While Lani Buskey was naturally saddened by Pinkerton’s tournament loss Friday night, the Astros’ head coach was nothing but optimistic as she spoke to her team — about the bright future that lies ahead.
“This one hurt,” said Buskey. “But I reminded the team that we return all five of our starters and 12 of our 13 kids are coming back. We had a 15-5 record this season, which is pretty good. and if we come back next year a little stronger, a little wiser and even better, we can be a very dangerous team.”
Trailing by 26 points late in the third quarter, No. 5-seeded Pinkerton rallied to cut the deficit to just six points in the fourth, but could get no closer and fell to No. 4 Goffstown 62-53 in the Division I quarterfinals on Friday. The Grizzlies advance to take on top-seeded Bishop Guertin in the semifinals.
“We were down by 26,” said Buskey. “I told them, heading into the fourth quarter, ‘I need you to be perfect with your heart the rest of the way.’ I’m so proud of the way they responded. To cut 20 points off a lead is pretty special. They showed a lot of heart out there.”
Leading the way once again for the Astros was Eagle-Tribune All-Star junior Liz Lavoie, who scored a team-high 31 points. Also excelling was Kaylee Dupuis, who netted 15 points. The Astros were playing without starting point guard Sydney Gerossie, who suffered an injury in the first round of the tournament.
“Liz gave us everything she had,” said Buskey. “She had a great night on offense, and had the double-duty of guarding Ava Winterburn, holding her to just 21 points, which is pretty good against a girl that can score 40 points. Kaylee also played very well. She’s gaining confidence, and that will only help us next year.”
Next season — the 2023-24 campaign — was a major source of optimism for the Astros after the game.
The Astros will return not only Division 1 college prospects Lavoie (19.2 points, 7 rebounds per game in the regular season) and Gerossie (12.4 pts, 7.6 assists per game). They also return fellow starters Dupuis (7.2 pts, 7.7 rebounds), Emily Leonard and Brooke Benz.
The rich also get richer, as Pinkerton will also see the return of Alex White, who started on last year’s Division 1 semifinalist squad, but missed this season due to a knee injury.
“I told them I wanted them to feel sadness, because that’s how you become winners,” said Buskey. “But the future looks so good. We had to keep that in perspective. This is still a young team, and to see what they did in the fourth quarter, I can hang my hat on that. We have the chance to be a very good team.”
Buskey also took the time to credit her lone senior, Allyson Bridges.
“We were sad because this was the end for Ally,” said the coach. “We are sad to see her go. She didn’t see tons of playing time, but she was such a great leader for this team.”
Goffstown 62, Pinkerton 53
Division 1 Quarterfinals
Pinkerton (53): Lebrun 2, Lavoie 31, Dupuis 15, Pollini 3
3-pointers: Lavoie 3, Dupuis 3, Pollini
Pinkerton: 12 12 9 20 — 53
Goffstown: 21 8 22 9 — 62
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