Souhegan girls basketball turns it on late to beat Milford
One look at the scoreboard was all Hannah Chick needed for her ankle to feel better.
AMHERST – One look at the scoreboard was all Hannah Chick needed for her ankle to feel better.
After tweaking her leg in the first half, Chick started the second half on the bench, but late in the third quarter, the senior saw her Souhegan High School girls basketball teammates fall behind Milford.
Chick returned late in the third quarter, and with the game tied at 26 going into the fourth, scored seven points to help lead the Sabers to a 49-35 win over the Spartans on Monday night.
Ciarri Formby-Lavertu led Souhegan (12-2) with 14 points while Caitlin Watson and Mia Len each added nine points, but it took the return of the Sabers’ center to spark the team.
“From the bench, it looked like they were beating us on the glass,” Chick said. “It looked like they wanted it more in the first half. Even if I wasn’t a hundred percent, if I gave us some energy, hopefully my teammates would feed off that and they did.”
It was a tough break for a Milford (3-11) team that lost by 29 to Souhegan earlier in the season.
“We have a hard time competing against big girls,” Milford coach Rich Parent said. “We’re a small team and even an injured Chick is better than nothing at all. That was a big difference.
“These guys beat us by 29 points last time, so I told the girls that if ever a loss was a win, this was a good example of one. We did a lot of things right. The best thing was that when we did things wrong, the girls recognized it immediately, which in many ways, is a success.”
Erin McGuire led the Spartans with 20 points, including 8 of 8 at the free throw line, while Joy Ingram hit three 3-pointers for nine points.
Souhegan took a 19-16 lead into the second half and extended it to five points, but Milford went on a 6-0 run, with McGuire scoring all the points, to take a 24-23 lead. A free throw by Len tied the game, but McGuire scored again to put the Spartans back ahead.
“It’s one of those things were you want to be a coach and you want to X and O, and make adjustments,” Souhegan coach Mike Heaney said. “But the only thing to adjust was to be stronger with the ball, tougher with the ball. We were just slow and soft early on.”
Len tied the game again with a layup in the final minute of the third, and with Chick back on the floor, the Sabers went on an 8-0 run to take a 32-26 lead with 5:32 to play. McGuire broke up the run with a basket it to get Milford back within four points, but the Sabers went on a 9-2 run, highlighted by a turn-around jumper and a three-point play from Chick.
“Everybody feeds off her energy and passion,” Heaney said. “We like to say if somebody goes down, somebody steps up, and we got that from Jill Roberts. That’s a sign of a good team. We had a center go out and point guard give us a lift.
“I think the difference Hannah makes is she has a lot of energy, passion and toughness. And she draws a lot of attention, so other people get looks.”
