Nothing could have kept Pinkerton girls basketball's Lemire from playing semifinal

It only happened for a moment.

Pinkerton Academy girls basketball coach Lani Buskey remembers there being just one utterance from Amanda Lemire, her senior point guard, as she was on the ground after trying to take a charge during the Astros quarterfinal win over Londonderry.

"Blood was running down her face." Buskey said. "The beauty of her, she has one moment where she goes ‘why me,’ but then the next thing is ‘did I get the charge?’"

Lemire did draw the charge, but her day was done, as she'd suffered a broke nose in second-seeded Pinkerton's 61-23 win over the Lancers on March 3. That win sent the Astros the Division I semifinals at Southern New Hampshire University for the second year in a row, and third time in four years.

But also for the second straight season, Lemire had suffered an injury before getting a chance to play on the biggest stage. Unlike last year, when a stress fracture in her foot kept her out of action, there wasn't anything that was going to keep Lemire from playing.

"The biggest worry was that the trainer was going to say I couldn’t play," she said. "I don’t care if it’s (her nose) tilted, I’m playing."

And play Lemire did, scoring 22 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists, while playing all 32 minutes of Pinkerton's 56-38 semifinal win over No. 3 Manchester Memorial with a clear mask on her face.

"She’s a warrior," Buskey said. "We ordered the mask at halftime of the Londonderry game. All week long, we’ve had the mask on her. I don’t worry about Amanda. The first day (of practice), I was hesitant.

"I think even if it limited her a little bit, it’s still Amanda at 75 percent. That’s still what we need. I told her great players are born out of adversity, you’ve had your share, but I’d hate to be the girl who has to guard you."

After spending most of the season doing all the little things Pinkerton (17-3), Lemire stepped up to provide scoring when the Astros needed. The senior was 4 of 8 from behind the 3-point line and 6 of 6 on her free throws, and worked well with junior Brooke Kane (23 points, 10 rebounds vs. Memorial).

"Her and Brooke found each other really well," Buskey said. "Brooke would drive and find Amanda on the kickout. Amanda would attack and find Brooke underneath. They’re dynamic when they’re on together."

Lemire will once again done the mask for Saturday's D1 championship game, which starts at 4 p.m. at Southern New Hampshire University with the Astros facing No. 5 Bishop Guertin, the two-time defending champions. But after Thursday's experience, the mask might be an afterthought.

"I’d get distracted since it’s an intense game," Lemire said. "The only issue was that it slips a little and if it caught in my eye, then I can’t see. Every game, I’ll probably get more used to it, but it’s not that bad.

"My peripheral vision is kind of bad, but I can see and I can dribble. As long as I can see and I’m on the court, I don’t care if it’s bothering me."