Concord Christian girls basketball blows past Pembroke to win D2 title

DURHAM – For the past three years, the Concord Christian Academy girls basketball team has tested itself and passed the challenges it sought out in a unique fashion that is a rarity.

After winning the Division IV championship in 2022, the Kingsmen moved up and conquered Division III in 2023, before moving up again to set their sights on a Division II championship that was in front of them in Sunday morning’s title game against Pembroke.

One more division championship down, and one more left for Concord Christian to aim for.

Junior Lilli Carlile set a Division II championship record by scoring 29 points and she added 12 rebounds to lead top-seeded Concord Christian to its third championship in a different division in as many years in a 65-53 victory over No. 3 Pembroke inside the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium.

“We have a great group of athletes and when you have a great group of athletes you just kind of ride the wave,” Concord Christian coach Rebecca Carlile said. “Every coach in high school gets a class that plays well together. It’s fun. Once you start winning, you attract other athletes to play as well.”

Lilli Carlile’s scoring output beat the previous record that was set by Jayne Daigle, when she scored 27 points during Lebanon’s 54-31 win over Fall Mountain in 1982 Class I title game.

Sophomore Emma Smith added 23 points and nine rebounds for Concord Christian (20-1), who compiled a 62-2 record over its three championship seasons featuring a thin roster that had only eight players on Sunday. The Kingsmen will make their jump into Division I next year and aim to compete for an unheard of fourth straight championship in all four divisions.

“We work hard every day in practice, we never quit and we always challenge each other,” Concord Christian sophomore Emma Smith said. “Losing is not really an option for us, so we just find a way not to lose.”

Pembroke (18-4) led 20-14 midway through the second quarter before Concord Christian rallied with a 15-6 run that was highlighted by a 3-pointer by Lilli Carlile that helped build a 29-26 halftime lead.

The Kingsmen exploded out of the locker room with a 9-0 run to start a 22-7 third quarter. Lilli Carlile began the run with a floater, which was followed by Taylor Rioux’s steal-and-feed to Smith. Kate Smith and Kayden Rioux capped off the run with hoops to give Concord Christian a 38-26 lead.

Emma Smith then added a putback to go with a pair of hoops from Taylor Rioux. Lilli Carlile piled on with a 3-pointer to help build a 51-33 cushion for the Kingsmen entering the fourth quarter.

“Their offense didn’t kill us that much, that run was helped by turnovers and they can get out and go and any time we turn it over it was like two points guaranteed," Pembroke coach Steve Langevin said. “I thought we played well for the most part, it was just that stretch that killed us.”

The defensive game plan forced Concord Christian to slow down Pembroke’s top scorer Annelise Dexter (24.3 points per game) and they did that by holding her to only four on 2-of-10 shooting from the floor. Katilin Arenella led Pembroke with 14 points.

“The key was stopping Annelise Dexter and keeping her from not getting the ball that would help us a lot,” Lilli Carlile said. “And just moving the ball offensively and pressuring them. That was our game plan.”

With three different championships now in its possession, Concord Christian is jumping into the deep end of Division I next, but expectations are not going to change.

“It’s going to be fun,” Rebecca Carlile said. “So far they’ve risen to every challenge we’ve put in front of them and I anticipate they’ll do the same exact thing next year.”