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MANCHESTER

Second-half letdown trips John Stark in semifinals

At halftime of its Class I girls basketball state semifinal, John Stark stood 16 minutes from celebration.

By game’s end, however, what the Generals experienced was far from elation.

CAN’T BEAR TO WATCH – John Stark’s Rachel Titcomb can’t look as the final seconds of the Generals’ hoops season tick away. Just like last year, JS put together a great campaign. But the girls bowed out in the Class I state semifinals to No. 2 Oyster River, 41-32. (Marc Thaler Photo)

CAN’T BEAR TO WATCH – John Stark’s Rachel Titcomb can’t look as the final seconds of the Generals’ hoops season tick away. Just like last year, JS put together a great campaign. But the girls bowed out in the Class I state semifinals to No. 2 Oyster River, 41-32. (Marc Thaler Photo)

Stark, seeded third in the 2005 tournament, once again found the Final Four frustrating, bowing out to No. 2 Oyster River of Durham, 41-32, inside the Southern New Hampshire University Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Feb. 23.

“I don’t think we played anywhere near as well in the second half,” said JS head coach Wayne Thomson, who saw his girls dominate the first two quarters against a team that provided the Generals with two of its three regular-season losses. “We couldn’t put the ball in the hoop.”

JS had its best first half of the 2004-05 season, according to the coach, playing with tremendous passion in all aspects of the game.

Thomson’s troops played suffocating team defense, forcing Oyster River into a handful of ugly shots.

The Generals were better defensive rebounders, to the tune of a 16-10 edge. They were better overall on the backboards as well, 22-18.

And when junior Chelsea Tremblay grabbed a big board off the offensive glass and found junior Jen Gelinas in the corner for a last-second threepointer, all looked good for the locals.

JS led 24-14 at the break.

“I told them it was a great first half, but there was a long way to go,” Thomson said of his brief halftime talk with the team. “I told them (Oyster River) is a good team, we can’t relax. We have to play with even more intensity in the second half. And you know what? I don’t think we did that.

KNOCKED AWAY – John Stark junior Jen Gelinas can’t hang onto the ball during a drive to the hoop in the third quarter of the Generals’ Class I Final Four matchup. JS couldn’t maintain its grip on a 10-point halftime lead, either, losing to Oyster River. (Marc Thaler Photo)

KNOCKED AWAY – John Stark junior Jen Gelinas can’t hang onto the ball during a drive to the hoop in the third quarter of the Generals’ Class I Final Four matchup. JS couldn’t maintain its grip on a 10-point halftime lead, either, losing to Oyster River. (Marc Thaler Photo)

“That’s why it was so disappointing in the second half,” Thomson added. “We did what we needed to do (in the first half). We had a good game plan, it worked. We took them out of what they needed to do. And then they did it to us in the second half.”

Oyster River owned the third quarter, outscoring the Generals, 14-6.

“It was kind of like a confessional when I walked (into the locker room),” Oyster River head coach David Nichols said of the Bobcats’ collective mood at halftime. “They were talking about what they had done, what they had done wrong, what they needed to do better.”

The Bobcats tied the contest at 28 apiece with 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter. But a pair of Tremblay free throws ensured JS would enter the fourth frame with the lead, 30-28.

Still, it was clear the Bobcats were closing in for the kill.

Just 34 seconds into the final frame, the Generals surrendered a big trey and fell behind, 31-30. It was the first time Stark trailed since the opening minutes.

“At 31-30, yes, we certainly could see (JS looked deflated),” Nichols said. “Our kids mentioned that (JS players) were taking some deep breaths, that (losing the lead) affected them.”

The Generals scored two points in the fourth quarter, watching a one-point deficit swell to 38-30 with 1:14 to play.

Thomson admitted it was tough to put another tremendous season into perspective in the immediate aftermath of the loss.

Still, he congratulated his group for a 2004-05 record of 17-4 and another trip to the Final Four.

“I hope they don’t remember the season by this game,” Thomson said. “To have the season we did, with the schedule that we did, I don’t think there’s too many teams that had as tough a schedule as we did.”

Game notes
Senior Ashley Ryall, Gelinas, and sophomore Libby Cullerot led JS in scoring with eight points each.

Tremblay was immense on the glass, pulling down 11 rebounds, including seven defensive boards.