Goffstown girls basketball cruises to win over Merrimack

MERRIMACK - Steve Largy went into this season focused on getting his young Goffstown High School girls basketball team as much experience as he could.

The Grizzlies picked up a whole lot more Wednesday night in their 61-31 win over Merrimack.

Goffstown held a 31-8 lead at halftime after playing some solid defense and controlling the glass, two things the Grizzlies have needed to work at. And when the Tomahawks (2-2) made a run to start the third quarter, Goffstown (3-3) was able to answer.

"We talked about this, too, learning from different situations and scenarios," Largy said. "A new scenario (Wednesday) is being ahead by 20-plus points. To be able to play with that lead and play against the pressure and still feel comfortable, we need that. We need that experience.

"We did not rebound the basketball well (against Manchester Central on Monday) and that was a point of emphasis. We really have to do that. I really emphasis the defensive glass and we did a great job."

Just the game itself was an opportunity that Largy didn't want to pass up. Merrimack found itself without any games scheduled for this week or next after its two opponents - Pinkerton and Nashua South - were forced to suspend their seasons due to COVID-19 concerns either within the school or the program.

Although Goffstown had two games scheduled this week against Central, the Grizzlies were able to fill the void.

"We don’t know if we’re going to get games," Largy said. "Merrimack was looking for an extra game. We need experience, we need games, even if we’re just developing for next season. We have to take every opportunity to get out here and play because we don’t know at what point it could get shut down."

Nine players scored points for the Grizzlies, led by Ava Winterburn, who finished with 21, including 6 of 6 from the free throw line. Maggie Sasso came off the bench to also score in double figures, with 10 points, while Lilly Green had seven and Ava Vaughan had six.

Merrimack got nine points from Emma Valluzzi while Lilli Dabilis had seven and Kaylee Bormuth added five. The Tomahawks struggled to shoot from everywhere on the floor, missing a number of layups, all of their 3-point attempts and shot just 5 of 12 from the free throw line.

The game was tied at 6 with a little more than two minutes left in the first quarter, but Goffstown scored six straight points to take a 12-6 lead into the second. That was the start of a 23-0 run by the Grizzlies, as the Tomahawks didn't score in the second quarter until a basket by Valluzzi with 28.3 seconds until halftime.

"I think our defense (Wednesday), especially in the first half giving up eight points, that says a lot," Largy said. "We’re not exactly where we want to be, but we’re starting to see help-side defense, we’re getting better ball pressure. It’s good to be able to shoot, it’s good to be able to score, but to see eight points on the board in the half, that’s a credit to the defense that we played."

Merrimack picked up the intensity to start the second half, outscoring Goffstown 6-2 over the first two minutes of the quarter to get within 19 points. But the Grizzlies came right back with an 11-4 run and took a 50-21 lead into the fourth quarter.