Nashua South girls basketball starts fast to take win over Nashua North

NASHUA – Both the Nashua High School South and North girls basketball teams came into Friday night’s Battle of the Bridge rivalry matchup with matching 3-5 records and looking for a jumpstart at the midpoint of the season.

Thanks in large part to senior Morgan Gillis and sophomore Nicole De Jesus, South jumped into the second half of its schedule with some renewed energy.

Gillis and De Jesus each scored a season-high 19 points as the Panthers progressively broke away from the host Titans towards a 58-42 Division I victory.

South (4-5) was coming off a pair of losses, including a humbling 73-33 home loss to Salem (7-2) on Wednesday.

“We were coming off a pretty rough game so to come out like this was pretty special,” Gillis said. “We worked so hard at practice at working on our mistakes. We evaluated that (Friday) and we really wanted this win."

The Panthers were about three weeks removed from hitting 11 3-pointers in their 58-23 victory over North (3-6) in the championship game of the Nashua Holiday Tournament, and they picked up where they left off from that game by outscoring North 25-13 in the first quarter on the strength of four 3-pointers.

“We knew they were hungry, they have a great coach and they get the most out of that group,” South coach John Bourgeois said. “Honestly it was all on the players; they wanted this. We needed this game; it’s not going to be an easy year. We're a short group, we’re young, but we’ve got a feisty group.”

De Jesus, Karina O’Donnell and Amber Wong got things rolling with treys, while Gillis added a pair of hoops during an 18-3 run before De Jesus and North’s Angela King ended the quarter with 3-pointers.

“To come out like that (Friday) was good to see because we had a tough shooting day the other day,” Gillis said. “For us to sink those shots was big for us.”

In De Jesus, South has a diminutive guard who isn’t scared of taking shots or contact. She was all over the court on Friday night and opened up South’s scoring in the second quarter, followed by hoops from O’Donnell and Nitzann Alkalay to give South a 33-17 lead.

After North stormed back with an 8-0 run that was capped off by a 3-pointer by freshman Lily Small (19 points), De Jesus responded by draining a 3-pointer to give South a 36-25 halftime lead.

South extended its lead to 42-28 following a 3-pointer by Koharu Tanaka early in the third quarter and the Titans couldn’t get any closer.

“Nicole is a dog. She will get on any loose ball, any offensive rebound and she’s just a great competitor,” Bourgeois said. “And she’s got some range and is never afraid to shoot.”

Bourgeois also has strong feelings in the way Gillis has played all season and that she is the one that sets the tone and seemingly comes up with every big play when the Panthers need one.

“Every day in practice, every big game that we’re in, it’s always Morgan that’s making the big play and lifting everyone up,” Bourgeois said. “She’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever had in 11 years as a coach.”

While South will look to keep going at Exeter (4-5) on Tuesday, North will attempt to snap its four-game losing streak on Monday at Keene (4-2).

“They came out hitting 3s and even when we’d go out and go get them, they were quick on the dribble to get by us,” North coach Curt Dutilley said. “You got to take either the perimeter away or the drive. When you give them too many options like that, they’re in control.”