A high school of over 1,400 versus a school with an enrollment of around 110. A Division I powerhouse versus Division I debutants. One team with a height advantage and a deeper bench compared to the other.

By every metric, the Concord Christian Academy girls’ basketball team was the underdog when the No. 4 Kingsmen took on undefeated No. 1 Bedford on Monday night.

CCA played hard, holding the Division I Player of the Year Kate Allard to five points, but the Kingsmen ultimately fell to the Bulldogs, 58-34, in Monday’s D-I semifinal at Exeter High School.

The victory sends defending champion Bedford (21-0)to its fifth consecutive D-I title game appearance, while the loss ends Concord Christian’s hopes of what would have been an unprecedented championship streak of four consecutive titles in four different divisions.

“I’m obviously disappointed with the result, but we gave it our all,” Concord Christian coach Rebecca Carlile said. “We had a game plan and executed it as best we could. Overall, we’re really proud of the girls. We’re walking away with our heads held high.”

Junior guard Emma Smith was tasked with marking Allard, who is headed to play NCAA Division I college ball at Boston University next year, and the Kingsmen (16-5) held Bedford in check early. The game was tied 4-4 midway through the first quarter, but the Bulldogs went on a 14-0 near the end of the opening frame and ended it with a 21-9 lead.

Bedford led 29-14 at halftime and 46-27 at the end of the third quarter.

CCA pulled back to within 16 points thanks to some baskets from senior Lilli Carlile (14 points) and Emma Smith (11 points), while junior Kate Smith (nine points) also played well.

Freshman guard Juliet Laws (10 points), sophomore forward Melody McCarthy (13 points) and junior guard Sarah Muir (10 points) all reached double figures for the Bulldogs, who had eight different scorers. All 11 players saw time on the floor.

“We have very talented athletes on our team, but they’re not all (primarily) basketball players,” coach Carlile said. “We knew that if we could contain Allard, we had a chance (to win). In the end, (Bedford) had more basketball players than we did. They’re very tough defensively. They’re Energizer bunnies. They never run out of energy, and it wore our starters down in the end.”

This group of Kingsmen upperclassmen has had quite the journey over the last few years. As a group of mostly eighth graders and freshmen, Concord Christian won the Division IV title in 2022, followed by the D-III title in 2023 and the D-II crown last year.

The Kingsmen knew that playing in D-I would mean that they’d take some losses and that a fourth straight championship was far less certain, but that isn’t what Concord Christian was looking for.

“We were looking for competition, and that’s exactly what we got,” coach Carlile said. “There were very few games that weren’t competitive. Even though there were some that we won by 20, they didn’t feel like they were 20-point wins. They were much more competitive than games we had seen in the previous three years. We’re proud of the girls for moving up to D-I. We don’t get better if we don’t play better competition.”

With the core of the team now upperclassmen, the Kingsmen have changed a lot as players, and as people over the last three or four years.

“It’s been a really unique experience,” said coach Carlile, who is mother to Lilli and aunt to Emma and Kate Smith. “They were playing really high basketball at a young age, and it’s been fun to see them grow, not just as players, but also as people. They’re great teammates.”

The Kingsmen graduate two senior starters, guards Lilli Carlile and Ireland Baines, as well as two players off the bench, center Sadie Thompson and guard Kaylie Christopherson. But the Smith sisters and sophomore guard Emmy Laboe, who are all starters, are returning to CCA next year.

Lilli Carlile capped her senior season with a Second Team All-State selection, along with Emma Smith, and will be playing Division II college basketball at Lee University in Tennessee next year.

“It’s been a really fun season. We started out a little slow, but got a lot better,” Lilli Carlile said. “We worked as hard as we could and gave it everything we had.”