Portsmouth hangs on to beat Windham in D2 girls basketball semifinals

MANCHESTER – Teams that dominate a game the way the Portsmouth High School girls basketball team did in the first half of Monday’s Division II semifinal game usually win easily.

The No. 2 Clippers led No. 3 Windham by 20 points early in the third quarter at Southern New Hampshire University before the Jaguars made an enormous comeback that came up just short.

Portsmouth held on for a 47-41 victory that sends it to a championship game for just the second time in program history. The Clippers will take on No. 1 Lebanon for the division title on Friday at 7 p.m. at SNHU.

Alicia Brown had 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead Portsmouth (18-3), as the Clippers dominated the boards, 32-19, and scored in the paint almost at will in the first half.

But in the second, Portsmouth got away from what it was doing well and struggled with Windham’s increased pressure. The Jaguars (16-5) got as close as four points with 1:18 to play, but couldn’t get a shot off on two long possessions.

“I thought they showed a lot of heart and courage in the second half,” Windham coach Joe Mason said. “Unfortunately, the game is 32 minutes long and I kind of felt, in the first half, we were settling and we weren’t playing our basketball. At halftime, we talked about attacking them and bringing it to them, and I thought we did that.”

In the first half, Windham too often settled for outside shots and struggled, making 3 of 21 field goals, and trailed 27-11 at halftime. Portsmouth, meanwhile, shot 54 percent in the first 16 minutes, including a combined 9 of 12 for Brown and Devon Parker (15 points).

“We did have a size advantage and we did want to go there,” Portsmouth coach Daniel Parr said. “Our kids played especially well on defense. They hurt us the first time we played with dribble penetration. I thought we shut that down.”

Portsmouth went up 33-13 on a layup by Christina Jones (10 points) with 5:26 to play in the third quarter, but Windham ended the frame with a 10-2 run to make it a 14-point game going into the fourth.

The Jaguars then outscored the Clippers 13-6 to open the final quarter to cut the deficit in half, 41-34, with 3:52 to play.

“They played the same zone (as the first half), but we did it to ourselves,” Parr said. “We were being patient but we end up taking a shot that’s the wrong kid, wrong time, wrong place and they converted.

“They got their running game going off the rebound and they scored and then they’re in our face on defense. I think we took some questionable shots because we had everything we needed in the paint, if we had been more patient. They put the pressure on us and you could see we were a little shaky against pressure.”

A jump shot by Brown made it a nine-point game with 2:07 to play, but a three-point play by Windham’s Brianna Angelini and a basket by Clairee Putnam cut the lead to 45-41 with 1:18 left.

After a layup by Parker pushed the Porstmouth lead back to six, the Jaguars ran close to 30 seconds off the clock, looking for an opening in the Clippers’ defense. Windham took a timeout with 22.3 seconds to play, but a turned the ball over with 10 seconds left and Portsmouth ran out the clock.

“I think they were trying to be patient and trying to get a quality shot,” Mason said. “At that time, I felt setting up a play was a good idea. In the second half, we did a much better job attacking the seams. If we had done that earlier, I think the results would have been better.”

Amanda Schiebel led Windham with 13 points and Bernadette Connors added 11.

Portsmouth will play in a championship game for the first time in 13 years, and only the second time ever. In 2000, the Clippers lost to Nashua, 70-33, in the Class L title game.