Concord Christian girls basketball continues ascent with win over Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH – After winning championships in the other three divisions over the past three seasons, the Concord Christian Academy girls basketball team climbed the last rung of the competition ladder when it jumped into the deep end of Division I this winter.

The Kingsmen may have lost their season opener to Bishop Guertin, but they’ve adjusted to the learning curve heading into the meat of their schedule that’ll conclude the regular season.

Concord Christian kept on rolling in its next quest, as junior Emma Smith scored 20 points during Tuesday night’s 49-27 victory over Portsmouth High School inside Stone Gymnasium.

“We really like competition, we like competing and like working hard,” Smith said. “At the beginning it was a little bit different, the pace was a bit different. But it's fun to play all new teams and everyone individually has to step up a little bit. It’s just everyone doing what they should do.”

Senior Lilli Carlile added 14 points for Concord Christian (10-2), which has now won six straight contests since a 59-47 loss at Windham. Carlile is averaging 18.3 points a game this season while Smith leads the team by scoring (19.1).

“We’re looking for competition and we’re getting it,” Carlile said. “There was definitely an adjustment period. Just the speed of it. People are a little bit faster and a little bit stronger. We come out knowing we really have to pick up the pace in transition and really work the ball and get the best shot on offense.”

Rebecca Carlile, Lilli Carlile’s mother and Concord Christian coach, has wanted new challenges for her team to succeed every year and this was the toughest one the Kingsmen could get. Concord Christian compiled a 61-2 record while conquering the other three divisions heading into this season.

Portsmouth (8-5) represented one of the six teams with winning records that Concord Christian will play in its final seven games of the regular season, so the Kingsmen will have a better gauge to where they are entering the D1 tournament.

“This was a good win for us and they need to know for themselves that they are good enough to be here,” Rebecca Carlile said. “We had a lighter (schedule) for us at the beginning of the season and now we're kind of heading into the gauntlet.”

The Kingsmen are currently in fifth place in the D1 standings and still have games against the top three teams in defending-champion Bedford (13-0), Londonderry (10-0) and Pinkerton (11-2).

“We’ve been working all season so it’s do or die and you’ve got to play all 32 minutes and I think they’re getting better,” Rebecca Carlile said. “I’m very thankful for our earlier losses that we had because it really showed us what we had to work on. Nobody wants to lose, but there are lessons to be learned for sure.”

Smith had four steals and scored 10 of her points during Concord Christian’s 15-5 first quarter before Portsmouth closed the gap to 19-15 at halftime.

The Clippers stayed within striking distance until Lilli Carlile scored nine of her points in the third quarter. Kate Smith added seven points in the frame as Concord Christian extended its lead to 37-25 entering the fourth quarter.

“They do everything well,” Portsmouth coach Tim Hopley said. “It’s things that a casual observer may not pick up but when you watch them on film and you see them do it night-in and night-out. They have a high basketball IQ. They’ve played together for a long time in a lot of different settings.”

With the Division I tournament approaching, the Kingsmen are anxious to see how’ll they fare against the cream of the crop.

“We’re super excited and we’re coming into the season of really competitive games,” Lilli Carlile said. “It’s just working hard and going over the stuff we have to be prepared for. We’re really excited to see this new competition and get ready for the playoffs.”