That 1-3 start is long forgotten. Six straight wins for Derryfield School girls basketball have moved the girls into the top eight of Class S.

While the Lady Cougars had early-season difficulty with the division’s best squads, they’ve feasted on overmatched foes recently. Only one victory was against a team with a record better than .500, and according to Derryfield head coach Ed Lemire, Nute, 6-5 at the time, entered that contest on Jan. 23 without its best player.

DS handled Nute, 62-26, following three other double-digit wins – 48-6 against Nashua Christian, 44-34 against Gorham and 57-22 at Mount Zion.

More recently, the Lady Cougars hosted and beat Pittsfield on Monday, Jan. 28, 39-23, and Wilton-Lyndeborough in a back-and-forth affair on Jan. 25, 43-40.

Camille Smith’s defense led the team past Pittsfield. She was credited with five steals and added seven rebounds in the win. Bedford’s Danielle Potter was high scorer with 13 points.

Against Wilton-Lyndeborough, an early three-point deficit was erased by seven straight DS points. After a quick second-quarter start gave Derryfield a nine-point edge, Wilton tallied six of the final seven first-half points to close the gap.

A DS burst meant a 30-24 edge in the third quarter, but Wilton responded for a 33-31 advantage entering the final frame. Steady, composed late-game play from Tayla Satkwich of Windham, Kathleen Reynolds of Salem, Kelly Schwarz and Smith secured the win for Derryfield.

Smith added six steals on defense, while Schwarz collected four. Potter added three swipes and nine points.

Against Nute, Schwarz turned in a stellar all-around effort with 15 markers, 14 rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks. Andrea Green and Zoe Sobin tossed in nine points each.

In the 35-point win against Mount Zion, 10 players scored, led by Reynolds with 10 points. Alisa de Bruyn Kops tallied the first five points of her varsity career. Kerlyne Desire, Aislinn Desire and Sobin each made three steals.

Potter paced the team with 13 points in the tough win against Gorham. DS actually trailed at one point early in the second half by 10. A 14-0 run spurred the Lady Cougars, who eventually opened a 16-point lead late in the game.

Sobin netted a career-high 10 points in the blowout against Nashua Christian. She also pulled down 13 rebounds. Ashley Swartz keyed the defense with four thefts.