Division 1 Girl's Preview

1) Winny - You have to ride the Winny horse until it stumbles. I don't see the horse stumbling this season. They won a championship for the thumb last season, their 5th in a row. Even though other programs are catching up to Winny I think they'll just have enough to win their 6th championship in a row. They won't have any Ruffin's or Corcharane's this season, but they will have a fundamentally sound and deep team once again. Their JV team has been very successful for the last 3 years. Kirsten O'Neil will probably be their leading scorer. Anna Sullivan is solid at the guard position. Avianna Morrison will continue to hit dagger 3 after dagger 3. Carly Gould is their go to big. Beattie's system will continue to roll through the basketball courts of NH, but they won't steamroll like they have in previous years.

2) Londonderry - Aliza Simpson and Lindsey Bolduc will lead the Lancers to a near top finish in D1. They have depth along with some good size and strength. Their #6 to #10 players on their JV team last year was better than most team's #1 to #5 players on their respective JV teams. Fagula will have this team running on all cylinders. Can they unseat the 5 time champion Winny? Maybe, if things fall into place for them. The graduation of Butterfield is a big loss. She was a rebounding and defensive machine who will be missed.

3) BG - The Cardinals are ready to take the next step this season and join the top of D1. A new coach with a formidable returning crew along with a couple of key newcomers will make this team one big headache for opposing teams in D1. Green, Gibbs and Hayner along with Sherburne will give BG 2 home games to start the playoffs. By then BG will be a very dangerous team and if they join the Final Four at SNHU the possibilities might be shining for them.

4) Memorial - They will have a solid starting 5 who will be able to play with anybody. The question is how will their bench be able to play? Lack of depth might hinder Memorial and their chances to host 2 playoff games. I'm guessing they'll probably make it to the Final Four, but they better stay injury free with their starting 5. Amra Elezovic is primed to have a big year and will garner some serious consideration for POY. Freshman Peace Kubari will infuse some cagy defense and slashing scoring ability to the Crusader lineup. Ari Dimou must score more if Memorial is to keep pace in the top 4 throughout the season. Hartford will have a solid season running the show for Coach Quirk.

5) Dover - Allie Mahan can flat out play and brings a mindset to each and every game that will be followed by her mates including Julia Wise. The Green Wave while not being an overall offensive force of a team is a tough minded team that will out defend you, out hustle you and in the end out score you.

6) Pinkerton - The Astros will take a little step back this year. They lost a lot in losing their leader Katherine Harris to graduation. They do have some size with a couple of 6 footers in Bonneau and Goodwin and some depth along with the John Barry system. It wouldn't surprise me to see them fall to 8th or 9th and struggle to host a prelim playoff game.

7) Alvrine - I would've had them higher, but not having Taylor Carbone play for them this season will really hurt the Broncos chance to be an elite team this season. They will have one of the better backcourts in the state with Sandi Purcell leading them. The Broncos moved forward with their program last year and almost upset Londonderry in the semi finals. They will continue to be a solid team this season.

Central - I like Coach Wenners. I really do. Sometimes, you get the sense if he won a 100 million in the lottery he would point out the fact that half of it would go towards taxes and a decent amount of the left over money would go towards building a fence for privacy. In other words he can be a pessimist sometimes when talking about his basketball team. Well, I see a team that will be a lot tougher than people think. They have the bash sisters in Katherine Johnson and Zoe Stamoulis. Johnson will have a break out year and gain some all state attention. O'Neil and Giampetruzzi will form a solid backcourt. If some other girls can score some for the Little Green like Cleary and Gauthier you might even see Coach Wenners crack a smile here and there this season.

9) Timberlane - Emily Rose will have a great senior season and might even make 1st team all state. She has excellent post moves and can hit the medium range jumper. The Owls have a tough group and are well coached. They will be a tough team to face night in and night out.

10) Trinity - The Pioneers must shoot the ball consistently from the outside to have a successful season. They certainly won't have consistent inside scoring due to their lack of size. They do have some talent in Lia Nawn and Hannah Willard. Coach Smith will have to reach into his coaching bag of tricks to host a prelim playoff game this season.

10 A) Keene - They might get the most improved team award this year. Ashley Clough will lead the Blackbirds. They could sneak into a home prelim game, which nobody would want to take a long bus ride to.

1st Team All State:

Amra Elezovic - Memorial
Meghan Green - BG
Aliza Simpson - Londonderry
Kirsten O'Neil - Winny
Allie Mahan - Dover
Emily Rose - Timberlane

2nd Team All State:

Avianna Morrison - Winny
Katherine Johnson - Central
Lindsey Bolduc - Londonderry
Ashley Clough - Keene
Madison Gibbs - BG
Lia Nawn - Trinity

Honorable Mention:

Allie Hartford - Memorial
Carly Gould - Winny
Anna Sullivan - Winny
Sandi Purcell - Alvrine
Sam Breslin - Pinkerton
Peace Kabari - Memorial
Julia Wise - Dover

Player of the Year: Amra Elezovic - Memorial

You beat me to it, T & F! Mine will be posted in about an hour.