NHIAA State Championship Game Standouts

<p>In late February and mid-March, we saw the state championship games of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association take place, an exciting display of basketball across four games between eight fantastic teams. While all four games ended up being double-digit finals, there's still a number of top performances and players to talk about, which we'll be doing below.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kiara Rugora - Newmarket (2028)</h2>   <p>Some of these players unfortunately we'll be talking about in losing efforts, players like Rugora and Newmarket, but for an eighth grader to come up on the stage that she did, a state title game, and lead her team in scoring with 10 points, is incredibly impressive. There's a lot of basketball left to be played for Rugora and it seems like things are just getting started for her, no doubt.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Addison Pilgrim - Littleton (2027)</h2>   <p>While Newmarket wasn't able to pull out a victory, Littleton did, an 18-point victory at that over the Mules. Pilgrim was one of two Crusaders players to lead the charge in their state championship victory, scoring 11 points in the end. She's just a freshman and was putting up some serious scoring totals as Littleton took care of business in the Division IV final.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Juju Bromley - Littleton (2026)</h2>   <p>It seems the Crusaders' duo of Pilgrim and Bromley is going to be a dangerous one moving forward because both ended up with 11 points in a state championship victory. Really impressed with what the sophomore was able to provide on the floor and while the versatile piece, both playing as a guard and forward this season, wasn't a high-scoring threat, she sure showcased that on the biggest stage for her team.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lilli Carlile - Concord Christian (2025)</h2>   <p>It was the Concord Christian show in its Division II state title game blowout win over Pembroke, a 19-point win. Carlile was a big reason for that eventual blowout victory, posting video game-like stats in the win. She finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals, a dominant double-double with plenty more going on. There's no other way to put it: she was incredible.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='344311' first='Emma' last='Smith'] - Concord Christian (2026)</h2>   <p>While Carlile was dominating in a way that no one could stop her, teammate [player_tooltip player_id='344311' first='Emma' last='Smith'] found that it was time for her to make a name in the win, nearly posting a double-double of her own. It seemed the two were going toe-to-toe with each other as Smith recorded 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. The two were a two-headed monster that Pembroke simply couldn't find a way to stop.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kaitlin Arnella - Pembroke (2025)</h2>   <p>The Division II final was a disappointing ending to what was a truly fantastic season for Pembroke. With their best player neutralized, the Spartans needed a spark from somewhere else on the floor. Enter junior Kaitlin Arnella, who led the team with 14 points, shooting 50 percent (4-of-8) from three, along with four assists. She's going to be a big returning piece for Pembroke with shooting success like that.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Shaylee Murdough - Hopkinton (2025)</h2>   <p>Murdough had herself a game in the semifinals for Hopkinton, putting up 23 points to help her team reach the Division III state final. While she was still quite effective, scoring 15 points in the title game, it was incredibly tough for her team and even her to score in an 11-point loss. The Hawks were seemingly outmatched in the final, they'll be getting Murdough back next season, hopefully building around her once more.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tess Marniello - Kearsarge (2024)</h2>   <p>Unlike some of the more high-scoring playoff games that happened statewide, the Division III state title game was relatively low-scoring, but still made for some great basketball. Great basketball is what helped Kearsarge hoist a state championship trophy, led by senior Tess Marniello. She came up big for the Cougars, finishing with 15 points to end her high school career at the top of the mountain.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='361079' first='Lana' last='McCarthy'] - Bedford (2024)</h2>   <p>Soon to head to Purdue and the Big Ten, McCarthy had one more thing to check off her list before ending her high school career: hosting a state championship trophy as a senior. She did just that with Bedford, leading the team with a 20-point performance in the Division I state title game over Pinkerton. With the success she had over her high school career, the Boilermakers got a stud in her.</p>

In late February and mid-March, we saw the state championship games of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association take place, an exciting display of basketball across four games between eight fantastic teams. While all four games ended up being double-digit finals, there's still a number of top performances and players to talk about, which we'll be doing below.