Alvirne's Julia Adams (11) tries to get around Londonderry's Samantha Sullivan during Friday night's Division I quarterfinal in Lonodonderry. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

LONDONDERRY – It’s not hard to figure out why the upstart Alvirne High School girls basketball team fell to No. 3 Londonderry 51-36 in the Divsion I quarterfinals on Friday night.

The Lancers (18-2) had Samantha Sullivan on their team, and the Broncos didn’t. Sullivan scored 22 points, including 10 in the third quarter. Five straight Sullivan points turned a 33-26 game into a 38-26 Lancer advantage late in the third period before the home team took a 38-30 lead into the fourth. But Alvirne managed just six in the final quarter.

“We had cut it to two, but Sullivan was too much,” Alvirne coach Frank Girginis said, his No. 11 team still playing tough in what ended up a 10-10 year that included the program’s first tourney win since 2017. “She took over and played like one of the best players in the state.”

It’s not as if the Broncos hadn’t seen this act before, as Sullivan scored 24 in a regular season Lancer win in Hudson. Last night, it was 11-6 Londonderry after the first quarter but the Broncos held their own, trailing just 21-17 at the half.

Ella Hartson led Alvirne with 12 points while Courtney Anderson added 11.

“I’m proud of my girls,” Girginis said. “They never quit and gave me everything they had this season. They put Alvirne girls basketball back on the map and I could not be more proud of them for it.”

Londondery now moves on to face rival No. 2 Pinkerton in the semifinals Tuesday, as the Astros rolled past Dover, 84-65. Meanwhile, the Broncos have eight players on the varsity roster eligible to return.

“The future,” Girginis said, “looks bright.”

Newsletter