Winnacunnet girls basketball rolls past Alvirne in season opener (video)

HUDSON - The focus at the start of this season for the Winnacunnet High School girls basketball team wasn't so much about a game plan or strategy, but rather how the Warriors were handling the little things.

Against Alvirne on Friday night, Winnacunnet took care of all of them.

The Warriors got out in front early, going up 14-5 in the first quarter, and cruised to a 40-17 win over the Broncos in the Division I opener for both teams.

Hannah Driscoll scored all of her seven points in the first six minutes to help Winnacunnet (1-0) build that lead while Leah Orzechowski and Christina Kahigian also had seven points apiece. Lauren Considine added six points on two 3-pointers in the first half, as the Warriors took a 24-12 lead into halftime.

"Some of the things we’ve been working on in practice the last couple of weeks really came out (Friday)," Winnacunnet coach Cassie Turcotte said. "Following through with their shots, crashing the boards, being where they’re supposed to be on defense. I was happy with the result of a first game. There’s lots of spider webs, but we’re working our way out of them."

Grace Hodgdon led the Broncos (0-1) with seven points, but no one else had more than one field goal, as Alvirne tries to replace its entire starting lineup from a team that reached the final four a year ago.

"I was pleased with the defense," Alvirne first-year coach Chris Cheetham said. "When I look at the defense, (Alvirne gave up) 40 points and a lot of turnovers. To hold them to 40 points is a good sign that we’re moving in the right direction.

"Overall I was happy, but we have to work on offense. We got bogged down and I think we started standing around. And we definitely weren’t rebounding."

Winnacunnet jumped out to a 7-0 lead before back-to-back Alvirne baskets made it a three-point game in the first quarter, but over the next seven minutes, the Warriors outscored the Broncos 14-1 to take a 21-5 lead. Brianna Jones and Hodgdon scored for Alvirne to stop the run and a 3-pointer by Brenna Paquette with 27 seconds left in the half got the Broncos within 12 at the break.

But after finding ways to survive against the Warriors' press in the first half, the Broncos struggled after halftime against Winnacunnet's pressure. Orzechowski opened the third quarter with a putback and Jenny Freedman added a basket to make it a 28-12 game, as the Warriors outscored Alvirne 12-2 in the third quarter.

As Winnacunnet was able to extend its lead, Turcotte was able to empty the bench and get everyone on the roster some early varsity minutes.

"Everybody saw a pretty significant amount of time (Friday). I think it will end up that there are some players who are leading our team in scoring. For (Friday), I think it was just a great opportunity for everyone to have a burst of confidence going into the season."

Winnacunnet returns to action on Tuesday at Manchester Central, while Alvirne is off until Dec. 19, when the Broncos host Central.