Tag: Pembroke

Three-Peat! Concord Christian wins third-straight title

By Nathaniel Ford

DURHAM – The Concord Christian Kingsmen defeated the Pembroke Spartans 65-53 in the Division II Girls Championship at UNH.

The school of just 106 students won the Division IV title in 2022, the Division III title in 2023, and has now taken home the Division II title as well.

Lilli Carlisle, a junior for the Kingsmen, had a historic game. She finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds, both of which were game highs. She broke the individual scoring record in a Division II girls final, breaking the prior mark of 27 points set by Lebanon’s Jane Daigle in 1982. 

Concord Christian started off hot, jumping to an early 8-2 run behind 6 points from Carlisle. It looked like the Kingsmen could run away early, but Pembroke did not roll over. 

Kaitlin Arenella made a huge three to bring the game to three points. After some back-and-forth play, Pembroke ended the quarter on a 6-0 run. Behind a coast-to-coast layup from freshman Anne Phillips, the Spartans entered the second quarter leading 13-12.

The second quarter was a battle as well. Pembroke opened the quarter on a 7-2 run, which was driven by Arenella, who knocked down a deep three and got a finish inside. This extended the Spartan lead to six. 

The Kingsmen did not roll over, and they responded quickly with a huge run of their own. Sophomore Emma Smith powered this. She connected from beyond the arc and had an and-one finish inside. 

They quickly overcame the 6-point deficit, and in the blink of an eye, the Kingsmen were back in the lead. This game was shaping up to be a battle, and going into the second half, Concord Christian led 29-26.

Pembroke shot 0/7 from the free-throw line in the first half, which was a big contribution to their 3 point deficit entering the second half. 

Carlisle and Smith were carrying the Kingsmen offensively, scoring 27 of their 29 first half points. The team was dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Pembroke 21-12. 

The third quarter was nothing short of unbelievable. The game was absolutely blown open in favor of the Kingsmen. They opened on a quick 9-0 run to extend the lead to 12 points, and they never looked back.

Everyone on the team was contributing. Kayden Rioux knocked down a three, Taylor Rioux got a layup in transition, Kate Smith had a pair of baskets, and Emma Smith and Lilli Carlisle piled on points of their own.

They dominated the quarter and started to run away with it. Capitalizing on 7 turnovers from the Spartans, they won the period by 15 points and entered the fourth quarter with a 51-33 lead.  

Pembroke needed a historic comeback, and it was not in the cards today. They did not roll over, but the deficit was too large, with the Kingsmen leading by as many as 22 points in the final frame.

They made big three pointers late and got the lead to single digits, but Concord Christian stayed composed and knocked down free throws when they needed them. They closed out the game with a 65-53 victory. 

Fast break points and baskets in the paint were two of the biggest turning points in their win. They outscored Pembroke 18-4 in transition, and scored a whopping 48 points in the paint, as well as 14 second chance points. 

Another huge reason for their victory was the defense played on Pembroke’s Annelise Dexter, the leading scorer in the division. She averaged 24.9 points a game in the regular season, and she was held to just 4 points tonight. 

Concord Christian was led by two players, Emma Smith and Lilli Carlile, combining for 52 points. Smith had an extremely efficient 23 points on 9/13 shooting, and she added 9 rebounds as well. 

Carlile had 29 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, putting together one of the most impressive individual performances in a Division II final. 

Pembroke was led by a trio of double digit scorers. Kaitlin Arenella led the way with 14 points and connected on 4 three pointers. Anne Phillips and Kate Stephens both added 12 points of their own. 

While they came up short in the championship, Pembroke had a stellar season this year. They went 15-3 on the season, finishing as the third seed and upsetting Laconia to make it to the title game, which was their first appearance since the 1995 season.

Winning the title caps off the Kingsmen’s dominant 17-1 regular season. Their roster of only eight girls is looking to move up to Division I next season. With only one senior on the squad, another championship may be on the horizon in 2025.


More to come! Refresh this page for the latest.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jeff Criss of Perfect Photos


Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens…


Pembroke upsets Laconia, moves on to title game

No. 3 Pembroke held No. 2 Laconia to just 10 first-half points en route to a 44-35 victory in semifinal round action of the NHIAA Division II Girls Basketball State Tournament on Wednesday night at Salem High School

The Spartans advance to the title game where they will take on top-seeded Concord Christian on Sunday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

Pembroke poured in 18 points in the opening quarter to take a commanding 18-6 lead and the Spartans never looked back.

Annelise Dexter (14 points) and Anne Phillips (11) led Pembroke, while Laconia was paced by a game-high 27 points from Macy Swormstedt. The Sachems were without Mekhia Burton.

Check out the full photo gallery by Jill Stevens…

Hanover wins defensive battle versus Pembroke in semifinals

By: KJ Cardinal

DURHAM – No. 2 Hanover held No. 3 Pembroke to just 24 points through three quarters of play and went on to win a defensive battle, 49-43, in the semifinals of the NHIAA Division II Boys Basketball State Tournament on Tuesday night at Oyster River High School in Durham.

The Bears advance to the title game where they will take on top-seeded Pelham on Sunday at UNH. The game time is still to be determined.

Hanover set the tone early on the defensive end of the floor, limited the Spartans to just four 1st-quarter points. The Bears led 11-4 at the end of one.

Pembroke found its groove a little in the 2nd quarter, behind seven points from Evan Berkley, and cut the Hanover lead to three at the half, 21-18.

The Bears defense was once again stifling in the 3rd quarter, giving up just 6 points to take a 31-24 lead to the final frame.

In the 4th, the tempo picked up, but the two played nearly even as Hanover went on to win by six, 49-43.

Pembroke had no answer all night long for Hanover big man Jaysen Oriel who finished with a game-high 18 points, while Roy Lucas added 12. Pembroke was paced by 16 points from Joe Fitzgerald and 12 from Berkley.


Check out the full game highlights by Tim Lee…


Check out the full photo gallery by Jeff Criss of Perfect Photos

Pembroke downs MV, advances to semifinals

No. 3 Pembroke defeated No. 11 Merrimack Valley, 54-47 in quarterfinal round action of the NHIAA Division II State Tournament on Friday night.

The Spartans advance to the semifinals where they will take on No. 2 Hanover on Tuesday at 5:30 pm. The location of the semifinals is still to be determined.

Check out the full photo gallery of the action by Jeff Criss of Perfect Photos…

Dexter drops 36, leads Pembroke past Milford

Behind a game-high 36 points from Annelise Dexter, Pembroke improved to 15-1 on the season with a 56-44 victory over visiting Milford on Friday night.

With the win, PA is now tied atop the Division II standings with Concord Christian, while Milford falls to 8-9 on the season.

Leading the way for Milford was Ellianna Nassy with 13 and Claire Cote and Shea Hansen both netted 11 points apiece.

Check out the full photo gallery by Betsy Hansen…

Dexter leads Pembroke past Oyster River

Annelise Dexter poured in 36 points to lead Pembroke to a 68-58 overtime victory over visiting Oyster River on Tuesday night.

Anne Phillips also added 17 for the Spartans who improve to 12-1 on the season. The Bobcats were led by 11 points from Vivian O’Quinn.

After starting the season 7-0, Oyster River has dropped four of their last seven and falls to 10-4 on the season.

Check out the full gallery of the action by Todd Grzywacz of Stonewall Photography…

Concord Christian tops Pembroke in D-II showdown

The two remaining undefeated teams in Division II locked horns on Tuesday night and Concord Christian defeated visiting Pembroke, 65-55.

The Kingsmen came out strong as they led by seven after the 1st quarter, but the Spartans fought back in the second to cut the lead to two at the half, 31-29.

The two squads played even in the 3rd quarter until CCA closed things out in the 4th, winning the final stanza by 8 points.

Emma Smith poured in a game-high 27 points to lead the Kingsmen, while Lilli Carlile added 22. Pembroke was paced by 25 points from Annelise Dexter and 15 from Kaitlin Arnella.

With the win, CCA improves to a perfect 10-0 on the season, while the Spartans fall to 10-1.

Check out photos of the action by John Scott Sherburne…

While we were away…

This week, we completed a complete overhaul and upgrade of our server to better serve our growing coverage. During our outage, we provided photo coverage of 17 games! These were all still viewable on our social media outlets, but we wanted to make sure they made it to the website.

Below is a list of the games we covered with links to the photo galleries. Enjoy the show!

Pembroke wins thriller over Pelham in title game rematch

By Nathaniel Ford

PEMBROKE – In front of a huge home crowd, Pembroke pulled away with a 55-54 victory over the visiting Pelham on Friday night. 

This was a highly anticipated matchup between two top teams in Division II. Not only was it a title rematch from last year, but both teams were undefeated coming into the contest. 

“Last year, we graduated nine seniors and four starters, and usually when you talk about something like that, you talk about a rebuild. Pembroke gets a retool,” said head coach Mike Donnell.

It seemed like a rebuild would be needed this season, but the Spartans have proved that is far from the truth. Led by All-State guard Joe Fitzgerald, this squad has picked up some huge wins, and they continued that tonight. 

Pembroke jumped out early, starting with a 7-2 run to put them in the lead. Pelham bounced right back and showed that it would take a battle to win this game. This five-point lead would be Pembroke’s largest until the fourth quarter.

Pelham’s Zach James, an All-State player last season, is averaging 26 points a game and is one of the top shooters in the state. He showed that early in this contest, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. 

Along with James, Brady Hegan added 8 points of his own, and the Pythons led 19-16 heading into the second quarter. 

The second quarter was neck and neck the whole way. Pelham led early by five points, and following that, it was a one possession game for the rest of the quarter. The lead changed multiple times, and neither team could string together any big runs. 

A big loss for Pelham was standout guard Dom Herrling, who got into foul trouble and did not play the final five minutes of the half. Herrling is one of the top defenders in the state, and he is an outstanding point guard who makes tons of winning plays. 

Even without Herrling on the floor, Pelham did not roll over, and they were able to stay competitive. Behind a team effort, they were able to hold their lead and entered the break winning 32-31.

In the third quarter, James exploded for Pelham and carried them offensively. He knocked down two triples and scored the team’s first 11 points of the half. This extended the lead to nine points, which was the most by either team in the contest. 

“Our team is very resilient. These guys have been playing together for a very long time, and they showed their poise and never broke,” said Donnell. 

With a player like James starting to get hot and the Pelham lead extended to nearly double digits, it was looking like they might start running away with it. Instead, the Spartans remained composed and stayed in the game.

They closed on a 6-1 run, highlighted by a nice bucket by Fitzgerald to end the quarter. While they still trailed, they cut the lead down, and Pelhem held just a 44-40 lead entering the fourth.

Pembroke’s stellar defense was on full display in the fourth, holding their opponents scoreless through the first four minutes of the quarter and without a field goal for the first five. During this time, they were able to take the lead for themselves behind a couple of baskets from Fitzgerald. 

With two minutes left and a four point lead, Jacob Mather hit a huge three pointer for the Spartans, which looked like it could be the dagger. The crowd had started to get loud in the fourth, and this shot, which forced a Pelham timeout, almost brought the roof down.

Coming out of the timeout, Pelham made it a game again. Herrling got a basket inside, and then they forced a Pembroke turnover. Herrling came down and got another basket, cutting the lead to just three points. 

Pelham was so great to end games last year, and it looked like they were about to show up again and steal the game in Pembroke. However, they suffered a major blow with 50 seconds left, as Herrling got called for a reach and fouled out of the game. 

The Pythons fouled Fitzgerald, who made his first free throw. On the second, the Spartans were called for a violation. Pelham came down the floor, and Peter Hemmerdinger got free for an open look at the top of the key. He knocked down the triple and cut the lead to just one.

Pelham fouled again, and this time, Pembroke missed both at the line. The Pythons grabbed the rebound, and in transition, Hegan got free for a layup inside, which gave them the lead with around 30 seconds left.

Pembroke did not call a timeout, and they got up the floor quickly. Fitzgerald dribbled down the floor, took the game into his own hands, and drove to the hoop and got a layup. Star players need to make big plays down the stretch, and that is exactly what he did. 

On the other end, Hegan was fouled on the floor with four seconds left, giving the Pythons a baseline inbound. They found Justin Bowlan with an open look in the corner, but he was not able to connect on the triple, and Pembroke escaped with a one point victory. 

Pembroke proved their record was no fluke, avenging their loss last season and defending their home court. This squad is led by Fitzgerald, who was the only starter returning from last year’s team. Donnell speaks very highly of him, who is one of the captains on the team.

“He has really grown from his sophomore year. He’s always guarding their best player. He leads the team, and the boys know that if he doesn’t have a shot, he will find them. He’s a kid every coach wants to play for them,” he said.

Fitzgerald led the way for the Spartans with a game-high 25 points, including the game winner. Evan Berkeley (11) and Devin Riel (10) each added double figures as well. 

Pelham was paced by 22 points from Zack James. Dom Herrling and Brady Hegan scored 10 points each. They fall to 4-1 and look to bounce back next week in a massive game against 6-0 Manchester West at home on Tuesday. 

Pembroke moves to 4-0 on the season, and they look to continue their undefeated season on the road against Bishop Brady on Tuesday. 

Check out the full photo gallery by John Scott Sherburne…