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Pinkerton got off to a fast start in the fourth quarter by breaking the Winnacunnet press with a nice outlet pass to AJ Guidi who then passed off to Allie Ucich who scored a layup to tie the game. The Pinkerton crowd went wild and the Astros appeared to have gained some serious momentum. But then Winnacunnet star and Boston College bound Tiffany Ruffin took control of the game. The senior scored on three jump shots over the next 2 minutes, 14 seconds to help lead her team on a 8-0 run. From there, Winnacunnet held on and won 46-41 to claim its fourth straight Class L title. “I think we stayed composed and we didn’t let it get to us but it probably got to us a little bit,” Pinkerton senior Laura Pierce said about the Winnacunnet 8-0 run. “Everything about her (Ruffin makes her difficult to defend). You play her so she doesn’t go to the hoop, then she steps back and hits a 3.” Ruffin scored a game-high 19 points, going 7 of 10 from the field. She also had four assists, four rebounds and two steals. “Tiffany Ruffin is a go-to girl,” Guidi said. “She’s the girl you want to go to for dribble penetration and the quick shot coming off the screen. She’s a great player. Really hard to defend.” Pinkerton shot only 35.3 percent (18 for 51) from the field and just 13.6 percent (3 for 22) from 3-point range. The Astros also struggled from the free throw line, going just 2 for 7. “Three for 22 is a little bit bad from the 3-point line,” Guidi said. “But we’ve had those nights. We had them against Winnacunnet in the first half the first time we played them. We got a little more dribble penetration this time, which helped us stay in the game.” Guidi led Pinkerton with 12 points but went 0 for 7 from 3-point range. Pierce scored 9 points and collected six rebounds. Pinkerton turned the ball over just 12 times but had difficulty bringing it up against the press, especially at the end of the game when it needed to take quick shots to get back in the game.
“They have great pressure,” Katherine Harris said. “I thought we did a good job of maintaining out composure. We didn’t have that many turnovers. We managed to get it up most of the time. But the pressure is difficult, definitely.”

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The state Final Four is a good time to show off a tough defense. But for Pinkerton, it was just more of the same stellar work it has displayed the final month.

The second-seeded Astros advanced to their third title game in the 41-year history of the tourney, dominating third-seeded Londonderry 60-39 last night at the Southern New Hampshire University Fieldhouse.

DERRY, NH. — Three days after a furious last-minute rally got them to the state quarterfinals, the Pinkerton girls wasted no time earning a trip to the Class L semifinals.

Crisp passing and deadly long-range shooting gave the second-seeded Astros a 27-point halftime lead before finishing off seventh-seeded Manchester Memorial in an easy 63-39 victory last night. Pinkerton (21-2) takes a 14-game winning streak into Tuesday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against third-seeded Londonderry at Southern New Hampshire University. The Astros defeated the Lancers 39-34 on January 15.

Pinkerton senior AJ Guidi’s shot was off the mark for much of the first 30 minutes, 48 seconds of yesterday’s Class L first-round game against Salem.
Her offensive wooes included missing her first five 3-point attempts. Still, Guidi wasn’t timid to toss up another 3-pointer with her team trailing by nine points with 1:12 remaining. Her shot sailed in and Pinkerton had new life. “I was off the whole game and just hitting that shot was kind of a big relief,” she said. “After that happened, everything else just started falling for us and fell in its place.”
Guidi, who shot 29 percent for the game, caught fire in the final 1:12 — as did the rest of her teammates. Guidi scored eight points during that time as she led Pinkerton on a 13-0 run to close out the game. No. 2 Pinkerton won 43-39 over Salem, which went just 0 for 6 from free throw line in the final 1:06. Katherine Harris called the game one the of the most exciting in which she has ever played. “Definitely, that was a crazy comeback,” she said. Guidi scored a game-high 18 points thanks to her nine points in the fourth quarter. “We kept our cool,” she said. “We kept our heads and we played defense at the end. I was getting a little frustrated but I knew that if I couldn’t make the shots, someone else could.” After Guidi’s 3-pointer, Salem missed a pair of free throws and the ball returned to the Astros. Pinkerton moved the ball around nicely, finding Danielle Kimball wide open in the corner. Kimball, a 5-foot-5 junior, had not scored all game but poured in a 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 39-36. “So much was going through my mind,” she said about taking it. “I knew we needed it. I air-balled shortly before that and I was so mad at myself for that. At that point we knew we needed 3s.” More missed free throws by Salem gave Pinkerton the ball back and Allie Ucich drew a foul with :40 left and made her shots to cut the Astros’ deficit to 39-38. “Honestly, I thought fourth quarter we were going to be done,” Ucich said. “I started to see everyone’s heads go down. When we hit those two 3s that was key. We were just like, ‘All right. We can do this.’ And we just dug in and hit our foul shots.” Pinkerton then used some strong defense to take its first lead of the game. Ucich tipped a pass being inbounded by Salem down near the Salem basket. Harris then grabbed the tip. She fired a pass near halfcourt to Laura Pierce who made a strong pass to Guidi who was streaking in toward the basket. Guidi caught the pass and scored her basket while being fouled. She made her free throws to give Pinkerton the 40-39 with 23 seconds left. “I was pumped,” she said. “After that I knew we had the game sealed the way the momentum was going in our favor. So we just kept the momentum up and the intensity up after that.” Salem coach Liz Briggs she said she proud of the way her girls played. “Finally, we could put some offense together,” she said. “Certainly in the first half and third quarter. We’ve trying to be offensive all year long. We had some people step up today.” She did mention the missed free throws as being one of the downfalls. “I could have probably told you about two weeks ago that might be our demise,” she said. “We haven’t been strong in that regard. Everyone had an opportunity to step up. We just kind of threw it away there at the end. At least we know next year we’ll be working real hard on our free throws.”

A trio of Pinkerton players made Senior Night special in a 57-30 pummeling of Alvirne. A.J. Guidi lit up the offense with 17 points including three 3-pointers, Laura Pierce drained a pair of 3's and finished with eight points, and Allie Ucich owned the paint for the 17-1 Astros, who start state tourney play Monday.

Pinkerton improved to 15-1 following a 48-28 win over Bishop Guertin and did so with a barrage of 3-point shots. A.J. Guidi nailed down four 3-pointers on her way to a game-best 19 points. Laura Pierce also had four 3-pointers and she finished with 16 points.  For hte game, Pinkerton hit 10 from behind the arc.

Pinkerton was 14 of 15 from the free-throw line and the Astros needed to be as they held on for a 50-45 win over upset-minded Dover. AJ Guidi scored 21 points and Laura Pierce added 18 for the winners.

Christina Bakolos banked a 30-footer with a second left to force OT but Pinkerton owned the extra session to beat Manchester Central, 45-42. AJ Guidi led the Astros, scoring all 15 of her points in the first half. Michelle Reid caught fire, exploding for nine of her 10 points in OT. Guidi, who also had 14 rebounds, and Allie Ucich forced crucial turnovers late in the OT.

DERRY, N.H. - With a third-quarter hoop AJ Guidi joined some pretty impressive company around Hackler Gymnasium. The Pinkerton Academy senior tossed in 16 points on the night, raising her career total to 1,006, in a 57-30 win over Goffstown. "For us, especially because we're team oriented offense, scoring 1,000 is tough," said Pinkerton coach John Barry. "AJ is a very unselfish player. She can score inside and outside equally well. I know UMass Lowell is very excited to have her." Guidi becomes the fourth Pinkerton girl in history to reach the 1,000-point mark. The others were Chris Kinney (UNH) in the 1970s, Christina Siragusa (Merrimack) and most recently Jenny McDaid, who currently plays at Southern New Hampshire. Katherine Harris chipped in 13 points, and Danielle Kimball delivered 10 for the Astros, who move to 7-1 in Class L play.