Pinkerton Academy girls basketball reaches D1 semis with victory over Merrimack
Length isn’t something that Lani Buskey is used to having on her Pinkerton Academy girls basketball team.
DERRY – Length isn’t something that Lani Buskey is used to having on her Pinkerton Academy girls basketball team.
But it was that length making the difference in No. 2 Pinkerton’s 46-40 quarterfinal matchup against No. 7 Merrimack.
The win sends the Astros to the Division I semifinals for the third time in three years, where they will face No. 3 Bedford, which defeated No. 6 Winnacunnet, on Thursday at Southern New Hampshire University.
The game started with Pinkerton (17-2) out of sync due to starting point guard Amanda Lemire out for the game. With Lemire out, Madison Mahoney moved into the starting point guard roll, and Mahoney is tall for a New Hampshire point guard.
Due to Pinkerton’s adjustments with the offense, Merrimack (10-10) jumped out to a 10-6 first quarter lead. Several Pinkerton possessions are not able to get started due to turnovers by the Astros guards.
“I feel like I am the only two seed of all time who still needs to motivate my girls to convince them that they are good,” Buskey said. “They were not confident in doing what they were doing as they were in unfamiliar rolls. I think the second half will give them confidence going forward.”
Pinkerton took a 17-16 lead into halftime, then turned on its defense in the second half, holding Merrimack to only two field goals until the last two minutes of the game. At one point Pinkerton led as much as 12 in the second half, clicking on all cylinders.
Offensively Pinkerton was led by Mahoney, who finished the game with 17 points, 15 coming in the second half. Also contributing was sophomore forward Brooke Kane with 10 points, while Julia Bousquet added nine. ‘
Pinkerton was also strong from the foul line finishing 16 of 23. Foul shooting was important down the stretch especially as both teams like to get up and down the floor.
After the game Merrimack coach Courtney Cheetham emphasized the pace and gave credit to Pinkerton’s defense for deflecting balls and closing out.
“Our team likes to get up and down the court, however we were just not hitting our shots,” Cheetham said. “These girls started with two wins as freshman and won their first round playoff game the last two seasons. I wish we would have gotten past this round of the playoffs, but I am happy about our season.”
Merrimack had a very even scoring attack with three girls in double figures. Julie Jacoby finished with 11 points, while Jenna Chambers and Sabrina Johnson both chipped in 10.
Pinkerton looks to face Bedford in the semifinals on Thursday, although Lemire remains doubtful for the matchup. Merrimack is looking forward to next season where it will be returning seven of the Tomahawks top eight players.
