The beginning of March marks the end of most winter sports at HB. Post-February break, most students now have their attention on their spring sport, which are set to start at the end of the month. Fields are drying off, the weather is warming up, and the buzz of spring sports tryouts is in the air.

There is a group of students still focused on winter, however. Both men’s and women’s basketball teams are in the heat of their seasons, as early March means playoff time. After strong seasons, the teams are looking to continue their success deep into the tournaments.

With playoff action starting soon for the guys, they’ve been putting in time in the gym and preparing for the tournament. “We’ve been building for this year for a few years now,” said Nick Fothergill ‘17. “We really want to face Manchester West again. They got off easy last time and now it’s at our place.”

Hollis Brookline’s men’s team is the fourth seeded team in their tournament. Finishing the season 15-3, as well as winning four of their last five, the team is in excellent shape to run deep into playoffs. A first round home game against eleven seeded Merrimack Valley is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8. The Cavaliers are the likely victors in the matchup. If outcomes are as expected, HB’s next game would be Saturday, March 11 against Manchester West. HB and West have had a heated playoff rivalry in recent years, and a matchup would be one of the highlights of the tournament. The semifinals and finals are both at UNH and scheduled for the following Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.

The women’s basketball tournament is already underway. HB started off the playoffs as the sixth seed after finishing the regular season 13-5. They knocked off the eleven seeded Goffstown in an easy 59-40 home win, followed by an exciting 66-62 road win against the favored Bishop Brady. The win sent them to the final four for the first time in a number of years. “It’s been a great season and to finally make the final four means so much,” said Kenzie Day ‘17. “We’ve proved everybody wrong that thought we were just an average team with one key player.”

Tuesday, March 7 is the next game for the team; they travel to SNHU to play their semifinal game against Portsmouth, who went 17-1. They’re a tough opponent, but HB gave them their only loss of the season. “We’ve played like a team,” said Day. “That’s why we’ve been winning. We just need to focus on playing our best basketball [Tuesday]. If that’s not enough, at least we can say we left it all on the court.”

If the girls win their Tuesday game, they face the winner of Lebanon versus Pelham in the championship on Friday night at SNHU.