The Concord Christian Academy Kingsmen girls’ basketball team opened the Division I postseason tournament with a 55-42 win at home on Monday night.

The No. 1 Kingsmen (15-4) held the No. 13 Blackbirds (8-11) to just 10 points and two field goals in the first half, and didn’t allow a single basket from the field in the first quarter as CCA opened up a 12-3 lead through the first quarter and had a 26-10 lead at halftime.

“Emma (Smith) and Kate (Smith) did a great job controlling (Keene’s) bigs,” Concord Christian head coach Rebecca Carlile said. “We were doubling down in the post when they were in there, controlling the boards in the first half. … Overall, I’m proud of their defensive effort.”

CCA went on a run at the start of the third quarter, expanding the Kingsmen’s lead to 20 points, but the Blackbirds responded with a run of their own. Keene’s junior bigs finally got things going offensively, with Harper Zalaski scoring all nine of her points in the third quarter and McKenna Nelson scoring five of her team-high 11 points in the same frame.

Keene outscored Concord Christian, 20-13, over those eight minutes to cut the Kingsmen’s lead to 39-30 heading into the fourth quarter.

“(Zalaski and Nelson) They’re just tough players, they gave us a run for our money,” Carlile said. “(Keene head coach David Springfield) threw everything and the kitchen sink at us defensively. He kept us on our toes. They’re a tough team, scrappy team.”

Junior Emma Smith scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter and senior Lilli Carlile (14 points) helped the Kingsmen close out the victory and advance to Thursday night’s quarterfinal round. Concord Christian will host No. 5 Bishop Guertin (15-4), who bested No. 12 Portsmouth, 45-20, in Monday night’s preliminary round.

The victory gave CCA its first ever Division I tournament victory in its D-I postseason debut, but that isn’t the Kingsmen’s ultimate goal. After winning the D-IV championship in 2022, the D-III title in 2023 and the D-II championship last season, Concord Christian is hoping to continue this unprecedented run with some D-I hardware. 

The Kingsmen went 62-2 in the previous three seasons and lost four games this past regular season, but the lessons learned from those games – and reinforced by Keene’s third quarter run on Monday – show Concord Christian what it takes to win at this level.

“Every team, specifically in the playoffs in D-I, is capable of beating any other team on any given night,” coach Carlile said. “Offensively and defensively, you have to stay disciplined and stick to your game plan. It’s a much quicker game, the skill level and athleticism (is higher). You can’t let up. It’s playoffs.”