Staying Home to Win it All
In the early days of high school basketball in Conval Nation, it was the girls' teams that played interscholastically before the boys, and at Antrim, Hancock and Peterborough high schools, the girls’ teams enjoyed tremendous successes and were known around New Hampshire for basketball excellence. But there was no official state championship until the NHIAA sponsored a tournament for larger schools in 1970 and for smaller schools in 1972.
In the in 1930s, however, Peterborough was the center of the girls’ basketball universe in New Hampshire. That’s because the Peterborough Boys’ Club, which was started by legendary PHS boys’ coach John Clark, decided to host an invitational state tournament for girls’ basketball much like the one sponsored by UNH for boys’ teams. And from the inaugural event in 1934 to 1937, few teams could compare to the success of the Peterborough High girls.
After helping Appleton Academy of New Ipswich open its new gym with a lopsided exhibition contest victory, Coach Amy Branch’s squad gave notice to the state right away that they would again be a team to be reckoned with. Peterborough first disposed of Hillsboro, 24-9, and followed it up with a 71-7 shellacking of Conant—a high score nearly unheard of in those days.
Only two games into the regular season, the Boys’ Club’s selection committee began to look around the state to assess what appeared to be the strongest teams in each region. Letters of application were sent out to potential teams, and within a week, 11 schools stated their case for being selected to one of the eight tournament spots. As the regular season progressed, however, it was becoming more evident that the hometown girls’ team would be one of those contenders.
Among its biggest challengers would be a powerful team from nearby Wilton.
In an early season showdown in Wilton, the hosts nipped Peterborough 27-25 in what was termed one of the most exciting and controversial contests of the 1936-’37 season. In a wild back-and-forth game, Louise Brown’s three-point play in the final minutes tied the game at 25-all. Wilton took the lead in the waning seconds, but many thought that Connell had scored the equalizer as time expired. In the noise and chaos, however, no one had heard that the referee had blown his whistle, calling a foul on Peterborough that negated the game-tying basket!
Despite the heartbreaking ending, the girls’ rallied the rest of the way to finish the season 12-2—the only other loss coming at Keene. Included in their triumphs were victories over Wilton and Keene to avenge their only two losses. Clearly, the Peterborough High girls had earned a spot in the state tournament in their hometown. And the Boys’ Club committee agreed, inviting Peterborough, Keene, Wilton, Farmington, Lincoln, Henniker, Pembroke and Charlestown high schools—schools with a combined record of 86-12-2! (Yup, they had ties back then.) Farmington, the only unbeaten of the bunch, was tabbed the pre-tournament favorite.
Apparently, Peterborough High did not get the memo. Coach Branch’s team led Farmington 16-0 after one period and 32-2 at halftime, keyed by exceptional team defense led by Gail Wood. She was again on top of her game in a 35-19 semi-final victory over Pembroke as Peterborough didn’t allow their challengers to score their first field goal until nearly halftime. It was on to the finals!
“The girls have a fine record of victories and although Peterborough has never won a state championship, it would not be surprising if this year’s team came through, despite the fact that it is not rated as high as the three other Peterborough High teams which have gone into previous tournaments,” wrote the Transcript in its tournament preview.
Little did anyone know what was to transpire would be one of the greatest state championship games of its era.
On Saturday night, March 8, 1937, 700 fans from both schools packed the Town House where bleachers had been borrowed from Keene High. Wanting to make it a first-class event, the Boys’ Club installed a new public address system. The atmosphere for the rubber match between two neighborhood rivals was electric.
Connell opened the contest with an easy basket, and then in a frenzied atmosphere, the two teams traded points until the first quarter ended with Peterborough up 8-7. Back and forth it went deep into the second period before Brown gave the hometown girls the edge once more, scoring five points in the final moments of the half to give Peterborough a 19-16 lead.
After a third quarter dominated by great defense by both schools, Peterborough maintained a slight edge, 25-21. The final quarter was pure chaos. Wilton standout Isabelle Jowders rallied her team with a series of clutch shots, and after both teams traded free throws, Peterborough was up by a razor thin margin of 28-26 with just seconds remaining. The crowd was on its feet as Wilton worked the ball around looking to tie the game. As time was about to expire, the shot up went up and looked to be good—but it went around the rim three times…and then fell off!
Peterborough High had unexpectedly won its first state championship in girls’ basketball after two near-misses—and it was won for the first and only time, right in their backyard.
Gail Wood and Rita Connell were both named to the all-tournament team, with Wood earning a gold medal for “best player.” Major A. Erland Goyette (pictured above) donated the championship cup and other prizes for the participating teams. After expenses, proceeds from the tournament benefitted the Red Cross, Samaritan Society and the PTA welfare fund.
A fun post-script from the Transcript…”Major Goyette led a cheer for the referees, John Burke, John Fitzgerald and Henry ‘Bud’ Lovejoy, Saturday night. No wonder there were dazed. They are more used to the raspberry!”
