Concord Christian girls basketball holds off Exeter to reach D1 final (video)

PORTSMOUTH - There was one spot on the floor that Kaylene Rogers didn't want to see the Concord Christian Academy girls basketball team shooting from during Monday night's Division I semifinal.

The Exeter coach felt that if her team could keep the Kingsmen away from the free throw line, the Blue Hawks would be in good shape.

Down 14 points going into the fourth quarter, No. 5 Exeter had to start pressing, and while that helped cut the lead down to three late, eventually the Blue Hawks had to foul, and No. 1 Concord Christian made its free throws down the stretch to hang on for a 41-35 win at Portsmouth High School.

The win sends the Kingsmen to the D1 final for the first time, where they will take on No. 3 Londonderry, which came back to beat No. 2 Bedford in the other semifinal, at 4 p.m. Saturday at the University of New Hampshire.

It's Concord Christian's fourth title-game appearance in the last five years, with all four coming in different divisions. The Kingsmen won a title in each division before moving up the following season.

Brynn Vaillant and Kate Smith led Concord Christian (20-1) with 11 points apiece, with Vaillant connecting on half of the team's six 3-pointers. Emma Smith added 10 points, going 6 of 8 at the line, and Sophia Capsalis added two 3s and nine points.

While the Kingsmen were able to make big shots from the field, free throws are something they focus extra on just for situations like Monday night. According to coach Matt Smith, the varsity runs a drill after every practice where everyone has to make one or else everyone runs.

Against Exeter (16-5), Concord Christian was 13 of 16 from the line, including 6 of 8 in the final two minutes.

“Our goal (Monday) was we didn’t want to put them on the free throw line,” Rogers said. “They have a fantastic free throw percentage, I would dare to say probably the best in the division. We definitely wanted to keep them off the line. When we got to the point where we had to play aggressive defense and foul, we knew that they were going to put them in. They’re all really good free throw shooters.”

Nicole Melick led the Blue Hawks with 13 points and Lexy Rogers, the coach's daughter, added 11 points while Jessica Melick scored five points.

After Exeter scored the opening basket of the game, Concord Christian went on an 8-0 run to take a lead it would never give up, although the Blue Hawks hung around. Down 18-11 late in the first half, two free throws by Mya Dinneen and a basket by Nicole Melick made it a three-point game at the break.

But the Kingsmen held the Blue Hawks to just four points in the third quarter, stretching the lead to 33-19 after three.

“What we had to do in the fourth quarter was go full-court defense,” Kaylene Rogers said.’ We’re a good full-court defensive team, but we had to take care of making sure we didn’t get fouls. I would love it if we could have played (that way) 32 minutes of that, but I don’t think we could have stayed in there. I think they came on at the right time and we made it tough for them.”

Lexy Rogers opened the fourth with a 3-pointer and a layup, as Exeter outscored Concord Christian 13-2 over the first five-plus minutes of the quarter. Another 3, this one from Emma Gillis, got the Blue Hawks within five points, and after an offensive foul on the Kingsmen, Lexy Rogers scored with 2:26 remaining to make it 35-32.

But then came the free throws from Concord Christian.

Vaillant made a pair and the Blue Hawks missed a 3 at the other end, with the Kingsmen grabbing the rebound. Capsalis made one of two and Emma Smith added two more, and Concord Christian had bumped the lead back up to eight points in the final minute to put the game away.

Smith added one more free throw before Nicole Melick hit a 3 just before the buzzer to finish out the scoring.

“We would have liked to go one more, but if you’re going to lose, that’s the way to lose,” Kaylene Rogers said. “We’re losing to the No. 1 team. They have fantastic athletes, they’re obviously coached well. I thought we stayed in the game the whole game and that’s what we’re asking for. I loved the effort that they all gave.”