Friday both of our Pioneer teams faced Spaulding. The girls arrived in Spaulding after an hour bus ride. As they entered the gym the girls learned that it was Senior Night and it was clear that the Spaulding crowd was going to be loud. This would also be the last game that Spaulding would play this year as they had not qualified for the upcoming playoffs. As the game got going the gym was filled with cheering Spaulding fans who wanted nothing more than to see their seniors finish their last game of their careers off with a win. However are Pioneers made a statement early on that slowly silenced the crowd. The girls won 55-26. 

    Meanwhile at home our boys took on the 12-4 Spaulding Red Raiders. The gym was loud. The game was exciting and the Raiders came out hard with no sign of fatigue despite the hour bus ride. In the end Trinity made more clutch plays than Spaulding and they emerged victorious 48-39. 

Last week Trinity's Girls' basketball team celebrated senior night. They faced the Nashua South Panthers who shared the exact record of our Pioneers. Our Pioneer Seniors came out hard, however in the end the Pioneers fell just a few shots short of a victory against the Panthers. The girls lost 45-34, however this score did not represent the play of our Pioneers.  Meanwhile our boys arrived at Nashua South for what would be a hard fought battle.  Although the Panthers record was only one game above 500, the Panthers made our Pioneers earn every point.  In the end our Pioneers won 62-55.

This week Sports Talk With A Pioneer sat down with former Trinity three point standout Zach Stevens, now a Freshman at NHTI.
Q. How is college basketball different from High School?
A. It's a lot more physical and fast paced with the shot clock. Also, road trips are a lot different, I'm not just going down the street to Central or Memorial some of these games are eight hours away.
Q. Explain a little bit about how the shot clock changes your approach to offense.
A. The shot clock doesn't really change anything for me, as soon as I have the slightest opening to get my shot off I let it fly.
Q. How did Trinity prepare you?
Academically definitely to buckle down and be a student athlete, books first then basketball. As far as basketball at Trinity I had to earn everything, so when I showed up here I had the same mindset, I had to earn what was being given to me. Also, to be mentally tough through every situation.
Q. How have you raised your game to the next level?
A: I just learned to get after it defensively and learn to get my shot off with littlest of space because these defenders are quicker and are able to close out faster.
Q. During this season you won USCAA player of the week, what did that mean to you?
A. It was great to be recognized, as a Freshmen, especially sense I was chosen from players in small schools around the Nation.

Last weeks boys' and girls' basketball games were so intense that even this reporter found herself getting caught in the action. First the Pioneers faced the Londonderry Lancers.  The Lady Lancers are currently the third ranked team in the state, while the boys team has struggled to finish games this year which has left them at the bottom of the standings. The Lady Lancers were celebrating their Senior night, but with several clutch plays and strong defensive plays our Lady Pioneers almost managed to ruin senior night for the Lancers. However the Pioneers fell just short loosing by two. The boys on the other hand showed the Lancers that they were going to go hard for the whole game, and the Pioneers emerged victorious winning 64-38. Friday night both Pioneer teams were challenged by two very strong Salem teams. The girls found themselves in a hard fought game on both sides of the court, and it was clear that neither team was going to go down without giving 110%. In the end our Pioneers were able to outplay the Salem girls and win 56-49.  Meanwhile the boys faced a battle in Salem. Throughout the game the Pioneers played their game but Salem stuck right with them, both teams never let up on the other. In the end the Pioneers won a tight one down the stretch 52-49. Meanwhile this week Trinity Hockey destroyed our city rival Central, winning 5-1, by simply out toughing the Central Little Green.

  On this past Thursday the girls' basketball team faced the Concord Crimson Tide.  The girls played tough defense throughout the game, only allowing Concord to score 23 points. Offense on the other hand was tough for the Pioneers until the fourth quarter when they pulled away from the Crimson Tide to win 23-36. Friday night our boys' team took on 2-10 Concord.  The boys entered the game with very little knowledge of the opposing team.  In the first quarter the boys came out hard and straight out out played the Crimson Tide.  The Pioneers higher level of play continued through the whole first half.  After half-time Trinity's second team entered the game and Trinity continued to pull away from the Concord boys. The Pioneers won.

Tonight Trinity's girls' and boys' basketball teams will match up against Keene.  The girls' (3-9) will face the Lady Blackbirds (7-5), Keene arrives at Trinity with 5'10 senior Ashley Clough as their lead scorer. Our Pioneers are coming off a win against 12th ranked Timberline when senior captain Lia Nawn scored a career high 27 points.  Meanwhile the boys will be making their 2 hour trek out to Keene to face the 2-9 17th ranked Blackbirds.