Nashua North girls basketball hoping win leads it in right direction

Since the calendar turned to a new year, the Nashua High School North girls basketball team also appeared to have turned a page.

The Titans, who have just one senior on their roster this year, had won five of six games in January, putting themselves in the mix for a top eight seed in Division I.

North looked to be heading to its fourth win a row last Wednesday, when the Titans got on the bus to go to Keene, a team they had beaten at home just a few weeks before. Instead, North came out flat and lost to the Blackbirds by 20 points.

"We had a chat as a team (Thursday), kind of going over everything," North coach Christina Collins said. "They had finals, it's a long bus ride to Keene, it was a lot of excuses. We talked about excuses not getting you very far, and they all stepped up and said we need to be better."

The Titans were better against Nashua South on Friday, getting off to a great start and rolling to a 56-26 win over the Panthers. It was a win North needed to pick up, as three of the Titans' final six games are against Pinkerton, Bedford and Bishop Guertin, teams that are a combined 30-3.

Regardless of what North does against those teams, Collins feels like the season has progressed the way it should have.

"They're pushing each other and taking the steps in practice," she said. "They've taken them as well in games, to make adjustments. The older girls are challenging the younger girls, that this is expectation, you've got to get there."

The win over South gave the Titans a glimpse of how far they've come this season. With leading scorer Isabel Dunning struggling for points, other players stepped up and carried the load.

"Her shot wasn't falling, but she had countless assists and was kind of that driving force that was needed," Collins said. "She did all of the things that you need to do as a senior to get the team fired up.

"It's something we've talked about all year. Someone else has to step up, it can't always be her. It won't always be her with the points. It was fun to see the supporting girls, for lack of better words, step up and have that night, especially here."

North gets back on the court Tuesday when it hosts Manchester Memorial (5-5) at 6:30 p.m.