> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Outside shooting in 2nd half helped St. Thomas storm away with D3 girls basketball title - URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/outside-shooting-in-2nd-half-helped-st-thomas-storm-away-with-d3-girls-basketball-title/ - Published: 2025-03-03T18:00:36.000Z - Updated: 2025-03-03T18:00:36.000Z - Description: KEENE - The St. Thomas Aquinas High School girls basketball team led Fall Mountain by a dozen points at halftime of Saturday's Division III championship game. The Saints were feeling pretty good in their locker room in Keene State College's Spaulding Gymnasium, but one player felt like she could hav - Author: Joe Marchilena - Tags: Division III-IV, championship, Division III, Fall Mountain, girls basketball, NH High School Sports Insider, playoffs, slider, St. Thomas, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44 KEENE - The St. Thomas Aquinas High School girls basketball team led Fall Mountain by a dozen points at halftime of Saturday's Division III championship game. The Saints were feeling pretty good in their locker room in Keene State College's Spaulding Gymnasium, but one player felt like she could have done more. St. Thomas coach Kevin Giannino went to talk to Genevieve Bolduc to find out what was up with the senior. "I talked to (Genevieve) at halftime and she was down a little," Giannino said. "She said ‘coach, I’m having a hard time shooting in this gym.’ It’s a little different, different background, a little bit bigger gym. I said don’t worry, we’re going to shoot at the other basket in the second half." Bolduc had six points in the first half, but was 0 for 4 from behind the 3-point line. "I just wanted to be able to be the best for my team," she said. "I don’t think I would have forgiven myself if we had come up short and I didn’t play the best that I could have. My team doesn’t put that pressure on me, I put it on myself. I just wanted to play my best for them. I think seeing them in the locker room, so excited, it kind of fueled me." Whether it was a change of baskets or just inspiration from her teammates, it worked, as Bolduc hit six 3-pointers in the second half. Two of those game early in the third quarter to give the Saints a quick six points, setting the tone for a quarter that saw St. Thomas outscore the Wildcats, 17-3, on the way to a 72-35 win and to cap an undefeated season with a D3 title. Bolduc finished with a game-high 24 points, going 6 of 15 from behind the 3-point line, while teammate Emma Toriello was 3 of 7 from 3 and added 15 points. As a team, the Saints shot 40 percent from deep, including an 8 of 16 performance in the second half. That came after St. Thomas spent the first half going inside to center Emilie Von Der Linden, who had 12 points and grabbed 14 of her 18 rebounds in the opening two quarters. "It just worked that way," Toriello said. "We just knew we wanted to establish Emilie low in the paint, and once we did that, they were crashing all the time. Just getting those shots outside to fall were crucial." It was a bit of role reversal for the teams, too, as Fall Mountain had hit 11 3-pointers in its semifinal win, setting a D3 playoff record. The Saints' 10 3s set a D3 title-game record and Bolduc's six 3s tied the record for a championship game. "We knew the only way they’d be able to beat us was if we allowed them to get hot," Bolduc said. "I think we did a really good job from the beginning not allowing them to get hot. Obviously, they have a few girls who hit shots regardless. We kept them from being confident. Those girls are so talented and they played hard." Giannino was worried early on, when Fall Mountain junior center Riley Beckwith picked up her third foul with four minutes left in the first quarter and went to the bench. "It scared the heck out of me when they have five 3-pointer shooters out there," the coach said. "Then we have Emilie out there. We were ready to adjust and maybe go into a bit of a zone, but Emilie stepped out and started covering some of their shooters and did a pretty good job at it. We just stayed man-to-man. "We knew going in that we’d have to run their 3-pointer shooters off the line. We worked hard all week on doing that and it paid off."