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# Souhegan girls basketball pulls away in second half to beat Milford (video)
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/souhegan-girls-basketball-pulls-away-second-half-beat-milford-video/
- Published: 2017-12-16T15:19:41.000Z
- Updated: 2017-12-16T15:19:41.000Z
- Description: MILFORD - Mia Len knew that if the Souhegan High School girls basketball team was going to get a win Friday night against Milford, the Sabers needed some kind of spark in the second half. The Souhegan senior let her teammates know how she wanted to play over the game's final 16 minutes and hoped tha
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division II, girls basketball, Milford, slider, Souhegan, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

MILFORD - Mia Len knew that if the Souhegan High School girls basketball team was going to get a win Friday night against Milford, the Sabers needed some kind of spark in the second half.

The Souhegan senior let her teammates know how she wanted to play over the game's final 16 minutes and hoped that they would follow.

The halftime pep talk worked, as Len hit five 3-pointers in the second half and the Sabers cranked up their intensity to pull away from Milford for a 52-36 win in Division II action.

Len finished with a game-high 25 points, including seven 3s, as Souhegan (3-0) continuously found ways to get her open looks from the perimeter. And when that wasn't working, the Sabers were able to clean up the offensive glasses for second-chance points, as Molly Driscoll added five points and Madison Robicheau, Emma White and Halle VanBallegooyen each chipped in with four.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bc/58/bc5866d0-9fd9-4113-b959-670d6f16471d/content/images/www-nh-highschoolsports-com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/jmshsmhsgbball121517-s24m3-wm.jpg)

Souhegan's Mia Len tries to drive as Milford's Emma Gray defends. (Photo by NH-HighSchoolSports.com)

"I thought we played tentative, without a lot of heart and passion (in the first half)," Souhegan coach Mike Heaney said. "Then something lit a fuse under them at halftime.

"I got into them a little bit and challenged them to play with heart and desire. Then I tried to leave them in the locker room and let them talk about it themselves. They came out with more intensity and focus. We’ve got seniors on the floor who have been here a lot and they didn’t play like it. In that second half, I thought they did."

As a four-year varsity player, Len felt it had to start with her.

"Coach came in (at halftime) and said it’s about heart and passion, especially when it’s a rivalry game like this," she said. "He left and left it to us. I told them team we come out and play like we want to win, or we go out and keep playing like we did. It was basically a choice. I was proud of how we came out and we played with heart. That’s what it came down to."

Milford (0-1) got nine points each from Sarah Dobbs and Elizabeth Paul, while Brenna deGroot had eight points. But the Spartans shot just 5 of 21 from the free throw line, including a stretch of eight misses in a row in the second quarter.

While Milford never led, the Spartans kept the game close in the first half, keeping it a one-possession game for most of the half despite the woes at the free throw line. Souhegan led 19-17 at halftime and was able to push the lead to seven points in the first minute of the third quarter.

But baskets by Paul and Dobbs at the other end got the Spartans back with three points, 24-21, with 5:25 left in the quarter. Heaney used a timeout after that, and following a couple of empty possessions by both teams, the Sabers started to roll.

A putback by Driscoll and a 3 by Len made it 29-21, and that started Souhegan on a 10-3 run that saw the Sabers take their largest lead to that point, 34-24.

After a timeout by Milford, deGroot made one of two free throws and hit a 3 with 54.3 seconds left in the third to get the Spartans back within six points. But with time running out in the quarter, another putback by Driscoll gave Souhegan a 36-28 lead and the Sabers stretched the lead to 42-31 early in the fourth.

But another 3 by deGroot got Milford back within eight with 4:34 to play before two 3s by Len put the game away for Souhegan.

"Mia made some big shots for us," Heaney said. "And once we hit a couple of shots and we started hanging on to those rebounds, it got contagious. Molly Driscoll in the second half dominated the glass and that wasn’t there in the first half. Once we started limiting them to more one-shot possessions, it turned the tide."