Offense leads Milford girls basketball to win over Pelham

MILFORD – At the start of the season, the Milford High School girls basketball team had a big spot to fill in its starting lineup.

Head coach Steve Signor knew he couldn’t ask one player to replace the scoring the Spartans’ received from Dina Pitsas a year ago, so his message to his players was if nine of them could score an average of five points each, they could play good enough defense to win some games.

On Wednesday night, Signor got a lot more than he expected. Nine players scored for the Spartans, but for an average of eight points, as Milford pulled away in the second half for a 72-49 win over Pelham in Division II action.

Jessica Ryan led the way for Milford (2-0) with 16 points while Jennifer Dupuis had 15 points and Rebecca Cleary added 11. Adelle Pitsas (nine points) and Taylor Steinbrecher (six) were also in the mix for the Spartans.

“The big thing with our offense is spreading the ball around,” Signor said. “Any girl, if it’s her moment to score, we need her to score. Offensively, they surprised me. I didn’t think we’d be able to generate 72 points in a game this year.”

Pelham was led by Hannah Paitchel’s 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while Lilly Shlimon and Katelyn Supernant had eight points apiece.

The Spartans never trailed in the game, taking control early to lead 20-6 after the first quarter. Pelham made things interesting, thanks to its intensity in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 10 at halftime.

“Defensively, at times I was pleased and at times, I was not,” Signor said. “I thought we were prepared enough to stop their 3-point shooting and early, we did not. Pelham came out, and I thought, outworked us in the beginning, despite the score.”

Milford’s lead was 39-31 midway through the third quarter when the Spartans finally figured out how to break Pelham’s fullcourt pressure. The Spartans went on a 10-0 run, with all five field goals coming inside the paint.

Milford is now off until Dec. 26, when it plays Nashua North at 6:30 p.m. on the first day of the Nashua Holiday Tournament at North.

“It’s going to be tough,” Signor said. “They’ve got one of the best players in the state in (Taylor) Choate and it will be tough for us. The tournament for us is to prepare us, to get better for what’s to come later. What better than to start with Nashua North, one of the top Division I teams? It’s only going to make us better.