Souhegan pulls out another win in second half

AMHERST – The Souhegan High School girls basketball team has turned in some of its best performances in the second half of games.

That was the case again for the Sabers Monday night against John Stark.

Souhegan led by just two at halftime, but went on runs of 10-2 and 12-1 in the second half to knock off the Generals 57-43 in a Division II game.

While coach Jeremy Faulkner can find positives in the way Souhegan has played, he also knows the Sabers need to perform better in the first half, especially with the playoffs right around the corner.

“It’s good that we finish,” he said. “The girls have confidence and know they can finish, but we have to do it all game.

“I haven’t been able to figure it out yet. At practice, we’ve kicked their butts some times, but that doesn’t do it. Bench time doesn’t do it. We’re a second-half team. We’re at the end of the road and we’ve got to figure it out or we’ll be knocked out of the playoffs early.”

The Sabers got 19 points from Jane White and 16 more from Christan Wojtas, but while those totals are good, each had just five points in the first half.

John Stark had three players reach double figures, as Jillian Gilman, Rebecca Titcomb and Kathryn Cullerot had 10 points apiece.

Souhegan looked like it was going to get off to a good start, scoring its first basket 11 seconds into the game and then forcing a John Stark turnover.

But the Sabers (13-0) started turning the ball over themselves and the Generals (8-6) took advantage, holding on to the lead throughout the quarter. Souhegan needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Wojtas to lead 12-11 at the end of the frame.

The Generals came right back in the second quarter and held a 19-18 lead with 3:02 left before halftime when Faulkner made a move to something the Sabers never do on defense – play zone. Souhegan scored five straight points and held on to a 23-21 lead at the break.

“We switched off to a zone to see if we could matchup better with that and we did much better,” he said. “Our rotation wasn’t there, but we fixed it at halftime.”

The only other time Souhegan has played a zone this season was in a win over Oyster River last week, and that was to slow down the Bobcats’ Danielle Walczak.

“For some reason, they stepped up with Oyster River and they liked it,” Faulkner said. “I don’t use zone. Maybe it’s something this team needs. Maybe I need to change my coaching style a little and adapt to the team.”

John Stark was able to keep the game close early in the third quarter, but after a pair of free throws by Titcomb made it a one-point game, Souhegan went on a 10-2 run to take a 38-29 lead.

The Generals responded with a run of their own, scoring the final six points of the quarter to cut the lead to 38-35 going into the fourth. John Stark got Souhegan’s advantage down to two, but the Sabers answered with 12-1 run to lead 50-37.

“We had a little lull that we took two or three minutes off and John Stark got back into it,” Faulkner said. “I just tell the girls I don’t know understand why we’re 13-0. They dig deep every single time and they always pull out the win. It’s nice to see. The confidence level is there. The games are close, but we finish.”

Souhegan returns to the court on Friday at Bedford before the Sabers host Lebanon on Saturday in one of the biggest games in Division II this season.