BY JERRY LIPTAK

With her team down three points and 1-minute, 45 seconds remaining in the game, John Stark’s Elyssa Feliciano – directly in front of her bench – inbounded to Olivia Cray, who fumbled the ball, then controlled it on the other side of midcourt.

The referee blew his whistle. Wayne Thomson blew his stack.
For the next 30 seconds, the Stark girls basketball coach berated the official for calling a backcourt violation.

Despite the tirade, Thomson was not given a technical foul.

Instead, he and his team were handed a 40-37 defeat by visiting Lebanon on Friday, Jan. 26.

Thomson had no comment about the officiating, which included a quick technical foul earlier in the half for Lebanon’s coach, Tim Kehoe, and a handful of disputed calls by both mentors.

Thomson was more concerned with his team’s uneven performance and how this loss will affect its psyche, especially with three straight difficult matchups looming.

Undefeated Kearsarge, Bow and Merrimack Valley follow Lebanon. These four teams are the only clubs to defeat the Lady Generals, 9-4 after the setback to the Raiders.

Following the game, a taciturn Thomson had a simple, accurate reason for this defeat.
“If you have a couple of lapses,” he said, “that can be the difference.”

Indeed, after Stark jumped to an 8-2 lead, neither team led by more than one basket until Lebanon’s five-point advantage with less than four minutes remaining.

Thomson called an early timeout following an uncontested Raider layup. He also said his squad looked ragged on offense at times, forcing shots while trying to draw fouls.

The coach said those few mistakes, especially in a league loaded with closely matched squads, will often prove punishing.

Stark defeated Lebanon in a defensive battle on Dec. 15, 34-31. Early on, this contest looked different.

Cullerot, Erin Clarke and Nicole Duquette were hitting from all spots on the floor. So was Lebanon. The score was 16-15 after one quarter and 26-26 at the break.

The hosts committed five turnovers and added five more after intermission. Before the opening tip, Thomson said his team needed to limit giveaways.

It did.

But Stark scored just three points in the third quarter and 11 in the second half. Lebanon was marginally better. Still, it was enough.

“If someone had told me we’d only have 10 turnovers, I’d have said we’d have won the game by double digits,” said Thomson.

Despite a still-strong record, the Generals are 10th in a league marked by parity. The next three contests – the first two on the road – will help determine the locals’ playoff seeding in the upcoming Class I tournament.

Game notes

Cullerot led all scorers with 16 points, Clarke finished with eight points and Duquette scored five. Feliciano had three, as did Katelyn Gagnon. Cray added two.

Alyssa Charest netted six points in the JV team’s 36-26 loss to the Raiders.