The Portsmouth Girls Basketball team squared off against the Hollis-Brookline Cavaliers Tuesday, March 7th for their first meeting since January. They played on the floors of Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Cavaliers are the only team to have served the Clippers a loss this season with a final score of 53-31 at Stone Gymnasium in Portsmouth. This would prove to be one of the most challenging and heart-breaking games of the season.

It’s always nerve racking to be playing on the real “big stage;” SNHU can even shake up the most disciplined and experienced players. This obviously played a role in the Clippers’ game as they shot  2-23 from the 3-point line. Senior guard Libby Underwood, the 1000-point scorer for the Clippers, lead Portsmouth in scoring with 23 points. “It was a tough way to end the season,” Sophomore Abbe Laurence said, “we all really wanted to win for the seniors.” Sophomore guard Arianna Hebert also added that, “what felt the worst was knowing this is our last season with the seniors (Meghan Mickela, Molly Mickela, Faith Poirier, and Libby Underwood).”

The girls finished this season 19-2, both losses being to Hollis-Brookline. Next year the Clippers will be fighting for another shot at a division II state title. This is the second year in a row that the Clippers have lost in the semi-finals. It is still an accomplishment to make it to the final-four and playing at SNHU. Next Season this team has high hopes to bring home a title for PHS.