Windham girls rally past Trinity, 43-38

MANCHESTER, NH — Freshman guard Meghan Husson scored 10 of her game-high 15 points in the second half, to help rally Windham High past Trinity, 43-38, Tuesday night.

Husson drained a 3-pointer from the wing, her third of the game, with 1:53 left to play, giving Windham its biggest lead of the night, 40-34.

But the Jaguars (2-0) had trouble slamming the door, missing six straight free throws down the stretch. A pair of free throws from Trinity sophomore Dakoda Correia (11 points) and a baseline jumper from junior center Achul Tour pulled the Pioneers to within 40-38. And when Tour pulled down a defensive rebound with 15.8 seconds left on the clock, Trinity had a chance to tie the game or re-take the lead.

Following a timeout, Trinity (1-1) inbounded the ball and quickly pushed it into the frontcourt. But any chance the Pioneers had for a miracle finish was snuffed out when Windham’s Gabrielle Amari managed to slap the ball from the hands of Trinity’s Samantha Ashooh and tie up Ashooh for a jump ball. The possession arrow was pointing in Windham’s favor with 10 clicks left on the clock.

This time, Jaguar guard Hannah Smith was able to knock down three of four free throw attempts in the waning seconds to put the game away.

“We’re a young team, we have some freshmen on the team. Right now our goal is to keep improving with each game,” said Trinity Coach Kevin Fraser. “Hopefully not every game is this close but it seems that’s the way we’re headed, right now.”

Tour led Trinity with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. The powerhouse center was a force in the low post, using her strength and soft hands to score post of her points in the paint.

Tour had nine points in the second quarter, helping Trinity build a 19-14 lead midway through the second quarter.

Windham was able to make adjustments on the fly, countering Tour’s power with the speed and athleticism of their forwards. The Jaguars began sloughing off on Tour, daring Trinity’s guards to shoot from the perimeter. But the shots weren’t falling and offensive rebounds were non-existent.

When Tour did get the ball, Windham immediately double and triple teamed her, forcing Tour to kick it out immediately.

“The key is going to be, we have to start hitting some of our outside shots. Because that’s what teams are going to do — double and triple team her. Hitting those shots will open things up for (Tour) inside,” said Fraser.

Meanwhile, Windham was climbing back into the game, thanks in no small part to its dominance of the glass. The Jaguars out-rebounded the Pioneers, 33-16, for the game, and regularly got multiple scoring chances each offensive possession.

“Basically, we lost the game on the rebounding end of the game,” said Fraser. “We can’t give teams three or four shots every time they’re on offense.”

Windham closed the first half on a 7-3 run. Junior Isabella Abuzese dropped in a nifty jump hook, then Erica Soveriegn scored off an offensive rebound to help Windham pull to within 22-21 at intermission.

With Windham trailing 24-21 early in the third quarter, Husson began to catch fire. She drilled a 3-pointer, followed by an 18-footer, to give the Jags the lead.

Tour answered with a long 3-pointer of her own to put Trinity up 27-26 and it looked like the game might turn into a shootout. But as quickly as the shots started falling, they stopped.

Both teams tightened up their defense and points were suddenly at a premium. A jumper from Windham’s Cloe Weeks (10 points) and a pair of free throws from Sovereign put the Jags up, 33-31, after three quarters.