Fourth-seeded Kearsarge upset top-ranked St. Thomas, 52-44, in the semifinal round of the NHIAA Division III Girls Basketball State Tournament on Wednesday night at Bow High School.
With the win, the Cougars advance to Saturday’s championship game versus No. 2 Hopkinton at Keene State College at 5:00 pm.
Kearsarge held the Saints to just six 1st-quarter points and took a 4-point lead to the 2nd quarter. The two squads played to a 14-14 draw in the second frame, giving the Cougars a 24-20 lead at the break. Kearsarge outscored the Saints 12-7 in the 3rd to push their lead to nine, 36-27, and they held on for the eight-point win.
Tessa Marinello led all scorers with 19 points for Kearsarge, while Ava Shapiro and Adara Boucher added 13 and 12, respectively. St. Thomas was paced by 12 points from Emma Toriello, 11 from Genevieve Bolduc and 10 from Emilie Von Der Linden.
The Cougars advance to their first state title game since 2012, when Kearsarge lost in the D-II finals to Souhegan, 53-27. On Saturday, the Cougars will be making their sixth state championship game appearance in school history and will be in search of their third title in school history, the first since 2002 when they took home the Class I crown.
Check out the full photo gallery of the action by Jill Stevens…