Bedford girls basketball fights back in second half to beat Goffstown (video)

GOFFSTOWN - The Bedford High School girls basketball team looked at Saturday's matchup with Goffstown like a prize fight.

The Bulldogs wanted to strike hard first, and they knew that the Grizzlies would respond, but the way they responded to that counterpunch wasn't quite what Bedford was expecting.

In the second half, the Bulldogs responded the way they wanted, opening the third quarter with 15-3 run to take a double-digit lead they were able to maintain the rest of the way in a 49-37 win over the Grizzlies in the first game of a Division I varsity doubleheader.

Lana McCarthy led the way for Bedford (11-2), scoring 18 points, while Emma Kasyjanski added 13 points and Kate Allard was also in double figures with 10. The Bulldogs were able to overcome a 10-for-26 performance from the free throw line by holding Goffstown (7-2) to just 10 points in the third quarter and forcing the Grizzlies to work hard for their points.

"We came out, we played pretty hard," Bedford coach Kevin Gibbs said. "Goffstown has some good players, they counterpunched and we kind of stepped back from that.

"The halftime conversation was that we knew they were going to throw a punch at us and we had to stay strong and play like we know we’re capable of playing. Sometimes, the shots don’t fall and you’ve got to make it up on the defensive end. The kids worked their tail in the second half, especially on the defensive side."

Bedford's focus on defense started with trying to slow down Ava Winterburn, Goffstown's leading scorer. The junior finished with 12 points, including three 3-pointers, and Maggie Sasso added 10 points, but no one else had more than four.

"We knew Winterburn was going to get her points, but we wanted to make it as hard as possible," Gibbs said. "She worked for everything, and two of those were skyscraper 3s. That was a testament to what we wanted to do, basically frustrate her. It’s all about defense. We went with the kids who did a good job defensively and we rode them. They committed to the defensive side."

Winterburn also drew the defensive assignment of battling McCarthy inside, which seemed to take a bit of a toll, but was something Goffstown coach Steve Largy was pleased to see.

"It’s a challenge that shows how much she’s grown and developed as a player," the coach said. "In years past, I probably wouldn’t have given her that assignment. She’s really committed to the defensive end as a player. It’s a challenge, but great players have to respond to those challenges."

The Grizzlies responded to the challenge early in the game, as the Bulldogs got out to a 10-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Goffstown answered with a 9-0 run to take an 11-10 lead, but a basket by McCarthy in the final minute put Bedford back on top going into the second.

The quarter turned into a defensive struggle, as the teams combined to score nine points and go into halftime tied at 16. During the break, Bedford senior captain Saphia Mumpini fired up her teammates.

"A lot of that was Mumpini telling the girls that we needed to go out there and exert our will over them," Gibbs said. "Sometimes you don’t have to say things as a coach. She told the kids what needed to happen and they went out and committed to it. They went out there and won it."

Bedford scored the first six points of the third to go up 22-16. A 3 from Winterburn broke up the run and cut the lead in half, but the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run to take a 31-19 lead with 3:53 left in the quarter.

"We gave up a run," Largy said. "We’ve got to have an understanding that we’re coming out of the half and looking to do things. They’re going to make adjustments too. There’s always going to be a run and it’s who is going to have that second run."

Goffstown got a putback from Sasso at the end of the third and the Grizzlies carried that into the fourth, outscoring Bedford 9-1 to get back within five points, 38-33. But baskets by Kasyjanski and Sydney Grogan pushed the lead back to nine and the Bulldogs made enough free throws down the stretch to pull away.