Basketball: Kearsarge and Hopkinton split boys and girls doubleheader

Kearsarge guard Austin Needham drives to the basket against Hopkinton on Tuesday night.

Kearsarge guard Austin Needham drives to the basket against Hopkinton on Tuesday night. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

Kearsarge guard Ava Shapiro (10) battles Hopkinton forward Sydney Westover during the second half of the Hawks’ win on Tuesday night.

Kearsarge guard Ava Shapiro (10) battles Hopkinton forward Sydney Westover during the second half of the Hawks’ win on Tuesday night. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

Kearsarge guard Eli Whipple shoots over Hopkinton forward Tommy Dwyer during the first half of Tuesday’s win.

Kearsarge guard Eli Whipple shoots over Hopkinton forward Tommy Dwyer during the first half of Tuesday’s win. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

Hopkinton players Noah Aframe (2) and Kristof Cauley try to stop Kearsarge forward Bragen Kinzer during the first half on Tuesday. Kinzer was fouled and went to the free throw line.

Hopkinton players Noah Aframe (2) and Kristof Cauley try to stop Kearsarge forward Bragen Kinzer during the first half on Tuesday. Kinzer was fouled and went to the free throw line. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

Kearsarge forward Kaelan Finnegan (21) draws an offensive foul on Hopkinton forward Zoe Bishop during the second half of their Tuesday night encounter.

Kearsarge forward Kaelan Finnegan (21) draws an offensive foul on Hopkinton forward Zoe Bishop during the second half of their Tuesday night encounter.

By ALEXANDER RAPP

Monitor staff

Published: 01-22-2025 3:09 PM

On Tuesday night, Hopkinton traveled to Kearsarge for a Division III basketball doubleheader. These rivalry matches brought out the best of all the teams, as they had already faced each other in tight contests earlier in the season.

The rivals went home with a split. The Hopkinton girls recorded a 41-23 victory over the Cougars, and the Kearsarge boys were 61-49 victors over the Hawks.

Girls: This game was a rematch of last season’s D-III finals, where Kearsarge emerged victorious and crowned itself champion in a very tight match, 55-52. However, earlier this season, the Hopkinton girls stood their ground at home and won, 39-32.

This year, Kearsarge has not looked as strong as last season and entered the game two wins below .500. On the other hand, the Hawks have been very strong and have earned now 9-1 record.

“We have to play with that confidence, I think, every game and just keeping that composure understanding situations a little bit. But it’s really just going out and playing with confidence,” said Hopkinton coach Mike Mahoney. “Having that mindset that we’re capable of getting there again because I certainly think we are, and I think the girls are starting to see that now.”

The Hawks started the first quarter strong and got a 9-0 lead before Kearsarge (4-7) responded. Their defense forced Kearsarge to take tough shots, and their effective ball movement created spaces for pick-and-rolls and good drives into the paint.

The Hawks kept their nine-point cushion into the half. They once again found answers offensively to start the second half and began to run away with the game. Eight different players got on the scoresheet for the Hawks, and every basket seemed to come from a different player.

This success was largely thanks to senior forward Sydney Westover, who led the Hawks with 10 points and hauled in 21 rebounds to generate second-chance points for the whole team.

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“I always try to follow each shot with hopes of getting the rebound. I kind of do the cleanup of my teammates, if needed. When they make the shot, it is obviously awesome, but I always try to be there, in case it doesn’t go in, just hustling up and down the floor,” Westover said.

“It feels so great. I think it’s just that rivalry is so fun. It always is a fun and good game The crowd’s normally really into it. It is a big confidence booster for the whole team to have beaten them twice this year,” she added.

For Kearsarge, Carly Grant led by with six points. The Cougars’ coach, Steve Lavolpicelo, said that the team will continue to work on its defense and shooting to string together more consistent performances after the loss.

Boys: In terms of intensity, this game did not disappoint. This time, the Cougars (9-1) got off to a very hot start to take a 21-5 lead in the first quarter.

“I think we need to keep up the pressure more. I started them at half-court defense and we just didn’t respond with enough energy,” said Hopkinton coach Liam McNicholas. “I think if we picked up full-court from the get-go that probably would have helped, but when you go down double digits to a team this good, you’re going to be in a hole.”

The Hawks (4-5) did not give in easily, though. They battled fiercely in the second and third quarters to cut down the score to 45-42, mostly thanks to physical defense and junior Ben Normand and senior Noah Aframe draining tough shots.

However, Kearsarge did not falter in the fourth. The Whipple brothers, Eli and Noah, continued to generate tons of points for their team, and the overall defense by the Cougars was on point. They hit one 3-pointer each to start the fourth and rebuilt the team’s cushion to outlast the gritty Hawks.

“We came out a little slow in the second quarter, so a good talk from (Kearsarge) coach (Nate) Camp and then just coming together as a team, switching up defenses and then keeping our offensive flow going,” Noah Whipple said. “I’ve been doing a lot of work individually with coach Camp in the post. So you saw a little bit of that tonight, and then just more movement offensively.”

Noah Whipple led the Cougars with 19 points, while his brother followed with 13.

Camp said that this year his team is much more balanced. Sure, sometimes the Whipple brothers can take over, but on any given night they will have a different leading scorer.

“We were up by a bunch in that first quarter; they came back in the second and third quarter, where they won those quarters. And then we won the fourth, so really that one was a grind,” Camp said. “Hopkinton, we knew they weren’t going to go away. They’re well-coached; they’re a good team, and we have a really good rivalry with them.”

Kearsarge has only had one loss on the season, to Campbell High, but it seems that the Cougars were able to shake it off and get back in the winning flow.

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com.