Winter Sports

Milford girls basketball looks to make history with No. 1 seed in D2

A year ago, the Milford High School girls basketball team was doing things the program hadn't done in three decades.

Milford opens the Division II tournament as the No. 1 seed.

A year ago, the Milford High School girls basketball team was doing things the program hadn't done in decades.

The Spartans hosted their first playoff game and won their first playoff game in over 20 years. They then reached the semifinals for the first time in 30 years. When the Division II tournament begins on Tuesday, Milford will be trying to do something that hasn't happened since 1979 - win a championship.

There are plenty of teams that stand in the way, including but not limited to, Souhegan, Lebanon, Hanover and Portsmouth.

Here is how the brackets looks, and our predictions for a winner.

First Round: Tuesday, March 4

No. 16 Plymouth (5-13) at No. 1 Milford (16-2): The two didn't play during the regular season, but had several common opponents; Milford had an 8-1 record in those games, while Plymouth was 4-7 against the same teams. The Spartans win with defense, allowing an average of 32.2 points per contest, and Milford has allowed only one team to score more than 40 points in the last 16 games. That's a problem for the Bobcats, who average 30 points a game on offense, and who have gone over that just seven times all year. In its last game, Plymouth lost No. 15 Pelham by 40 points, a team that Milford beat twice by an average of 20 points.
No. 9 Windham (10-8) at No. 8 Pembroke (12-6): Pembroke comes in with the better record, the owner of two wins over Windham this year, but its the Jaguars who have the experience, and perhaps the best player on the floor. Windham has made the final four the last two years with guard Clairee Putnam leading the way, but the Jaguars face a long road to make it three in a row. The teams met just a week at Pembroke, as the Spartans overcame a 10-point deficit in the first quarter to win in over time, 52-46.
No. 13 St. Thomas (7-11) at No. 4 Merrimack Valley (14-4): These two teams opened the season against each other on Dec. 13 in Dover, and they'll open the playoffs in Penacook. Merrimack Valley enters the game having won seven of its final eight games, but only two of those wins were against playoff teams and one was against a team with a winning record. In fact, the Pride are just 3-4 against teams over .500 this year. St. Thomas ended the year losing five of seven, but one of its two wins was over Milford in the regular-season finale. And the Saints know how to pull off an upset, having knocked off fifth-seed Hollis Brookline in last year's opening round.
No. 12 Oyster River (8-10) at No. 5 Lebanon (13-5): These two teams will meet for the first time on Tuesday. Oyster River comes in after going 5-3 down the stretch. Three of those wins were over fellow playoff teams in Portsmouth, St. Thomas and Windham by an average of 19 points. Lebanon got off to a rough start, losing two of its first three this season, but bounced back by winning 10 of 11. The Raiders slowed down at the end, losing back-to-back games to Hanover and Goffstown, but won two in a row to enter the postseason. Lebanon seemed to be one of the few teams scoring points this year, averaging 49.4 per game and 53.7 in its wins.
No. 15 Pelham (5-13) at No. 2 Hanover (16-2): It took a win over Plymouth in the final regular-season game for Pelham to get into the postseason. The Pythons started the year 0-8, a bit disappointing for a team that reached the quarterfinals a year ago. Scoring points was no problem for Pelham, as its averaged 50.4 a game and gone over that seven times. Stopping teams has been, as the Pythons have allowed 56.2. Since dropping back-to-back games to end January, Hanover was 9-0 in February, including wins over Lebanon and Souhegan. The Marauders also won their lone meeting with Pelham, 61-43, on Feb. 22.
No. 10 Goffstown (10-8) at No. 7 Portsmouth (12-6): Portsmouth battled back from a halftime deficit to beat Goffstown 48-42 in the team's only regular-season meeting. The Clippers have struggled since then, as they lost five of their final eight games going into the playoffs. Goffstown had won four of its last six coming in and the Grizzlies lost six games this year by nine points or less.
No. 14 Kingswood (6-12) at No. 3 Souhegan (14-4): The good news for Kingswood is that when the Knights score over 40 points this year, they win 86 percent of the time. When they don't score 40 points, the Knights are 0-11 this year. Souhegan has given up 40 points or more just six times and is 2-4 in those games. The Sabers allow an average of 32.1 points a game, and after losing three in a row, Souhegan ended the regular season on a three-game win streak.
No. 11 Hollis Brookline (9-9) at No. 6 Coe-Brown (13-5): Hollis Brookline turned things around midseason, going 6-3 in the second half the year to climb to .500. The Cavaliers pulled out some big wins, including giving Hanover its first loss of the season. But not many teams are playing as good as Coe-Brown, which enters the playoffs on a six-game win streak. HB has struggled at times to score points, which could be trouble if the Cavs have try to keep up with Coe-Brown (55.7 points per game during win streak).

Most likely first-round upset: While Windham has the experience and Hollis Brookline has taken down some giants this season, the best bet for a shocker would be No. 13 St. Thomas. The Saints did it a year ago, and there may not be a higher-seed more vulnerable than No. 4 Merrimack Valley. The Pride didn't play a strong schedule, and although they beat St. Thomas by 25 this year, that was a the first game of the season. A lot has happened since then.

First-round winners: No. 1 Milford, No. 8 Pembroke, No. 13 St. Thomas, No. 5 Lebanon, No. 2 Hanover, No. 10 Goffstown, No. 3 Souhegan, No. 6 Coe-Brown.

Final four matchups: Milford vs. Lebanon; Souhegan vs. Hanover.

Champsionship: Milford over Hanover.