Victory over Winnacunnet a big step for Nashua North girls basketball

The Nashua High School North girls basketball team knew this would be a big transition year for the program.

For the first time in program history, the Titans were going to have a new coach, who would be tasked with leading a team that had just one senior returning.

New North coach Christina Collins - who was an assistant under former coach Ricky Oliver - knew it was going to take time for the girls to work through that transition, and with Tuesday's 43-41 win over Winnacunnet, the first-year coach felt the Titans were starting to show signs.

"This was the first game that they've played together," Collins said. "They trust each other enough that they are going to pick each other up when someone makes a mistake."

Down a starter going into the game, Collins saw a pair of players step up and take some ownership of what was going on on the floor.

"Ari (Motivala) stepped up huge (Tuesday)," the coach said. "This is the first game where she has demanded the ball. This is the first game where she's stepped up. Janessa (Lofton) was kind of a counterpart to her and it was a big game for both of them."

Motivala and Lofton are two of seven sophomores on the varsity roster, five of whom saw playing time against Winnacunnet.

While senior Isabel Dunning provides scoring just about every night for the Titans - she had 17 against Winnacunnet and 22 against Alvirne in the Chick-fil-A Holiday Tournament finale - it was Motivala and juniors Danielle Upton and Alana Choate who helped with big plays down the stretch against the Warriors.

And North was able to win despite turning the ball over and missing a pair of free throws in the final minute.

"It kind of gives the younger players the confidence that, mistakes are going to happen, and you have to overcome them," Collins said. "It sounds cheesy but knowing that grit and hard work and hustle and staying with each other, that proves them maturity in a basketball sense."

Are the Titans ready to make a run to the Division I championship game? Probably not, but a win over a team that was in the final four a year ago, and the final the year before that, is big.

"We can win a close game and we can play with those better programs in the league," Collins said. "We're not there right now, but if we keep this momentum and the motivation, we can be there, too. That's going to be a big key to it."