Windham girls basketball dominates to hand Goffstown first loss

WINDHAM - It was as dominant as a win could be for the Windham High School girls basketball team.

The Jaguars stepped to the moment and beat division-leading Goffstown in nearly every aspect of the game as they cruised to a 64-45 victory over the Grizzlies.

The Jaguars led wire to wire and grew their lead each quarter.

Seven Jaguars scored, led by 25 points from sophomore Sarah Dempsey. Dempsey also had a game-high four steals. Dempsey hit two 3s in the opening 90 seconds of the game to set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Dempsey was flanked by senior leader Sam Adamson, who chipped in 14 points herself as well as a game-high eight rebounds. Junior Livvey Kendzulak had seven points off the bench for the Jaguars.

“Sam is a great leader,” Dempsey said of Adamson. “She is always calm and in control of the game. She has a lot of experiences as a player.”

The Jaguars shot 6 of 10 from 3 and won the battle on the offensive boards, 9-7. Add in 18 Goffstown turnovers and Windham seized on the opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the state.

Windham led by 11 after a quarter, 15 at half, and 17 after three. With all the extra possessions the Jaguars controlled the tempo of the game and forced Goffstown out of its rhythm.

Senior Ali Schiebel played a huge role for the Jaguars. She scored eight points but provided an energy at the guard position that the rest of the team fed off.

“(She is a) big difference maker,” Windham coach Anne Haky said. “She’s a kid that for four years I’ve looked to for intensity. She’s a huge spark plug for us.”

Goffstown junior Kelly Walsh had her moments, scoring a team-high 21 points but was kept off her game all night and eventually fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.

Senior guard Sofia Piriz had nine points and was the only other consistent offensive producer for the Grizzlies.

“Stop (Walsh) from scoring,” Haky said of her team’s defensive game plan. “That’s always been our goal against them, but we tell them that the other kids can score, too. Goffstown is an experienced, talented program. While we know we’re not going to shutdown Walsh, if we can box out and go get it then things will happen in our favor.”

Windham has a week off before three straight road games, including dates with Portsmouth and Pinkerton.