> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Goffstown girls basketball beats Hanover to win D2 championship (video) - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/goffstown-girls-basketball-beats-hanover-win-d2-championship-video/ - Published: 2016-03-12T16:27:06.000Z - Updated: 2016-03-12T16:27:06.000Z - Description: Goffstown beats Hanover to win first girls title since 1988. - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Division II, championship, girls basketball, Goffstown, Hanover, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 MANCHESTER - Just keep on shooting. That's what the Goffstown High School girls basketball coaches and players kept telling Molly McQueeney, despite some struggles throughout the Division II tournament. The Grizzlies never stopped encouraging the senior, and in Friday night's championship game, that persistent confidence paid off. ![Goffstown's Kathryn Howe gets a hug from a teammate after Friday's win over Hanover.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/jmd2girlsfinal031116-g-4.jpg) Goffstown's Kathryn Howe gets a hug from a teammate after Friday's win over Hanover. McQueeney led all scorers with 12 points, including two 3-pointers in the second half that swung momentum, and hit just enough free throws at the end to give No. 7 Goffstown a 37-31 win over No. 5 Hanover at Southern New Hampshire University. The championship is the first for Goffstown since it won back-to-back Class I titles in 1987-88 and comes a year after the Grizzlies came up short against Coe-Brown in the final. "This was a big deal for Goffstown," Goffstown coach Deanna Goodwin said. "It's not like it's expected of us. They're an amazing group of kids. They wanted to make sure that last year wasn't a fluke. This year, they came back and that was theirs mission to start with. I think they draw strength from being the underdog, they like it. It's a powerful motivator." As the seventh seed, Goffstown defeated No. 2 Merrimack Valley and No. 3 Lebanon on its way to the final, and took out a Hanover team that it had lost two twice during the regular season, including a 21-point loss at home on Feb. 16. "Hanover has always been a great team," McQueeney said. "They're really hard to beat. We hadn't beaten them since I was a freshman. It was really exciting. It was hard, but our coaches reassured us that we needed to stay positive." The Grizzlies (16-6) also got nine points and six rebounds from Kathryn Howe, while Sarah Doherty had five points and three boards and Jessica Edmonds added six rebounds and four steals. While Goffstown struggled shooting all night - the Grizzlies were shot 27.5 percent from the field and 26.7 percent at the free throw line - Hanover (17-5) had trouble getting shots off in the second half. The Marauders had 24 turnovers on the night and were just 2 of 16 from the field in the final 16 minutes. Caroline Merguerian led Hanover with seven points and three assists while Silke Milliman had six points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and three assists. "The truth is, we shot 12 percent in the second half and scored eight points, and it's tough to win when you can't put the ball in the hoop," Hanover coach Dan O'Rourke said. "They played good defense. They extended their defense to try to slow us down. They weren't really pressuring us, they were just trying to slow the tempo down." Goffstown's experience playing in a championship game seemed to make a difference at the start, as the Grizzlies took a 4-0 lead just 1:05 into the game. Hanover, which started two freshmen and played two others, didn't score until 3:55 remained in the quarter, and got down 11-4. But the Marauders regrouped and went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead with 6:27 to go in the first half. The lead changed seven times in the second quarter, but Hanover ended the half with a 5-0 spurt that gave it a 23-18 lead at halftime. "We were able to get more into transition," O'Rourke said. "We started to get there in the second quarter and came back. All year long, we've been a team of runs. We never could get in that flow. We got the ball low and had travels. We missed some inside shots." The halftime message for the Grizzlies was that they've been here before. ![Hanover's Silke Milliman blocks a shot by Goffstown's Hannah Larochelle.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/jmd2girlsfinal031116-g2h5-1.jpg) Hanover's Silke Milliman blocks a shot by Goffstown's Hannah Larochelle. "We got into the locker room and said we were down last game, same situation," Howe said. "This can't affect us. We hung our heads a little in the second quarter, really because they were more aggressive on defense. We knew that couldn't get in our way." And up stepped McQueeney, who opened the scoring in the third with a 3 to make it a two-point game. Hanover stretched the lead back to five on a free throw by Merguerian and a basket by Lois Schwarz, but the Grizzlies answered with putbacks by Siobhan Pelletier and Howe to make it a one-point game with 3:41 left in the third. The teams traded empty possessions for a few minutes when McQueeney spotted up from way behind the 3-point line on the left wing and buried a shot that gave Goffstown the lead. "She's been having a rough shooting week," Goodwin said. "I said keep taking them, keep taking them, and she was able to have confidence in that." Hanover tied it on two free throws by Caroline Rodi, but Edmonds scored with six seconds left in the quarter to give Goffstown a 30-28 lead going into the fourth. The Grizzlies pushed the lead to six on baskets by Howe and Hannah Larochelle, but Hanover got it back to four on a layup by Milliman with 3:34 to play. And that's when nerves seemed to hit both teams, as the Marauders struggled with turnovers and missed shots, and at the other end, the Grizzlies missed seven free throws in a row, including the front of three one-and-ones. McQueeney finally hit 3 of 4 in the final 30 seconds to give Goffstown a big enough lead and a division championship. "It's so surreal," Goodwin said. "I'm so happy for the kids, they've worked so hard. They just kept believing in themselves. Even when they were down, they dug in and played. I'm so happy for them."