Nashua North's Jordan Cottier attracts the attentin of Alvirne's Ella Hartson (20), Julia Adams (11) and Courtney Anderson during Friday night's game at the C.J. Steckevicz Gym in Hudson. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

HUDSON – Nothing like a Senior Night to bring out the best in a high school girls basketball team.

The Alvirne Broncos have been fighting all season to establish their identity and surge ahead. Friday night’s festive atmosphere in the C.J. Steckevicz Gym as they honored their three senior players Rachel Allard, Taryn Macklin and Sadie Roger seemed to give them a boost en root to a 49-33 win over Division I local rival Nashua North.

“Senior night really sparked it,” Allard, the Broncos point guard who had a game-high 15 points, said. “I think now we’re ready to go.”

The win puts the Broncos at 7-6, and gives them a good step toward a tourney berth. On the flip side, things look a little tougher for 6-9 Nashua North, who likely need to win two of their last three to get in.

“On the road, Senior Night, usually goes one of two ways,” Titans coach Curt Dutilley said. “Either the other team is into that and really feels that vibe, or sometimes it doesn’t work for them. Tonight, it worked well for them.

“But it was also more of us turning it over and struggling with rebounding.”

The Broncos had a distinct height advantage over the Titans, getting an average of three shots every time down the floor. They led 25-18 at the half but then things got dicey after the Titans closed to 25-23 two minutes into the third.

Then Alvirne got key 3-pointer by Alexis Floyd and Allard, and it was 33-23 with 4:55 left in the period, which ended with Alvirne up 41-29.

“We came in with a game plan to establish both inside and outside,” Broncos coach Frank Girginis said. “I thought we had a little bit of an advantage inide with our size, and I wanted to establish that first because it’s going to open up the shots. …

“We chased a little big early, but the one thing about this team is we do have very good shooters. …The outside shots started falling, we started to play good defense, created some turnovers, run in transition so we didn’t have to deal with their feisty zone.”

The feisty ones were the Broncos in the fourth quarter, as their defense held North to just four points. Freshman Courtney Anderson’s trey with 4:55 to play put the game out of reach, 49-31. Lilly Small led North with 13 points while Jordan Cottier added seven. Sadie Rogers added 11 and Ella Hartson nine for the Broncos.

“Beating them where they had six wins was big,” Girginis said. “The sky’s the limit for this team. The record stands at 7-6 but we don’t believe that’s who we are. We believe we can compete, and every game we’re going to try to do that.”

There are likely two wins in their final three games waiting, with Central-West and Winnacunnet at home and in between contender Portsmouth on the road. But if the Titans had been able to get this one, it would have made life easier.

“That would have been a good clincher,” Dutilley said. “But now we just have to work extra hard in the next three, play well, and take care of business and probably get in.”

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