Nashua South's Julianna Martin grabs a rebound crunched up against teammate Iruka Obinelo against Hollis Brookline's Cheyenne Colbert, left, and Elisabeth Stapelfeld during the Cavs' 39-36 win at the Belanger Gym Wednesday night. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Finally, they got to start. They just didn’t like the finish.

Yes, the Nashua High School South girls basketball team, after losing January to two pandemic pauses, were at last able to open their season on Wednesday night.

The bad news was the Panthers, understandably a bit fatigued, couldn’t close things out against Hollis Brookline, falling 39-36 at the Belanger Gym.

South had a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter, but the Cavs had more spring in their step as it looked as if the Panthers hit a fourth quarter wall.

“We did,” South coach John Bourgeois said. “And our demeanor started to slip early and we started getting discouraged. That was a big factor for us that we couldn’t pick ourselves back up. But it was important we got out today and I couldn’t be happier that the seniors got to have their game.

“We needed to get in there and play. That’s how we’re going to get better.”

The Cavaliers, led by guard Elisabeth Stapelfeld’s 18 points, knew exactly what to do in the final eight minutes, Stapelfeld constantly pushing the ball up the court. She scored 14 of her points in the final quarter.

“It felt good, we really fought hard,” Stapelfeld said. “We were all on adrenalin and just pushed as far as we could.”

“We thought that right from the beginning,” Cavs coach Bob Murphy said. “Stapelfeld is quite a player. You don’t have her on your team and it’s a different game. She handles the ball against all kind of pressure. It’s fun to have a girl like that on your team. …

“We came back. I was very impressed.”

The Cavs trailed at all three breaks, 7-5, 19-15, and 28-23. But a Stapelfeld layup tied it at 29 with 6:07 left and another gave the Cavs the lead for good, 31-30, with 4:12 left.

Stapelfeld’s layup and two free throws gave HB a 39-33 led with 22 seconds left.

“She’s definitely hard to stop,” Bougeois said of Stapelfeld, who also had five steals. “She’s very crafty, she can even post up on you as a small guard. She’s a great player.”

However, the Panthers’ Maya Rioux hit a big trey to make it 39-36 seconds later, and she got another chance to tie the game but the ball was deflected away and time ran out.

The Panthers got eight points from Aryana Murray, but were led by the powerful inside play of Iruka Obinelo, who had 14 points.

“I’m super proud of Iruka,” Bourgeois said. “She’s completely turned from last year to this year into a new player. She works hard, she bangs on the board, and she finishes. And she’s been a positive voice in our locker room.”

Murphy was happy with how his 3-3 team played at Bishop Guertin this past weekend, despite losing by 34. But after two straight losses, the mission was clear, and they’d need everyone involved. Maggie Crooks added eight points and Cheyenne Colbert had 10 rebounds.

“The other girls came to play,” Murphy said. “We wanted to win this game, for a change.”

So did the Panthers, but they were glad at least to finally start. Now they just need to finish.

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