RallyNorth.net

Positive play on both ends of the court earned Timberlane an opening round 45-33 victory over Nashua North. Katie Matatall (16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals) and Emily Rose (5 points and 11 boards) were dominating for the Owls, who are rewarded for a strong effort by facing powerful top seed Winnacunnet Saturday in the quarterfinals.

PLAISTOW — Erin Shannon was fouled on a field-goal attempt from half court and converted two of her three free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to give Nashua South an improbable 54-52 win over Timberlane. “We hurt ourselves by reaching so much tonight, and getting into foul trouble,” Owls coach Bruce Johnson said. “That was obvious on the last shot.” Until the bizarre ending, Katie Matatall was the star of the night. The senior tri-captain connected on a baseline drive with 32 seconds left and a 3-pointer from the wing on an inbound pass with 5 seconds remaining to force a tie at 52. After trailing by two entering the fourth, the Owls (10-8 in Division 1) used an 11-2 run to grab a 44-37 lead with 4:10 remaining on a pair of free throws by Matatall. But the Panthers (8-10) soon after used an 11-0 run of their own to take a 52-47 advantage with 42 seconds left. It was fitting the game would be decided at the line. The two clubs combined for a whopping 65 free throw attempts, 36 by the visitors. The loss in the regular-season final was just the second in the Owls’ last nine games. “We didn’t execute quite enough,” Johnson said. “But when we did, it looked good. That’s kind of the way our season has been going. We are very capable of executing and running some nice sets.” When Timberlane was hitting cutters for lay ups, it was successful enough to open leads of nine points in the second quarter and the seven-point advantage midway through the fourth. Even with the loss, the Owls most likely will play host in a first-round game for the first time since the 2007-08 season. Meg Short, who was in foul trouble much of the second half, scored a team-high 17 points with six rebounds for the Owls. Matatall finished with 11 points. Timberlane will likely play Nashua North in next week’s first round. The Owls dropped a 53-35 decision to North on Jan. 7, in what was the second of what proved to be a five-game losing streak.

Timberlane tripped Trinity, 41-34, to improve to 10-7. Becky MacDougall pumped in 14 points and four three-pointers and Emily Rose added nine points. Meg Short contributed seven rebounds and four assists.

Londonderry's Savanna Butterfield was one of the few offensive performers to get on track in a defensive slugfest. The senior tossed in a game-high 19 points to carry the Lancers past Timberlane, 39-27. Katie Matatall paced the Owls with 15.

In a battle of the LaRosa cousins, Aven and Timberlane Regional knocked off Samantha and Salem, 61-41, yesterday. Becky MacDougall paced the Owls with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Katie Matatall led all scorers with 19 points.

In a battle of the LaRosa cousins, Aven and Timberlane Regional knocked off Samantha and Salem, 61-41, yesterday. Becky MacDougall paced the Owls with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Katie Matatall led all scorers with 19 points.

Timberlane junior Emily Rose had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Owls stunned Bishop Guertin 55-47. Katie Matatall added 13 points for the Owls, who held Guertin to 14 points in the first half, and Becky MacDougall sank nine free throws and had 11 points.

Emily Rose scored 16 points and Timberlane needed just about all of those to hold off Dover, 40-37.  Rose was joined in the double-digit scorig category with Page Travaglini and Katie Matatall, who each had nine.  Megan Short played a key role in the victory with five blocks while taking three charges.