Hollis Brookline girls basketball hands Lebanon first loss

HOLLIS - The Hollis Brookline High School girls basketball learned Tuesday night just how much a difference free throws can make.

One game after missing seven in the fourth quarter of a one-point loss, the Cavaliers shot 76 percent from the line, including 9 of 12 in the final eight minutes, and knocked off undefeated Lebanon 46-37.

HB outscored the Raiders 16-3 in the third quarter to overcome a two-point halftime deficit and pick up a much-needed win after a tough loss to Souhegan last Friday.

"After the other night at Souhegan, when we lost a real close one, we were about as down as we could be," HB coach Bob Murphy said. "Beating a team like this, in that locker room, it was about as high as you could be.

"We held up against their tough defensive pressure. We took the ball to the basket when we needed to. We hit some key foul shots at the end of the game. The kids handled the pressure well."

Cassandra Stapelfeld led all scorers with 19 points for the Cavs (7-4 in Division II), as she was 7 of 8 at the line, while Kenzie Day added 11 points and also made 7 of 8 free throws. Joanna Balsamo chipped in with eight points, while freshman Elizabeth Atkinson had three points and eight blocks, including four in the first quarter.

Those early blocks seemed to have an affect on Lebanon (8-1), as the Raiders started missing shots inside.

"We struggled (Tuesday)," Lebanon coach Tim Kehoe said. "We couldn't make layups. We've been playing big kids all the time and it hadn't seemed to bother us. (Tuesday) we couldn't knock them down."

[Go here to see more photos from this game.]

Lebanon got 11 points from freshman Madeline Hastings, while Kendra MacDonald and Brooke Falzarano each had nine. The Raiders also shot well from the line, going 13 of 17, but early foul trouble eventually forced MacDonald, Joslin Wainwright and Meredith Melendy to the bench for long stretches in the third quarter.

"We had our big and our point guard in foul trouble early in the first half, so they had to sit," Kehoe said. "That really hurt us in our rotation. We were on our heels the entire first half."

Despite falling behind early, the Raiders used a 13-6 run to take their largest lead of the game, 19-13, with 1:57 left in the first half. But a pair of free throws by Stapelfeld and a jumper by Balsamo cut the lead to two going into the break.

The fouls started pile up early in the third quarter for both teams, and neither team scored until a three-point play by HB's Brodie Kelley put the Cavs up 20-19 with 5:15 to go in the quarter. A basket by Day made it a three-point lead a minute later, but Falzarano hit jumper at the other end to make it a one-point game.

But that was as close as the Raiders would get, as HB closed the quarter on an 11-1 run to take a 33-22 lead into the fourth. The Cavs were 8 of 11 from the free throw line during that stretch.

"It was huge to get the lead and keep it when we did," Murphy said. "I've been spending the last couple of days watching film of these guys and they just are really dominating against good teams, especially in the backcourt. They make so many steals in the backcourt and that's what leads to fastbreak layups. That didn't happen."

The teams combined to shoot 25 free throws in the fourth quarter, and the Raiders went on a 7-2 run to pull within four points on two free throws by Wainwright with 5:25 to play.

The Cavs were able to get the lead back to six and closed the game by outscoring Lebanon 10-5, which included going 5 of 6 at the line in the final minute.