BY MATT STOUT

LACONIA – Without her top four scorers or rebounders from last season – who, not coincidently, were the same four people – Pembroke girls basketball coach Rose Galligan has someone in mind among her Spartans to help pick up the slack.

All of them.

In a season that’s done Pembroke no favors thus far in terms of its schedule, Galligan has looked up and down her 13-person roster for a spark, and so far has seen some flashes despite the 0-3 start entering a game Tuesday, Dec. 12, at Kearsarge.

In a 50-35 loss to Laconia on Friday, Dec. 8, eight different Spartans scored as Pembroke put forth a valiant comeback, cutting a 15-point deficit to four with 5:40 left in the fourth quarter.

A late Laconia charge ultimately put the game away, but the loss was consistent with the two others Pembroke already suffered: its solid defense couldn’t survive without a consistent offense, especially against some of the top teams in Class I. Entering Tuesday, Pembroke’s first three opponents – Lebanon, Merrimack Valley and the Sachems – were a combined 12-1.

“I think we’ve played very, very well defensively,” Galligan said. “We just have some trouble with our shooting, so that’s something we need to work on. We like driving and dishing, and we do move the ball well. But I only have one starter back (in senior Emily Parker), so the kids have to get used to playing with each other. And they have to believe in what they’re doing.”

Believing, as far as senior captain Michelle Stanyan is concerned, isn’t the problem. Even without last year’s senior stars Kelly Thomas and Kayleigh Robinson, the Spartans have confidence they’ll turn it around, Stanyan said, even if the offense isn’t there just yet.

They have chemistry – the majority of the team has played AAU or other sports together – and an upperclassman-laden group that’s just now gaining the necessary experience. Besides Parker and Stanyan, Galligan starts two more seniors in Heather Farley and Leah Holzmacher, as well as junior Kaitie Scofield. Junior captain Faye Lesniewski, who had six points on Friday, provides a spark off the bench, along with sophomore Charissa Elwell, the team’s leading scorer against Laconia with eight; Sam Boisvert, a junior; and sophomore Mollie Griggs.

Juniors Holly Brasley and Lisa Swanson, freshmen Shannon Smith and Jess Vincent, who’s currently out with an injury, round out the lineup.

“So it’s a rebuilding year,” Stanyan said. “It will take us a few games, but I think when we come back in January, we’ll be up to where we should be.

“The scores,” she later added, “don’t show how we play.”