With the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Class L girls basketball tournament locked up, Manchester Central didn’t have much to play for in its regularseason finale vs. Salem High School.

But when the contest on Saturday, Feb. 23, was over, the Little Green left with a 61-47 win in one of their most physical games of the season, heading into the postseason on a positive note.

“We don’t normally see the physical aspect as much as we did against Salem, so that was a nice test for us. We haven’t really experienced that,” said Central head coach Mike Wenners.

“They’re very talented, and it was a physical challenge for us. Our kids responded well … They didn’t react to some of the other stuff.”

Salem committed multiple intentional fouls, and the Little Green shot 46 free throws compared to 15 for the Blue Devils.

Although Central led throughout, Salem cut the lead to four points with little more than two minutes remaining in the game.

Hooksett’s Sam Walker dropped in seven key points in the final quarter, and Central made its free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. Walker had 10 points in the game.

“They came out in the fourth quarter and made some threepointers,” said Wenners. “We wanted to just make sure we didn’t lose their shooters. We had to get a hand in their face while they were shooting jumpers, and we made some big free throws.” Alicia Doucet paced the Central attack with 16 points, while Catherine O’Neil followed with 15.

Central’s last loss came on Feb. 2, a Saturday matchup against Londonderry. The Little Green ended the regular season 16-2, but Wenners knows it is the second season that matters most.

“You can’t look ahead, because if you do, there may be no tomorrow. The nice thing is that eight of our 13 kids were on the team last year that lost in the semifinals,” said Central’s coach, who has six seniors on his roster.

“They know what it’s like to be close, and they know that it’s do or die. The seniors understand that the season doesn’t just end, their high school career does with the next loss.”