several of the hoops coming off turnovers. Concord Christian showed off an aggressive, pressing defense that had completely stifled Portsmouth Christian (66-35) and Epping (64-4) in their first two victories.

Down by 15 at intermission, Derryfield made adjustments and took much better care of the ball in the third quarter. The Cougars also began to relax, move the ball well and find their shooting stroke. Three-pointers from Ngenda, Ferdinando and Jackie Connors helped trim the Concord Christian lead to 12 (36-24) entering the fourth quarter.

The Cougars maintained their momentum and refused to let the Minutewomen pull away. Ferdinando stuck a 15-foot jumper, then scored on a baseline runner to highlight a 6-2 run midway through the quarter, slicing the Concord Christian lead to 10, 41-31.

But that was as close as the Cougars would get. Concord Christian was perfect from the free throw line down the stretch (8-for-12 for the game) to secure the win.

Derryfield will look to pick up its first win of the season Monday night at Newmarket. Concord Christian will look to stay perfect Wednesday, on the road against Farmington

.