Hopkinton News : basketball

Hopkinton rides Nichols’ hot hand, breaks free for victory

Bow Editor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:32:00 GMT

BY CHRIS QUARTARONE

Jake Nichols knew this was a special game when he scored the first three baskets for Hopkinton. He didn’t stop there, pouring in a career-high 22 points in the Hawks’ 49-26 Class M boys basketball win against the Hillsboro-Deering Hillcats on Friday, Feb. 8.

“He’s been shooting the ball pretty well for us all season, and tonight he was on,” said David Chase, Hopkinton’s head coach.

Chase said he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially the bench players. “The game was close in the second quarter, and when the second group went in, they really shut down (Hillsboro-Deering),” he said.

Despite a quick start by Hopkinton, the Hillcats were within one point due to good play from guard Miles Galloway.

In the second quarter, Hopkinton turned up the defensive intensity with a full-court press. The Hawks, who led 8-7 after one quarter, allowed only eight points in the second and third quarters combined. Hillsboro-Deering coach Kurt McCandless felt powerless to combat Hopkinton’s aggressive play.

“We’ve only been able to have one guy have a good game,” said McCandless. “It’s also hard to win when the other team wants the ball more than you.”

Hopkinton also received strong performances from senior point guard David Brandt and senior center David Wood. “We had good ball movement in the second half, and it opened up shots for (Nichols),” said Chase.

Game notes
Two players, one from each team, were ejected from the fiercely contested game.

Hopkinton senior forward Matt Story was tossed late in the first quarter after punching back at a Hillsboro-Deering player during a rebound.

Hillsboro-Deering center Dustin Chickering was ejected in the third quarter after committing a flagrant foul on a Hopkinton player driving to the basket. That foul was coupled with a technical that was assessed when Chickering threw the ball past the referee.

Young, gritty Hopkinton team comes up just short – again

Bow Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:15:00 GMT

By Matt Schooley

HOPKINTON – At each timeout or break in the action during a Hopkinton High School girls basketball game, team members put their hands in the middle of the huddle and say the same phrase: “Prove it.”

Hopkinton proved again its record was a poor indicator of the team’s effort. Facing 7-2 Somersworth at home on Monday, Jan. 21, the 3-8 Hawks dropped a 41-39 last-second thriller to the Hilltoppers.

Trailing 37-28 with 4:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, the hosts came storming back to tie the game with 33 seconds to go before Somersworth retook the lead with 19 seconds remaining.

Hopkinton head coach Dave Hughes had one thought in mind while Hannah Richard’s desperation shot floated toward the rim.

“Go in,” he said. “With some of the close games we’ve had this year, you’ve got to think one of those might fall our way. Even though it didn’t, your attention then just turns to taking care of the kid who missed it.”

Although Richard’s shot didn’t fall as time expired, she kept the Hawks in the contest, scoring 22 of her team’s 39 points, including several key baskets down the stretch in addition to her aggressive defense.

Down nine points halfway through the final quarter, a stop in play turned the momentum back to the home team.

“I called the timeout, and really was trying to fire them up,” said Hughes.

“(Somersworth) was doing the same thing every time down the floor, so we just extended the defense, and I don’t think they were ready for it.”

The team played without key player Katie Babson, who competed for eight weeks before discovering she had a stress fracture in her shin, according to Hughes.

Lily Smith added nine points and five rebounds for the Hawks, while Liz Crews played stellar defense and tallied six points.

Heading into the season, Hughes said his team felt slighted by many who didn’t give the Hawks a shot to be competitive in Class M play.

“Before the season, I asked the girls to come up with what they wanted to say when we huddled up each time, and they came up with ‘Prove it.’ It really fits perfectly,” said Hughes.

“It means that everyone says we’re young, we’re small and we won’t be competitive. We are basically seen as a doormat to a lot of other people, and we want to prove them wrong.”

Hughes said Somersworth may have underestimated his team as well.

“I think they came in here and thought they were going to roll right through,” he said. “We had them on the … ropes, but we just couldn’t land the final punch.

“That maturity will come, and we’ll learn to take some better shots,” added Hughes.“We’re still learning how to win and how to finish.”

Indeed, five of the Hawks’ losses have come by a combined 17 points.

Not again – Hawks fall to Newport for second year

Bow Editor — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:49:00 GMT

BY MATT STOUT

As Kelley Flynn stood at the foul line with 13.4 seconds to play in the Hopkinton girls basketball team’s Class M quarterfinal match-up with Newport on Sunday, Feb. 25, it all came flooding back.

The disappointment the Hawks felt a year ago in a semifinal loss to Newport, the rivalry that had grown between the two teams, the feeling that the Hawks deserved this win – it all went through Flynn’s mind as she prepared to possibly give her team a tie or the lead with the Hawks down 35-34 at Plymouth State’s Foley Gym.

Moments later, all that heartbreak Hopkinton hoped to erase was gone, replaced by a new kind.

Each of Flynn’s shots missed the mark, the Hawks missed a top-of-the-key three-pointer in the waning seconds and top-seeded Newport hit all four of its free throws down the stretch to earn a 39-34 win in front of 435 fans and the right to play in the tournament semifinals.

Flynn and teammate Lily Smith scored 14 points apiece and grabbed 19 and 12 rebounds, respectively, but their contributions and the intensity eighth-seeded Hopkinton displayed throughout the game weren’t enough to hold off Newport, which extended its record to 20-0.

“A lot of it was thinking about last year and how bad we wanted to be there and how much we deserved it,” a teary-eyed Flynn said of her mindset while preparing to shoot her foul shots. “We were up the whole game and ... it sucked.”

For Hopkinton, it was a painful ending to what had become a season marked by resiliency.

After giving Newport its closest game in a 46-43 loss on Dec. 8, Hopkinton continually played through injuries, including a 72-34 loss at Newport on Jan. 26 when Flynn was out with a broken nose.

Thereafter, the Hawks returned their full lineup and won six straight, including a 47-38 decision over Campbell in the first round of the tournament on Thursday, Feb. 22.

That set up Sunday’s rematch, where the Hawks, which finished at 12-8, held the lead into the third period before the Tigers reclaimed it at 26-24 entering the fourth.

Hopkinton stormed back from what had grown into a five-point deficit roughly five minutes later with eight straight points from Smith to make it 34-33 with 1:09 to play. Newport’s Abbie Kennedy hit a lay-up with 30.6 seconds remaining, setting up Flynn’s free throws on the other end.

After the second shot missed, Flynn was forced to foul, earning the University of Richmond-bound center her fifth. After Newport hit two free throws, Hannah Richard’s three-pointer with under five seconds to play hit high off the backboard, off the rim and into the grasp of a Tigers forward.

“We expected it,” Newport coach Doug Beaupre said of the close game. “When Kelley Flynn is in their lineup, that’s the kind of game we had the last two years. This may have been the largest margin of victory we had against them (with her playing).”

As a group, Hopkinton kept the usually free-shooting Tigers largely at bay. Newport, which hit eight straight fourth-quarter threes to beat the Hawks in last year’s playoffs, hit 3-of-21 on Sunday.

“We knew that we deserved to be there, and despite the ups and downs of our season, we had people injured, but we really deserved to be up in that final four,” said Flynn. “But it didn’t happen.”

Passion for the game - Hopkinton team creates excitement for fans

Bow Editor — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 19:42:00 GMT

BY SAPNA PATHAK

HOPKINTON – They’re the loudest fans at any Hopkinton boys basketball game. They make the most noise when the Hawks score. They’re the first to boo the officials when the call doesn’t go Hopkinton’s way. They make it to every home game to support their team.

They’re also the group that’s going to be playing in the Hawks hoops program come next season.

After winning the 50-50 raffle and just missing a threepoint shot during halftime, 9- year-old Sam Winslow joined his friends back in the stands. Winslow, who comes to almost every game, and his classmates are one year from trying out for the Hopkinton Middle School basketball team.

“This is the first time we’ve had a middle school program,” said Hawks head coach Dave Chase. “Now the younger guys are coming to the games and seeing us play regularly. Before it would be recreation leagues the middle school kids would come from, but now the middle school program will steam roll into our high school one.”

Winslow’s crew had plenty to cheer about on Thursday, Jan. 11, as the Hawks downed Raymond, 52-45.

The win improved Hopkinton to 4-3. With four new starters, including a first-time point guard, Chase said the record comes as no surprise despite leading the team to the Class M semifinals last year.

Close games and tight finishes have become the norm; the Hawks have beaten opponents by an average 6.75 points per game and lost by an average 7.0 points per game. Chase attributed the deficit to his team’s inexperience.

“This team works harder, physically, than anyone else in the league,” Chase said. “But they don’t have a high basketball IQ, and that’s what we have to work on. Every game’s been like this – up-and-down until the end. We’ve got to learn how to build a lead and protect it.”

Hopkinton trailed, 22-21, at halftime but came out ahead, 33-32, after three quarters. Senior guard/forward David Garrison sparked Hopkinton’s fourth-quarter surge when he hit a three-pointer to open the frame.

The Hawks outscored Raymond, 19-13, in the final eight minutes. They were 15-for-22 from the free-throw line, 68 percent overall, far superior to the team’s 51-percent average.

The hosts outrebounded the Rams, 37-24, including 17 off the offensive glass.

“The kids play with passion and aren’t going to give a lackluster performance on their home court,” Chase said of playing in front of a packed house. “The support of the fans is always there, and the guys really feed off it. They don’t want to let the fans down.”

Game notes

Garrison scored 16 points, while David Brandt added 13. Sophomore center/forward Tom Johnson scored nine. Sophomore forward Jake Nichols hit for eight. Jon Reen added four points and Jake McManus scored two.

Early test

Bow Editor — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 20:04:00 GMT

Sans star, Hopkinton faces first obstacle

BY SAPNA PATHAK

Patty Connolly wants her team to play with more offensive balance. She wants them to spread the ball around more and avoid relying on one player.

And it only took one game for the girls of Hopkinton High basketball to learn how.

After losing star center Kelly Flynn in the first two minutes of their season opener, the Hawks were forced to provide some offense without their leading scorer and rebounder.

Hopkinton walked away with a 47-42 win over Campbell on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

“It was scary watching Kelly go down with a sprained ankle,” Connolly said. “But they know I expect more than just Kelly scoring, so it almost helped make them learn to stay in a game while she’s out.”

Though Flynn returned in the third quarter, Connolly said the team showed it could handle the pressure. Helping lead the Hawks was sophomore Lily Smith. The second-year varsity player brings a strong presence under the boards.

Flynn is joined by returning seniors Kathryn Fuller and Jessie Rice, but shares co-captaining duties with Ashley Brewster.

Guard Brittany Fleury, along with Brewster, returns to the squad as a multi-sport athlete.

On Friday, Dec. 8, Hopkinton faced off against Newport, which ended the Hawks’ season in last year’s Class M semifinals. Both teams got off to a sloppy start, totaling 15 fouls in the first half.

The Tigers took home a 46-43 win, but seeing solid pass distribution during the loss bolstered Connolly’s confidence.

“We absolutely feel pressure that this has to be our year [to win a championship],” said Connolly. “But it’s a good motivation, not an overbearing one. I like our look on offense and defense overall, now we just have to put it all together and we’ll be fine.”