Fall Mountain in control from start to finish to beat Gilford in D3 girls basketball final

KEENE - If Matt Baird-Torney hadn't known any better, he wouldn't have guessed the Fall Mountain Regional High School girls basketball team was about to play in a championship game.

The Wildcats were as calm and ready to play as they'd been for any game this season, and it showed.

The top seed in the tourney dominated against No. 3 Gilford from start to finish, taking a 20-point lead after the first quarter and cruising to a 50-21 win Saturday over the Golden Eagles to win the Division III championship at Keene State College's Spaulding Gymnasium.

Its the first championship for the Wildcats (19-0) since 1983, when they won the Class I title, giving them six championships in the first 13 years that the NHIAA crowned a girls basketball champion.

But after that run, Fall Mountain didn't return to a title game again until 2014, and then again for three-straight years from 2019-21, losing each time. The Wildcats were also the D3 runner-up last season, falling to St. Thomas by 37 points in the final.

Now that history is just that.

“We know how it felt last year losing, so that was like a fire,” Fall Mountain senior Sophia Grillone said. “We knew what we had to do this time around and we did it. Not only did we win a state championship, but we completed an undefeated season and that shows a lot about how hard we worked all season.”

Grillone finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six steals for the Wildcats while Abby Jarvis had a game-high 14 points to go with eight rebounds, five steals and three assists. Riley Beckwith and Jenna Fillion added eight points apiece.

“You would never have known it was a championship game in terms of nerves or preparation,” Baird-Torney said. “They did what they’ve done since the preseason. They came out calm before the game, played together, but it was a level of effort and intensity that really smothers teams, and they’ve done it all year long.

"So it didn’t look any different and that was huge for us. We’ve been here before where there were nerves that took over early, but not (Saturday.)”

Gilford (18-4) got six points and six rebounds from Abby Watson while Addison Hodsdon had five points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the program's first final appearance since 2016.

But the Golden Eagles struggled against Fall Mountain's defensive pressure, turning the ball over 26 times, while scoring just six points in the first half. Watson's two free throws in the final seconds prevented Gilford from becoming just the fifth team to fail to break 20 points in a girls title game.

Of the eight players who saw the court for the Golden Eagles, five will return next season, including three freshmen and a sophomore.

“I’m super proud of my group,” Gilford coach Scott Currier said. “I don’t think there was any expectation coming into the season that we’d be standing here. You think about how young we were, the experience part of it, and we get to this. I think we have a bright future.”

Gilford made just one of its nine field goal attempts in the first quarter, while Fall Mountain shot 42 percent from the floor, and through three quarters, the Wildcats were at 33 percent shooting. They also outrebounded the Golden Eagles 43-26.

“Hats off to Fall Mountain,” Currier said. “They played outstanding. I’m not sure anybody was beating them (Saturday). They shot the ball incredibly well. They moved it. They are where we want to be.”

Getting there was a long time coming for the Wildcats, but it finally happened.

“I definitely feel like we did this, not only for ourselves, but for every player who had played on the team before,” Beckwith said. “We’re showing them that this program has gone so far. This means a lot.”