Derryfield girls basketball avenges last loss with win over Souhegan in D2 quarterfinals (video)

MANCHESTER - The Derryfield School girls basketball team had already watched Souhegan come into its gym and beat the Cougars once this season.

They weren't about to let it happen again.

After trailing the entire first half, No. 2 Derryfield took the lead in the third quarter and held off No. 7 Souhegan in the fourth before hitting a handful of free throws down the stretch to secure a 37-32 win Saturday over the Sabers in the Division II quarterfinals.

The win puts the Cougars in the D2 semifinals for the second year in a row, where they will face No. 6 Merrimack Valley, which knocked off No. 3 Bow in the quarterfinals, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Exeter High School.

It was also Derryfield's 10th win in a row, as the Cougars (17-2) hadn't lost since falling to the Sabers, 38-33, on Jan. 23.

“We lost to them on Jan. 23, and I think we learned a lot on Jan. 24, and 23, when we watched the film,” Derryfield coach Courtney Cheetham said. “Souhegan has gotten a lot better. We used that to recognize that we have to show up and compete every single day to improve. I think it was motivation for our kids. We knew coming into it, it was probably going to be another battle.”

Holly Dufoe led Derryfield with 18 points, 13 of which came in the first half when the Cougars totaled just 16 points. Anna Fazelat, Ella LaFlamme, Emma Sloper and Jordan Lemery each had four points in the win.

“We definitely wanted revenger because we were kind of annoyed that they beat us,” Dufoe said. “We’re just really happy that we won and I think we deserved to win that game.”

Nayaa Dineshkumar had nine points to lead Souhegan (14-6) while Zofia Rosenfield had eight points and Julia Skelton recorded seven points. But the Sabers were 4 of 8 at the free throw line, while the Cougars were 16 of 22, and their last field goal came with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation.

“This game was going to come down to who executed better,” Souhegan coach Greg Cotreau said. “They made a couple more layups and a couple more free throws, and we missed a couple of layups and a couple of free throws. We said it in one of the timeouts, the basic little fundamentals are going to be the things that are going to win or lose this game. But I thought the girls played their tails off.”

The Sabers had their largest lead of the game, 18-13, following a 3 by Skelton with 2:27 to go in the second quarter, but a 3 by Dufoe in the final minute cut the lead to two going into the half.

Derryfield scored five of the first six points of the third quarter to take its first lead, 21-19, and after Rosenfield tied it at 21, the Cougars went back in front and took a 25-23 lead into the fourth.

Back-to-back baskets by Rosenfield gave Souhegan a 27-25 lead, and after Dufoe tied it with two free throws, Dineshkumar hit a jumper to give the Sabers a 29-27 lead.

But the Cougars came right back, as LaFlamme hit back-to-back layups - the first off an offensive rebound - to put Derryfield ahead for good.

“She made some key baskets at quality time,” Cheetham said of LaFlamme. “That’s our one senior, so I expect her to want it and dig in a little more when we need it.”

Fazelat added a basket to make it 33-29 Cougars but Dineshkumar went 3 of 4 at the line to get Souhegan back within one. With under a minute to go, Lanai Hickman had a chance to tie the game of give the Sabers the lead, but missed two free throws to keep it a one-point lead for Derryfield.

At the other end, Dufoe and Fazelat went 4 for 4 at the line in the final 30 seconds to stretch the lead, and the Cougars held on for the win.

For Souhegan, it was the end of a season that showed a lot of growth. The Sabers went from winning three games and missing the playoffs two years ago to hosting, and winning, a postseason game for the first time since 2016.

“At this stage, every possession is so critical, especially in these tight games,” Cotreau said. “But I’m just super proud of them. We’re young and they were able to just buy in to everything we did all year. They banded together. I just think it was a really good season.”