Division II

Lebanon, Portsmouth hold top seeds in D2 girls basketball tournament

The road to the Division II girls basketball championship begins Tuesday night, and three of last year's four semifinalists are in position to make another run to Southern New Hampshire University.

Lebanon and Portsmouth are the top two seeds, a feat they also achieved in 2013, when the Raiders were undefeated and beat the Clippers in the title game. Both reached the final four a year ago, along with Hanover, which is the fifth seed this year.

The Marauders fell in last year's title game to Goffstown, which as the 11th seed has a long road to take if it plans on repeating, starting at No. 6 Hollis Brookline.

Here's a look at the rest of the first-round matchups, which all take place Tuesday.

No. 16 Kennett (5-13) at No. 1 Lebanon (18-0)

The Raiders enter the postseason undefeated for the third time in coach Tim Kehoe's 26 seasons at the helm, and Lebanon owns a 64-24 win over Kennett that came back on Dec. 16. Joslin Wainwright has continued to be a standout players for the Raiders, and the emergence of freshman Rebecca Wright gives them a nice one-two attack offensively, as they scored 50 points or more 12 times this year.

No. 9 Kingswood (12-6) at No. 8 Merrimack Valley (12-6)

These two met in the first game of the season back on Dec. 9, with the Pride grabbing a 56-40 win. The Knights are led by Liz McLaughlin, who scored her 1,000th point earlier this season, and Michelle Frady. Merrimack Valley ended the regular season with some momentum, winning its final three games.

No. 12 Windham (9-9) at No. 5 Hanover (15-3)

Hanover enters the postseason having won 13 of its last 14 games, with the last loss coming Feb. 8 at Lebanon. These two teams played on Feb. 23, with the Marauders winning 52-36 at Windham. Freshman Madison McCorkle led Hanover in that game with 15 points, as the Marauders again have a talented, but young, roster.

No. 13 Souhegan (8-10) at No. 4 Pelham (16-2)

This will be the third meeting between the two teams, but the first since Jan. 20. The Pythons, who moved up from Division III before the season, won both contests by an average of 22 points. Pelham had won 12 in a row before falling to Portsmouth by nine points in its second-to-last game.

No. 15 John Stark (6-12) at No. 2 Portsmouth (17-1)

The only first-round matchup that didn't take place during the regular season. John Stark enters the tournament having lost five in a row and six of seven, while Portsmouth is on a 14-game win streak. The Clippers are led by Libby Underwood, the defending division Player of the Year, who became the first Portsmouth player in 16 years to score 1,000 points.

No. 10 Coe-Brown (10-8) at No. 7 Bow (12-6)

The two teams met in the regular season on Jan. 20, with the Falcons winning 44-37. After losing three of four midseason, Bow won five of its final six games, including wins over Kingswood and Merrimack Valley, to move up to the seventh seed. Coe-Brown, which won the title in 2015, dropped three of its final five games of the season.

No. 14 Pembroke (7-11) at No. 3 Bishop Brady (16-2)

Bishop Brady cruised past Pembroke in the lone regular-season meeting, 64-32, back on Dec. 16, and the Giants have done that for most of the season. Brady's only losses came against Lebanon and the Giants have won six in a row. While Brady hasn't made it to the final four since moving up to Division II a few years ago, junior guard Sarah Doherty has, having helped Goffstown to back-to-back title games the last two years.

No. 11 Goffstown (10-8) at No. 6 Hollis Brookline (13-5)

The Grizzlies enter their title defense with a little bit of momentum, having won their final three games of the regular season. But the Cavaliers won the lone meeting between the teams earlier this season, beating Goffstown by 20 points back on Dec. 20. Goffstown has a rising star in freshman Kelly Walsh, while HB will look to senior Cassandra Stapelfeld, a 1,000-point scorer, to lead the way.