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# Milford girls basketball hangs on to pick up rare win at Pelham (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/milford-girls-basketball-hangs-on-to-pick-up-rare-win-at-pelham-video/
- Published: 2025-02-04T16:00:42.000Z
- Updated: 2025-02-04T16:00:42.000Z
- Description: PELHAM - The gymnasium at Pelham High School might be called the Snake Pit, but for the Milford High School girls basketball team, it's been a house of horrors. The Spartans battled those demons Monday night, along with the Pythons, and put them both to rest. Milford overcame a size mismatch by usin
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, girls basketball, Milford, Pelham, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

PELHAM - The gymnasium at Pelham High School might be called the Snake Pit, but for the Milford High School girls basketball team, it's been a house of horrors.

The Spartans battled those demons Monday night, along with the Pythons, and put them both to rest.

Milford overcame a size mismatch by using its speed and outside shooting, and remained poised down the stretch, to hold off Pelham for a 61-49 win in a Division II contest.

Avery Fuller finished with 21 points to lead the Spartans (8-2) and Shea Hansen added 12 points, as both hit three 3-pointers to account for six of the team's eight makes from behind the line. Ellianna Nassy was also in double figures with 11 points for Milford.

"This gym has been a house of horrors for us," Milford coach Mike Davidson said. "The last three times we’ve played here, which includes a playoff game, we’ve lost (big). There was a lot of mental stuff going on coming into this gym, but the girls were out of their minds. We were ready for the challenge. We had a good game plan."

It was Milford's first win at Pelham since Dec. 17, 2014, and in the last three losses in the Pythons' gym, the Spartans were outscored by an average of 29.3 points. That included a 40-point loss in the quarterfinals in 2023 and a 51-17 loss in the regular season last year.

But this time, Milford was able to play to its strengths for stretches of the game and held the lead for most of the night. When Pelham was able to take advantage of its size, the Pythons kept the game close, and at times, pulled in front.

Pelham (6-5) got 16 points each from Grace Riley (three 3s) and Sophia Guinazzo.

"I thought it was a well-played game and our girls fought hard," Pelham coach Robert Shephard said. "Milford is a good team and they’re a team that doesn’t match up well with us. They’re fast and we’re big.

"We didn’t defend the 3-point shot. They made eight or nine. We know who their 3-point shooters are and we have to recognize them better and defend that better. Offensively, I thought we played fine. Defensively, we need to recognize who their players are."

Milford led by three at the end of the first quarter and by five going into halftime, but Pelham opened the second half with a 9-2 run that gave the Pythons a 35-33 lead. The Spartans responded with back-to-back 3s by Fuller and Hansen to start a 10-0 run, giving Milford its largest lead of the night.

Riley swung the momentum in the final minute of the third, hitting a 3 to end Pelham's scoreless drought, and with Milford holding for the final shot, the junior stole the ball near halfcourt and threw up a one-handed 3-point attempt that found its mark as the buzzer sounded.

That cut the Spartans' lead to 45-41 going into the fourth.

"I thought she could have taken a layup, there was enough time," Shephard said. "It was a momentum-changer for us. That was a lucky shot and we haven’t had many lucky shots this season."

Riley opened the scoring in the fourth with a jumper to make it a two-point game, and after the Spartans went back up by six points, Guinazzo scored six straight for the Pythons to tie the game at 49 with four minutes remaining.

"They have good players," Davidson said. "(Riley) is phenomenal and those two big girls (Guinazzo and Hannah Kelly) are hard to contain. They’re really hard to deal with. We have to beat them down the floor, we have to score in transition. I don’t know what the numbers were but we had a good game beating them down the floor."

With the game on the line, Milford did just that, as Fuller broke the tie with a layup and then got a steal to start a fast break, getting the ball to Alexia Bausha, who found Hansen at the basket for another score.

After a timeout, Fuller made it six points in a row for the Spartans, and Milford went 4 of 6 at the line in the final two minutes to end the game on a 12-0 run.

"We’ve had two or three games already where it came down to the last few possessions of the game, so they’ve been through this," Davidson said. "They know what it feels like now and this was another one. This is the stuff that gets you ready to play in the playoffs. We’re getting closer."