St. Thomas Aquinas girls, boys basketball teams shooting for NH Division III state titles

DOVER — When the St. Thomas Aquinas High School boys and girls basketball teams' players and coaches look at the championship banners in the school's gym, they realize it has been more than three decades since either team won a title.

The boys won back-to-back Class M titles in 1991 and 1992, and the girls haven't won a state title since a Class M crown in 1981.

However, this season brings a special opportunity for both teams to raise a Division III championship banner. The girls went 15-1 in the regular season and are the No. 1 seed, while the boys went 16-1 and are the No. 2 seed. Both teams enter the playoffs on 12-game winning streaks.

Two state basketball titles would mean a lot to the school

Dave Morissette, the school's athletic director and boys basketball coach, described what it would mean to the school to win a pair of championships.

"We both have a lot of work to do to get there," said Morissette, who saw his Saints lose in the Division III semifinals last year. "The boys are pulling for (the girls team), and they're pulling for us. There's no friction, we both genuinely want each other to win."

Along with both teams in a championship drought, neither team has played in the state championship since winning the title.

"Looking up there, I'm seeing 1981, that's certainly a long time ago," girls head coach Kevin Giannino said. "I don't need to motivate the girls. They pointed that banner out to me on a number of occasions this year. They really don't feel the pressure, they just want to go and play, they just want to compete. One game at a time. They have a nice little swagger about them now that we try to instill in them, and now they expect to win."

Both teams marched down similar path

Both teams earned a first-round bye and will host a quarterfinal game. The boys will play No. 7 Belmont on Friday with the winner advancing to the semifinal round. The girls will play No. 9 White Mountains on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Both championship games are scheduled for a week from Saturday at Keene State College. The girls game is scheduled for 5 p.m., the boys at 8.

"I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but both teams worked really hard this season," St. Thomas Aquinas' Amelia Anderson said. "(Coach) Morissette and his boys, you see it every practice, they're working their butts off. Same with us. We both just really want it this season."

"We're ready for a good playoff run, and we think we can hang with anyone," St. Thomas Aquinas senior Will Mollica said. "We think we're coming for it this year."

The boys won their first four games, then lost to Gilford, 39-35, before ending the season on a 12-game win streak. The girls started 3-0, lost to Winnisquam, 60-55, and then reeled off 12 straight wins.

"I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but both teams worked really hard this season," junior forward Amelia Anderson said. "(Coach) Morissette and his boys, you see it every practice, they're working their butts off. Same with us. We both just really want it this season."

Support goes both ways, want to see each other win

When the girls clinched the top seed with last week's win over Hopkinton, many members of the boys team, along with Morissette, were in attendance cheering on the girls.

"We show up to their (games), and they show up to our (games)," junior center Maddie Karsonovich said. "It really just creates a new environment unlike anything I've been in before."

Standout freshman Cole McClure talked about what he thinks makes the girls team so tough to beat.

"They hit shots and they play together," McClure said. "They definitely work as a team; they have a really good team bond."

"We both play really feisty defense," Mollica said on the similarities of how both teams attack. "We like to get after it, pressure ball handlers, get on the glass. They do the same thing we do. We come with that mindset that we want to end the game in the first half. They do a lot of that, probably more than we do. They're good."

Both teams have legitimate chance to be last one standing

Giannino mentioned the play on the court between the two teams starts with the mindset and approach both teams carry.

"Both teams just have outstanding attitudes," he said. "The girls, and the boys, they're focused on winning. They love to compete. Look at the boys, we have to kick some of them out of the gym, and they'll kick some of the girls out of practice. They just love to play and love to compete, and that's on both sides. I think there's a healthy competition between them. I see some of the fun banter going back and forth, but it's all good stuff. They all support one another."

Morissette said his team is "in the mix" and "has a chance" to win it all.

"If we play the way we're capable of, we should do well in the next couple of weeks," Morissette said. "We have a good chance, we have a good team."

Morissette then talked about the girls' success.

"Watching these girls for the last three years get to this point, it's been awesome," Morissette said. "(Coach Giannino) does a great job and these girls are awesome."

Just like the girls team points to the wall as Giannino mentioned, Mollica and the boys do the same.

"That's a long time," Mollica said of the droughts. "We'd love to get one up there, both of us, girls and boys in 2024. So let's do it."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Both St. Thomas Aquinas basketball teams shooting for NHIAA titles