Bishop Guertin's Laura Marino tries to deflect the ball away from Exeter's Emma Gillis (22) during a game earlier this season. The Cards open up tourney play tonight at 6 vs. Portsmouth. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

To the victors go the spoils. The Milford High School girls basketball team won the Division II championship a year ago and this year due to some scheduling issues they got an extra week to get things set before beginning their title defense on Dec. 19.

But Milford coach Mike Davidson will no doubt welcome the extra time as he lost four key seniors, but the Spartans still have the talent to be a factor in Division II. Locally in Division I, Bishop Guertin will hope to match last year’s regular season but win more than one tourney game while everyone worries about the Bedford dynasty.

Nashua North and South both should improve on 8-10 seasons, while Alvirne will be piecing things together while Merrimack will be trying to adjust to a new coach, Amanda D’Amico. Campbell in Division III has a new coach who is their former coach, Drew Gora. Wilton-Lyndeborough will be improved in Division IV.

Here’s a look at how things could go:

DIVSISION I

The Cards have a lot of players back from last year’s team that won 15 games but fell to Concord Christian in the quarterfinals on the road. Point guard Kayden Rioux, guard-forward Thalia Drapeau, shooting guard Maddi Long and tall forward Olivia Baker form a senior nucleus. Junior guard-forward Laura Marino and sophomore guard Hailey McGowan are returning underclassmen.

“We’ve got somewhat of a seasoned team, which is exciting,” Cards third-year coach Olivia Orlando said. “We want to establish a standard of never taking a play off – the expectation is that we compete as hard as possible in every situation.”

Nashua North has a good scoring team that include guards Angie King (5-4 senior), Lily Small (5-8 junior), Madelyn Tino (5-6 sophomore) and Raegan Campbell (5-6 sophomore). King is the only senior, so experience might be factor, but the others have all seen a good amount of playing time.

“The keys to success this year is being able to balance the attack with the multiple scorers we have to make it difficult for teams to key on one or two players,” Titans coach Curt Dutilley said. “We’ll be a team built on pace both offensively and defensively.”

Nashua South has a familiar roster and returns one of the best players in the area, senior point guard Nicole De Jesus Roman, but you may see something different from recent South teams: An inside game.

“This year we have some size and length,” Panthers coach John Bourgeois said. “That changes everything. We can crash the boards, disrupt passing lanes, and play multiple styles depending on the matchup. What hasn’t changed is our edge.”

Two other key seniors are Addie Borden and Brooke Berger. Junior forward Maggie Gallagher transferred over from BG, while newcomer sophomore Anya Challinger will potentially be the Panthers’ top rebounder. This should be an interesting team; when the Panthers scrimmaged Hollis Brookline the other night the intensity level for both teams was through the roof.

Alvirne had a good season last year, winning 10 games but the Broncos exited in a loss at Salem. But this year there are a lot of parts that need to be put together in a bit of the unknown.

“We’re building a 5,000 piece puzzle this year, and every single player on the roster is one of those pieces,” Broncos coach Frank Girginis said. “It won’t snap together overnight.”

Key returnees include seniors Lexi Floyd (5-6 guard), Taylor Small (5-4 point guard), Julia Adams (5-7 forward) and Haylie Christman (5-5 guard). Watch out too for freshmen Talah Kraus (5-6 guard) and Ochanya Adikwu (6-1 center).

“When we finally lock in – when every piece accepts its place – the picture we create together will be worth it,” Girginis said.

The Tomahawks of Merrimack missed the tourney a year ago as the program has been in a down cycle, but late last season showed promise with players like Meghan McCarthy, Natalia Maglio, and Abby Herod, all eligible to return.

DIVISION II

The Spartans were the story of the winter last year, finishing 18-3 and hoisting the title plaque. Who’s back? Well it starts with senior point guard Shea Hansen, plus junior Lexi Bausha. Together they form one of the top backcourts in Division II.

Other returners are junior guard Maggie Pelletier, junior forwards Trinity Millner, Maya Remella and Haley Jarrington, plus senior forward Bella Ross. And there are a ton of newcomers as the numbers are as high as 18.

“It’s time to turn the page and start a new chapter,” Davidson said. “We have several returning players who spent most of the second half of last season watching from the bench. Now it’s their turn.”

Souhegan has a young but talented group, led by 5-8 senior guard Zofia Rosenfield, 5-7 junior forward Lanai Hickman, 5-5 junior guard Julia Skelton and 5-5 sophomore guard Natalie Bryan.

“Last year we wanted to raise the intensity level in practice and in games and this year we hope to turn it up a notch,” said Sabers coach Greg Croteau, in his second year at the helm and hoping to host a first round tourney game as a “realistic goal.”

Hollis Brookline has senior forward-guard Ana O’Donnell as the centerpiece, plus seniors Payton Dunn, Brooke Bouchard and Rosalie DeSantis, the latter playing basketball for the first time on the high school level and adds speed and strength. Juniors Mya Blackman (rebounding) and Samantha Disco (shooting, finishing) are also big keys. Sophomores Ysabel Ramas and Ainslee Thompson add defensive pressure and watch out for newcomers Kendall Dunn and Harper DeBoisbriand.

“We bring strong depth,” Cavs coach Heidi Moore said. “O’Donnell is coming off a strong AAU season and overseas play.” The Cavs are ready, they looked in mid-season form the other night vs.South.

Shea Hansen will be a key for the defending champion Milford Spartans this winter.(Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

DIVISION III

Gora is very optimistic about what can be done in what he expects to be a rebuilding season.

“This season may be a rebuild, but it is not a setback,” he said. “It’s an opportunity, an opportunity for a new identity, a new standard, a new chapter for our program.”

The Cougars do have a core of five players with varsity experience: senior guard Kenzie Ripley, juniors Katie Fluet, Kate Silver (forward) and Amelia LaPlante (guard) plus sophomore point guard Zoe Bourque. Junior guard Mikayla Swanson will add versatility to the lineup.

“Division III is loaded with talent,” Gora said, “but we’re not backing down from anybody.”

DIVISION IV

Wilton Lyndeborough missed the tourney last year but the Warriors have already gotten off to a great start with a recent 47-17 opening win at Epping behind McKenna Crouse’s 17 and Maddy Labrecque’s 14. Senior Cailin Swett and junior forward Dani Stratton will also help out this year.

“We’re looking to bounce back to competitiveness after a tough year last season,” WLC coach Tom Crowley said.