HIGH-SCHOOL

Dover girls find their finishing touch

Josh Seguin sports@fosters.com
Dover's Aaliyah Djanabia-James, center, dribbles the ball away from Winnacunnet's Michaela Linnehan, left, and Lauren Ruffin and teammate Samantha Romps during Division I action on Friday. [Mike Whaley/Fosters.com]

DOVER — When the going gets tough, it is always funny how quickly a good steal or rebound and a subsequent quick transition can change a game.

For the Dover High School girls basketball team, it was three quick transition buckets early in the fourth quarter that turned the tide.

After Greta Govoni scored a transition bucket to cut the edge to two early in the fourth quarter, a pair of MacKenzie McNutt transition layups gave Dover the lead back for good, as the Green Wave held on for a 44-41 win over Winnacunnet in Division I action on Friday night.

Wylie MacDougall’s potential game-tying 3 rimmed out at the buzzer for Winnacunnet (1-9).

“The transition was really good in the fourth quarter and I think that helped us to put the rest of our game together,” said Dover coach Dan Casey. “We were on a little bit of a lull there, offensively, and that really sparked us.”

The Green Wave picked up their second win of the season, improving to 2-8. Dover was led by Katrina Krenzer’s 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Govoni added eight points and McNutt six.

“We had very high energy after those transition hoops,” said McNutt. “We were able to get a bunch of steals and push the ball forward. We struggled with energy in the third and those just helped us pick it back up.”

The Warriors got 13 points and 14 rebounds from Michaela Linnehan. Marisa Lamprey added 11 points and 11 boards.

The Warriors got going quickly in the second half, as Linnehan picked up an offensive board and put-back that made it 23-17 just 12 seconds into the third quarter. The paint domination continued, as MacDougall got an inside bucket that made it 23-19 and Lamprey tied it at 23-all with 5:32 left in the third on a baby hook in the paint.

Winnacunnet took its first lead when Sage Johnson got free for a trey and her shot made it 28-25 late in the third.

After a Lamprey put-back gave the Warriors a 35-31 lead with 5:42 left, Krenzer picked up a key rebound that led to Govoni’s transition hoop to make it 35-33. Another rebound led to Aaliyah Djanabia-Jones getting free at the midline and she got a pass to McNutt to tie the game at 35-all.

Djanabia-Jones picked up a steal on the next possession and got a pass to McNutt, who got the easy layup to make it 37-35.

“We had a talk (in a timeout) and said we needed to bring the energy levels up,” said Djanabia-Jones. “We were able to bring the intensity up. We got some steals and layups. We really came together.”

Krenzer shot a pair of free throws that made it 40-37 before a MacDougall 3 tied it once more at 40.

“It was a little scary at the end,” said Djanabia-Jones. “But I think we put pressure on them by being up and we stuck together. Seeing that 3 rim out at the buzzer was just relief.”

Krenzer picked up a key hoop as her inside drive made it 42-40 with 1:51 left. McNutt added a hoop with 1:19 left to up the edge to 44-40.

“We had kids come off the bench early in the game that gave us some big minutes that allowed us to be fresh,” said Casey. “Winnacunnet had a bit of foul trouble and we didn’t; I think that played a role. I liked the intensity in the fourth quarter, which wasn’t there in the third.”

Winnacunnet had chances but had them all fall by the wayside. It also didn’t help that point-guard Lauren Ruffin fouled out with four minutes left.

“This was a game of runs,” said Winnacunnet coach Cassie Turcotte. “When you don’t have a ballhandler on the floor, it changes the dynamic. We just didn’t have the right energy, at the right time, that would have allowed us to pull away. We got tired and frustrated down the stretch; that is a bad combo.”

The Warriors host Salem on Monday night, while Dover travels to Nashua South.

GREEN WAVE 44, WARRIORS 41

WINNACUNNET (1-9)

Linnehan 6-1-13, Lamprey 5-1-11, MacDougall 3-0-8, Johnson 2-1-6, Ruffin 1-1-3, Fowler, Gallant, Stokel. Totals: 17-4-41.

DOVER (2-8)

Katrina Krenzer 6-6-18, Govoni 3-0-8, McNutt 3-0-6, Kaile Krenzer 2-0-5, Djanabia-James 1-1-3, Romps 1-0-2, Raineri 1-0-2, Nelson-Marois, McCoy. Totals: 17-7-44.

Winnacunnet 10 5 15 11–41

Dover 8 15 6 5–44

3-Point Goals—Dover 3 (Govoni 2, Kaile Krenzer), Winnacunnet 3 (MacDougall 2, Johnson).