DOVER — The Dover High School girls basketball team knew it was in for a tough game Friday night against one of the top teams Division I. It didn’t take long for the Green Wave to find out why.
After Dover took an early lead, firing up the crowd at Ollie Adams Gym, visiting Manchester Memorial took control, spinning off 21 straight points to set the tone for the rest of the night. The final score was Memorial 72, Dover 51.
“They’re where they are in the standings for a reason,” Dover coach Dan Casey said. “They’re aggressive on the perimeter, they’re physical and we had a hard time matching it.”
Dover (2-4) had no answers for Memorial’s relentless press and transition game. The Green Wave were up 7-2 in the game’s opening minutes on baskets from three different players, but Memorial’s 21-0 run put the visitors in complete control.
“We kind of came out a little lackadaisical,” Manchester coach Greg Cotreau said. “They jumped on us. They were excited. Coming out to the Seacoast is a tough place for teams to play. (Once) we refocused, our energy kind of picked up after that.”
Memorial (6-0) got points from 11 of the 12 players who entered the game Friday, led by Haleigh Shea’s 19. Melanie Presseau, who scored back-to-back 3-pointers in Memorial’s opening run, finished with 13.
“They were a lot more aggressive than us,” said Dover’s Katrina Krenzer, who led the Green Wave with 16 points. “They were knocking down every shot. We just need to work on getting out and getting more aggressive.”
The closest Dover got after the first quarter was 11 points twice — when Maggie Casey’s 3-pointer made it 25-14 early in the second quarter and when Sophie Roy made a pair of free throws after a Manchester player was assessed a technical foul with 6:38 to go in the third.
“We just need to be more disciplined on defense,” Maggie Casey said. “When our offense isn’t working, that means we have to kick it into gear on defense.”
Though they faced a large deficit all night, the Green Wave were never completely out of it during the first three quarters. Crusaders led 23-11 at the end of the first quarter, 36-24 at halftime and 57-42 after three. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Lyric Grumblatt to open the fourth gave its biggest lead of the second half, 57-42.
“They have weapons all over the court,” Coach Casey said. “Whatever we tried to do, they had an answer. We lost to a quality team tonight.”
Dover returns to action on Tuesday night at home against Alvirne.
MEMORIAL 73, DOVER 51
MEMORIAL (73)
Gould 1-1-3, Shea 9-1-19, Brunette 2-1-5, Mathieu-LaFrance 1-1-3, A. Grumblatt 0-0-0, Robinson 2-0-4, Simpson 3-0-7, Allen 1-2-4, Fournier 1-2-4, Presseau 5-0-13, L. Grumblatt 3-0-8, Vega 0-2-2. Totals: 28-10-72.
DOVER (51)
Nelson-Marios 0-0-0, Auburn 3-1-7, Djanabia-James 1-1-3, Roy 1-2-5, Romps 0-0-0, Pinheiro 2-0-5, Osborne 0-0-0, Raineri 1-0-2, Casey 2-2-8, Kalie Krenzer 2-1-5, Katrina Krenzer 7-2-16. Totals: 19-9-51.
Memorial 23 13 21 15 — 73
Dover 11 13 18 9 — 51
3-point goals—Memorial 6 (Simpson, Presseau 3, L. Grumblatt 2); Dover 4 (Roy, Pinheiro, Casey 2).