By DAN BARILE
Eagle Times Correspondent
HOPKINTON, N.H. — Nearly all followers of high school basketball in the Granite State would have been surprised if you told them that Fall Mountain would open the season with a 12-1 record.
Friday night’s game at Hopkinton was a good example of why the Wildcats have been able to surprise the prognosticators and become one of the top teams in Division 3.
Led by 14 points from fifth-leading scorer Abby Jarvis and 12 points from fourth-leading scorer Kelsey Fillion, Fall Mountain featured a balanced scoring attack that propelled them to a 52-51 victory.
Four different players scored for Fall Mountain during the opening quarter as they jumped out to a 14-9 edge.
On top of featuring a balanced and deep scoring attack, Fall Mountain has thrived on the defensive end this season. Even with the strength of its defense, the Wildcats couldn’t slow down the Hawks sharp shooting in the second quarter, as the hosts connected on five shots from beyond the arc. Despite Hopkinton’s hot hand, Fall Mountain maintained a 31-26 advantage entering the half.
Fall Mountain’s lead increased to nine points early in the fourth quarter before Hopkinton began to mount its comeback. Punctuated by three free throws by Ella-Mai Johnson, the Hawks went on a 10-0 run to take a 49-48 lead with 3:03 remaining.
Fall Mountain found itself back in the driver’s seat following a couple of free throws by Clara Stewart, but the hosts refused to go away. Trailing 52-51 with only 3.9 seconds remaining, Hopkinton called timeout to set up an out-of-bounds play. The Hawks were able to inbound the ball to a player near the hoop, but Abby Jarvis raced over to block the shot and Riley Beckwith scooped up the loose ball to preserve the victory.
In addition to 14 points from Jarvis, and 12 points from Fillion, Clara Stewart (8), Beckwith (7), Sophia Grillone (6), and Aubrey Thomas (5) also scored for Fall Mountain. Shaylee Murdough paced Hopkinton (10-4) with 16 points and Ella-Mai Johnson added 14.
Fall Mountain (12-1) currently sits in second place in the Division 3 standings with three games to play. The Wildcats face Conant (9-6) on consecutive days to open the week before wrapping up the regular season at home on Friday against Winnisquam (3-11).
