Warrior, Avi Morrison sparks WHS girls' rout of Exeter

By STEVE CRAIG

sports@seacoastonline.com

December 21, 2011 2:00 AM

HAMPTON — With the Winnacunnet High School girls basketball team, it's a case of pick your poison. The Exeter Blue Hawks found out that almost any choice is deadly.

Exeter opted for a packed-in zone to start Tuesday's game. That was like an early holiday present for Avi Morrison. The senior drilled five 3-pointers in the first quarter on her way to 25 points with seven 3-pointers as Winnacunnet romped to the 69-18 win, its 73rd straight in Division I.

"Right away they were playing a zone and when I saw that I knew it was my time," Morrison said.

Winnacunnet is now 3-0, a confident, experienced and talented group. The Warriors will next face one of their toughest challenges of the season when they travel to The Expo in Portland on Monday to play Maine Class A champ Catherine McAuley, a tall, athletic team the Warriors saw just weeks ago in a hotly contested scrimmage.

"It's definitely going to show us where we're at and at the beginning of the season we weren't working well together yet," Morrison said. "Yeah, it is pretty important. We treat every game the same, take every game one at a time and everything counts."

Warrior point guard Kirsten O'Neil started the 22-2 first-quarter onslaught with a trey about 10 seconds into the game from the top of the key, with no Blue Hawk within six feet of her. Morrison nailed the first one she took moments later.

In one quarter Morrison was 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, scoring 15 points. Not one was a poor shot selection.

Exeter head coach Terry Kukesh knew all about Winnacunnet's ability to shoot from long range.

"But they're also quicker than us and I was concerned what they would do if we played man-to-man," she said. "Basically, we didn't rotate quickly enough out of the zone."

It took Exeter (0-4) over 31 minutes to top Morrison's first-quarter output. No Blue Hawk scored more than four points.

Mimi MacLeod showed the Warriors do have an inside game, scoring 16 points — eight coming in the second quarter. O'Neil finished with 10 points.

In its three games, Winnacunnet is averaging 75.3 points, with an average winning margin of 46.

"We've got to do a little better job with our defensive rebounding right now," Warrior head coach Ed Beattie said. "When the scores are lopsided it's kind of hard to ...; do it but you don't want to get into bad habits. The rest of it is pretty positive right now. Maybe make a few more of our layups."

Beattie had a point. Exeter did have multiple second and third-chance opportunities, and once missed five shots in a single possession — "It's not for a lack of effort," Kukesh noted.

Also, Winnacunnet, which went 9-of-19 on 3-pointers, shot a rather pedestrian (by its standards) 35.4 percent from inside the arc (17 of 48).

All of which means the Warriors can continue to improve. Now that would be deadly.

Winnacunnet 69, Exeter 18

EXETER (18)

Love 0-0-0, Siegal 0-0-0, Graham 1-2-4, Congdon 0-0-0, Brock 0-1-1, Connor 0-0-0, Leavitt 0-0-0, Grijalva 0-0-0, Day 1-1-3, Pollet 2-0-4, Dullea 2-0-4, McQuate 1-0-2. Totals: 7-4-18.

WINNACUNNET (69)

O'Neil 4-0-10, Sullivan 2-1-5, MacLeod 6-4-16, O'Connor 1-1-3, Morrison 9-0-25. Lewis 0-0-0, Galvin 1-0-2, Mutch 1-0-2, Withee 2-0-4, Gould 0-2-2. Totals: 26-8-69.

Exeter 2 5 6 5 —18

Winnacunnet 22 14 13 20—69

3-pointers—Winnacunnet 9: Morrison 7, O'Neil 2. Fouled out—none.

Avi lead Winnacunnet to 5th State Championship

By Mike Zhe

mzhe@seacoastonline.com

March 13, 2011 6:30 AM

MANCHESTER — The championships have become old hat. But you wouldn't know it by the celebrations that follow them.

The Winnacunnet High School girls basketball team won its fifth straight Division I title Saturday night, pulling away late from a game Londonderry squad to win, 55-46, at Southern New Hampshire University.

Point guard Kirsten O'Neil led all scorers with 17 points, leading four Warriors in double figures. Forwards Sam Corcoran (10 points, 13 rebounds) and Carly Gould (12 points, 15 rebounds), both had double-doubles.

And everyone got to celebrate afterward.

"I'm ecstatic," said O'Neil, "like I've never felt this before. I'm shaking. But it was all worth it. The 110 days we put into this? It was worth it. The running we did? It was worth it."

In a free-flowing, intense game where talent was on display and momentum shifted from possession to possession, the Warriors (22-0) led by just one point, 41-40, through three quarters. But they opened the fourth with a 6-0 spurt and the Lancers (19-3) never got closer than four the rest of the way.

The win extended the program's win streak to 70 games against Division I competition, but this title — coming after the graduation of standout guard Tiffany Ruffin and seven other seniors — was hardly a given back in November.

"This team's real special to me," said coach Ed Beattie. "I don't think anybody believed in them as much as (assistant coach Cassie) Turcotte and I did, and that started last summer."

"It's a great feeling," said Corcoran, one of just two seniors on the team. "This was my last game. I'm not going to play in college; I'm going to study nursing. ...; It feels great that my last game was this one."

The five straight titles match the accomplishment of a unified Nashua High School in the mid-to-late 1980s. The coach of those Nashua teams, John Fagula, is now coaching Londonderry. But while his current team's defense was strong — 26 forced turnovers — it shot just 29 percent from the floor, and standout forward Savanna Butterfield (10 points) couldn't quite get untracked.

"I kept telling them, with the defense that we play, if we just have a decent shooting game ...; tonight, unfortunately, was not one of those nights," said Fagula.

The Lancers were the only team that the Warriors did not beat by a double-digit margin in the regular season. And for 24 minutes Saturday, they were in Winnacunnet's face like a pushy salesman.

But after sharpshooter Avi Morrison (12 points) gave Winnacunnet the lead back with her fourth 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, putting her team up 41-40, the Warriors put their stamp on the game in the opening few minutes of the fourth.

Another Corcoran rebound led to a fast break, with Morrison passing to a streaking O'Neil. After some full-court pressure forced a turnover, Gould grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back for a 45-40 lead.

When Gould scored again, cutting through the lane and finishing off a pass from Corcoran, the score was 47-40 with less than five minutes to play. Danielle Crutcher (12 points) kept Londonderry in range with a three, but Anna Sullivan made her only hoop of the night a big one, and the Warriors protected the ball and made their free throws after that.

"It's that fourth-quarter push we have, that fourth-quarter attitude," said Corcoran.

In defeat, the Lancers did win plenty of respect.

"That was the best game I've played in all year," said O'Neil. "They played great. I give them so much credit, so much respect. It was probably a real good game to watch."

It sure was.

The Warriors started fast, with Corcoran grabbing a rebound after the opening possession and passing half the length of the court to O'Neil for a fast-break layup, a blink-and-you-miss-it play that got the fans in the packed gym involved early.

Two 3-pointers by Morrison to start the second quarter extended the early Winnacunnet lead to 17-7, but the Lancers stormed right back. Behind Butterfield, they crafted a 17-4 run, taking the lead for the first time, 22-21, on two Butterfield free throws.

Morrison's third three of the half pulled the Warriors back even, and they took a 30-29 lead to the locker room despite an uncharacteristic 13 turnovers.

The outcome wouldn't be settled until the fourth quarter. But it would be settled.

"We just wanted it so bad. It wasn't in our mindset to lose," said O'Neil. "We just cut it loose. Losing would be the worst thing."

Another strong finish, another championship — and one to be cherished by a program that's got a bunch of them to compare to one another.

"There were a lot of doubters," said Beattie. "Everyone kept waiting for us to lose, and these girls just said they weren't going to."

Winnacunnet 55, Londonderry 46

LONDONDERRY (46)

Moloney 1-0-2, Crutcher 5-1-12, Uphold 1-3-5, Butterfield 3-4-10, Simpson 0-2-2, Bolduc 1-3-6, Johnson 3-1-9. Totals: 14-14-46.

WINNACUNNET (55)

O'Neil 3-10-17, Sullivan 1-0-2, DiPietro 1-0-2, Gould 5-2-12, Corcoran 5-0-10, Morrison 4-0-12. Totals: 19-12-55.

Londonderry 7 22 11 6 — 46

Winnacunnet 11 19 11 14 — 55

3-point field goals — Londonderry 4: Johnson 2, Crutcher, Bolduc. Winnacunnet 5: Morrison 4, O'Neil. Fouled out — Uphold, Gould.

Nystrom and Pelham in NH State Tourney

NE Warrior Erik Nystrom player a big role in Pelham High NH Division 2 1st round playoff action on 3/9. The junior forward dominated the glass with 13 rebounds (4 offensive) and dished out 5 assists in the Pythons 74 to 58 win over Kingswood Regional. First-year Pelham coach Matt Regan figured he could count on the 6-1 undersized Erik Nystrom to be an effective rebounder. "He's been great for us rebounding the basketball all year. He's playing guys 6-6, 6-7 and he hasn't been outrebounded yet" said Regan. The 4th seeded Pythons will meet Oyster River in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

Neph Carmona leads Georgetown to semi finals of D4 hoops

Georgetown knocks off top-seeded Bulldogs

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

ShareThis

Saturday, March, 05By Hector Longo

MIDDLETON — Youth equals loose.

And last night with a Division 4 North quarterfinal up for grabs, the score tied 51-51 heading to the fourth quarter, loose equalled victory for Georgetown.

The 8th-seeded Royals opened the fourth with an 18-2 flurry, blowing the top-seeded Bulldogs right off their home floor, 78-62. Now 14-8, Georgetown will tangle with No. 5 Winthrop Tuesday night at Malden High.

"We only have on senior. We've got young kids, and this is a great experience," said Georgetown coach Mike Rowinski. "We had that attitude, nothing to lose, playing the no. 1 seed and it showed."

If Georgetown had nerves, they certainly had to be tested before the end of the third period, when a wrong jersey number for a reserve player thrown in for the final 1.6 seconds cost the Royals a technical foul and a three-point lead.

"Our coach just told us in the huddle do our jobs," said junior guard Tyler Wade. "There was no panic, not at all. Our energy was up, we had so much coming off the bench, we wanted it so bad."

Georgetown extended the pressure, and Wade and backcourt mate Johnny Spears wreaked havoc, pumping it down to that lone senior, Neph Carmona.

The 6-foot-3 rebound machine delivered 11 of his 18 points in that fateful fourth quarter.

"Carmona was tremendous on the boards, he did a great job neutralizing (Jordan) Smith, getting him into foul trouble," said Rowinski, noting the 6-foot-5 Bullbog center was held to just eight points.

"The press bothered them, especially with Smith out of the game. We were able to open things up more, get into our running game. That was the big difference."

With the advantage, Georgetown stared down its season-long nemesis late in the fourth, doing more than enough damage at the foul line (19 of 37 for the game) to maintain the double-figure advantage.

"We have to be the worst foul-shooting team in our league," said Rowinski.

That fact did little to hinder the ultra-cool Wade, who was 13 of 21 on the night with 10 of his team-high 21 in the fourth.

"Knock them down, move on to the next round," said Wade. "In the beginning, we all struggled, including me, but once I hit a couple, my confidence was up."

Much of the first three quarters belonged to the sophomore Spears, who dashed to the glass on his way to 19 points.

"Even (older brother) Jaymie didn't do this here at Georgetown," said Johnny of the dash to the North semis. "Tyler stepped it up, I stepped it up. We all turned it up defensively."

Georgetown's last trip to the North semis was 2007, but that came after a first-round bye and a win in the quarters.

Game Statistics:

Georgetown (78): Johnny Spears 8 1-2 19, Tyler Wade 4 13-21 21, Angel Sanquintin 5 0-1 11, Mike Bjork 2 1-4 5, Patrick Bjork 0 2-2, Neph Carmona 8 2-6 18, Mike Bjork 1 0-1 2, Totals 28 19-37 78

North Shore (62): Jordan Mendez 1 0-0 2, Jordan Castillo 9 4-4 24, Patrick Wood 8 5-7 22, Jordan Smith 4 0-0 8, Tyler Suggs 1 0-0 2, Derrick Frazier 2 0-0 4, Totals 25 9-11 62

3-pointers: NST — Castillo 2, Wood

Bruce Reid and Pentucket take on Hamilton-Wenham in boys playoff action tonight

High School Friday: Pentucket Basketball: MyFoxBOSTON.com

High School Friday: Pentucket Basketball: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Jen Rock name to All-League team for 3rd season

Warrior, Jen Rock averaged just over 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 5 assists per game this year. She was named to the Cape Ann League All-League Team for the third consecutive year.

Good friends Molly and Hayley at a recent game

Jess Canning leads Triton to #7 ranking in Division 3 playoffs

Triton and Jessica Canning will play a home playoff game vs. #10 Lynnfield on Tuesday night at 7pm. Jess comes into the game avg. almost 10 point and 6 rebounds per game for Triton.

Good Luck!!

Neph Carmona is a force for Georgetown boys

Georgetown outscored Pentucket in every quarter in a 63-53 victory to end its regular season with a 12-8 record. Neph Carmona had 19 points and 15 rebounds while Tyler Wade had a season-high 23 points.

Molly Rowe and Beth Castantini lead Newburyport Girls to the playoffs

Newburyport girls had a great finish to the regular season winning there last 7 games including a huge upset of Pentucket and a 20 point win over Triton and winning the CAL division 2 championship. Warriors Molly Rowe and Beth Castantini were both big down the stretch. Beth had a 28 and 20 point game and Molly had a 20 and 18 point game. The 20 point game was against Pentucket including going 16-20 from the line. Newburyport finished 13-7 and now await the draws for the tournament. Beth was named to the All League team and Molly was named to the All Star team.

Ashley Vining MVP at PCA

Ashley Vining led her Portsmouth Christian Academy team in scoring for the season and was voted team MVP. Ashley went from a role player to leading scorer on her team after attending the New England Warriors fall clinic and continuing to work on her shot at the Warriors in season shooting clinic. Ashley turned into a complete player after working on her fundamentals at the clinics and plans to attend every clinic the Warriors offer.

Danielle Silva plays well in final home game for PMA

Long time Warrior Danielle Silva played well in her final home game for PMA this week. She scored 13 and was a force on defense in a 66-60 loss to Chelsea. She has 3 more games to go in the season. She hopes to lead the team to a 10 win season.

Keep up the hard work!

Neph Carmona leads Georgetown with double-double

Georgetown's free throw shooting has been poor all season and very weak the last three games, converting only 33 of 86 and winning just once. Last night against Rockport, the charity stripe was charitable for the Royals as an 18 for 19 effort led to a 64-51 victory and a state tourney berth. Sophomore Angel Sanquintin had eight second-half points to spark a game-changing run and senior Neph Carmona rule the boards with 13 rebounds and 17 points.

Game Statistics:

Rockport (51): Hendy 7-1-17, Gray 4-1-12, MacArthur 4-3-12, Astesi 1-0-2, Meredith 3-2-8. Totals 19-7-51

Georgetown (64): Spears 1-8-10, Wade 6-3-15, Sanquintin 4-0-10, Warren 3-0-6, P. Bjork 2-2-6, Carmona 6-5-17, C. Ingraham 0-0-0. Totals 22-18-64

Aviana Morrison comes up big for Winnacunnet again

Brian and Joe and Joe Jr

I just had to send you a note to thank you so much for the work you put in last year to make Avi a better shooter. The work is paying off this year with Avi's performance at Winnacunnet.

Case in point was the game she played Friday night against Pinkerton. It was a match up between the number 1 team in Div 1, Winnacunnet, and #2 team Pinkerton. Avi hit for 5 three point shots, a 15 foot jumper and 1 free throw. Two of the 3 pointers came at a time in the game where Pinkerton was making a run to close the lead. Avi hit 2 in a row and that pretty much put an end to the run. The most satisfying part was what the coach said after the game. After those 2 three pointers he said......" Game over," said Beattie "Those shots were big. She's a shooter. She's hard to cover because she's got such a quick release."

You guys should be proud of the results you get from the work you put in with these kids. She is increasing her points per game average and she owes a lot of this to your hard work with her. She is looking forward to seeing you guys when the season is over.

Thanks again.

Dave Morrison

Josh Plunkett makes All-Star team in Chelmsford

Returning Warrior Josh Plunkett has made the CYBL All-Star team this winter. His last game he lead his team in scoring with 14 points as they look to the playoffs. He will be joining the Warriors again this spring on an AAU team.

Josh, good luck with the rest of the season and we'll see you soon!

Leboeuf brothers playing well for Dracut

Ryan is the starting small forward for the Dracut 7^th Grade Travel Team. Ryan has really come on as of late averaging over 4 points per game over his last six games. Ryan’s coach states that he is one of the best shooters on the team. Ryan can’t wait to continue playing basketball with the Warriors again this spring.

Justin made the Dracut Freshmen Basketball Team under the direction of Coach Ben Shaw. Justin has improved steadily over the course of the year. He currently plays small forward for the team. He has seen his playing time increase during the year. Justin is excited to play for the Warriors again this spring.

Yvonne Dean playing well for PCA

Yvonne is having a great season on Portsmouth Christian Varsity this season. So far they are 10 - 3 this season. She is averaging 8pts and 7 rebounds per game. Her best game yet was against Wilton with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Your programs really have helped her game, thanks so much!

Cheryl Dean

All the hard work Yvonne is putting in is working well for her in her games. Keep it up Yvonne!!

Molly Rowe and Beth Castantini lead Newburyport Girls

Molly Rowe and Beth Castantini lead Newburyport Girls varsity to a 8-4 record. Beth is the second leading scorer on the team with 13.0 points a game and Molly (pictured) is the third leading scorer with 9.1 a game. They're tied with 56 rebounds each to lead the team and Molly leads the team in assists with 54. They are both playing real well for this varsity.

Three Warriors lead Georgetown Boys

The Georgetown boys are lead by three Warrior players. Senior Neph Carmona is the starting center, Mike Bjork is a junior forward and freshmen Patrick Bjork is also a freshmen. All three have been with the Warriors for a bunch of years and this year is it paying big as the team is off to a 7-4 record after beating Ipswich 53-40. Neph had 10 and a ton of rebound, Mike had a free throw to go along with his outstanding defense and Patrick stepped up with 8 pints and six rebounds. The Royals will look like a tough team to face come playoffs.

Drew Manchester starring at Amesbury

Drew Manchester is leading the Amesbury freshmen team in scoring at more than 13 points per game. He is also getting on the boards with about 12 per game and chipping in with almost 5 blocks per game. He had another growth spurt and he is now using that on the court. He is having a very nice season and plans on looking to improve in the off-season with the Warriors AAU team this spring.

Keep it up Drew!

Pettigrew Sisters playing well in Newburyport

The Pettigrew sisters are working hard and having fun for their Newburyport teams. Mary (pictured) made the varsity as a freshmen and also plays JV. She is doing very well and improving at her game. Her sister Emily is starting for the 7th grade A team and she has led them to a bunch of victories and they have only lost on divisional game so far. They both plan on coming back and working at their game this off-season with the Warriors.

Their committed to improving and watch out as I think they will both be star players at the varsity level in Newburyport over the years.

PCA girls team credits success to Warrior training

The Portsmouth Christian Academy girls 5th/6th grade team won their division posting a 10-2 record. Coach Mike Vining attributes the successful season to the starting five attending the New England Warriors fall clinic. The PCA team beat arch rival St. Mary's for the first time by utilizing the skills and fundamentals stressed at the Warriors clinics.

Ryan Connelly make Bishop Fenwick JV team as freshmen

Longtime Warrior Ryan Connelly made the JV team at Bishop Fenwick as a freshman and is seeing a lot of time at the 2 guard. They are playing in one of the most competitive league in the state with, three teams in the league (Varsity) in the top 25 in the state.

Ryan's best game was against Austin Prep in a combined half freshman/half JV. He had 14 total points to go along with half a dozen rebounds. All of Ryan's hard work is paying off as he is on one of the top programs in the area.

Great Job Ryan!!

Bryan Meinelt doing well at Triton

Bryan Meinelt is coming off the bench for the Triton Freshmen team. his skill level and confidence is getting better because of the Warriors program and his hard work!!

Julia Schlich tearing up the North Shore Catholic League

Just wanted to update you on Julia's season so far. All of your coaching and Julia's hard work in a Warrior uniform is paying off both defensively and offensively. She is having a great season, helping lead her 7/8 grade varsity team to a 9-1 record in the North Shore Catholic League. As a starting guard and leading scorer on the team, she had a season high 25 point game and is consistently scoring in double digits. Her confidence has soared since working out with New England Basketball and she will definitely be back for the Spring season!

Freshmen Jackson Morton playing well for Sanborn Varsity

Longtime Warrior, Jackson Morton, a freshman at Sanborn Regional High School helped his team to two wins this year by leading the team in scoring in his first 2 varsity starts. He plays the 2,3 & 4 positions in his first year of high school action. His strong fundamentals on defense and rebounding have also helped his team.

Aviana Morrison leads Winnacunnet Warriors

Aviana Morrison started at guard for the 2010/2011 NH Division 1 Winnacunnet Warriors. The warriors had won 4 straight NH Div1 State Titles but graduated 4 of the starting 5, and 8 of the 11 players on the team. As a result, newspapers and bloggers were saying Winnacunnet was a middle of the pack team for this season and should make the playoffs.

However, the Warriors team has surprised everyone and is now 8-0. Aviana is a three point shooting specialist averaging 3- 3 pointers per game, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 11 points per game. She is also an integral part of the suffocating press defense that Winnacunnet uses. Her Speed and quickness has helped to hold their opponents to 35.9 PPG . The team is scoring an average of 63.4 PPG resulting in an average 27.5 margin of victory – best in Division 1.

Winnacunnet begins a tough stretch in the next few weeks playing #2 Londonderry Friday and then Manchester Memorial, Pinkerton and Dover.