On February 14, 2025, the Pingree’s Girls Varsity Basketball team went up against their rival, Governor’s Academy. Governor’s hosted the game, resulting in a nail-biting score of 37-39, with Govs coming out on the winning side. The game was tight the whole time, with Govs scoring a winning buzzer-beater shot to clinch the win.
The rivalry between the two teams has always been fierce, and this game was no exception. Last year, Pingree won the rivalry game with a score of 45-42. The year prior, in the 2022-2023 season, Governor’s took the victory 57-49. This game has become a fixture on both schools’ calendars. The games harbor strong school spirit on both sides, especially due to their close scores and last-minute winning plays.
Going into the game Pingree knew that “every year, the outcome is unpredictable,” says senior co-captain Lyla Campbell. “Whoever wants it more, whoever brings the most energy… it really varies, so it’s just a good competition where you never know the results and both teams are really competitive.” Each year, team captains encourage supporters to wear themed clothing. This year Govs wore red and pink because the game landed on Valentine’s Day, and Pingree wore all black for their “blackout” theme.
Being away from their home court this year, Pingree hoped to carry their spirit to the Governor’s campus and take the victory, but unfortunately were unable to do so. Leading up to the game, a few players on the team had some thoughts to share.
Antonella Najim, a junior on the Pingree team, went into the game wanting the team to focus on “keeping [their] composure and playing to the level [they] are, instead of playing lower.”
Campbell added, “It’s the best game of the year, the tensions are always high and the fan sport that [we] get is just, it’s amazing.”
During the game itself, both energy and fan support was high from both sides of the court. Fans were loud, cheering and chanting for their team, creating tension. Every shot, every basket, got the crowd fired up, and emotions ran high as the clock winded down. The players were focused, but the energy from the fans pushed them even harder.
In the last quarter, Governor’s tied up the game 31-31 with 3 minutes and 40 seconds left. With 2 minutes and 30 seconds left, Pingree scored a three, taking the lead and forcing Govs to develop a quick offensive play. A minute later, the score was tied after two foul shots; a minute after that, Govs secured the lead with another two foul shots, making the score 34-36. With 30 seconds on the clock, Pingree’s Hannah Shields scored a three-pointer, swinging the lead back to Pingree. Moments later, Govs scored one point off a foul shot, tying the game with 20 seconds left. Then, in a last-second attempt, Govs plowed in for a layup, missed, and allowed another Govs player to secure the rebound and put the shot back up for a buzzer-beater win.
In the end, despite Pingree’s effort and determination, Governor’s Academy won, securing yet another memorable game in the rivalry and building anticipation for next year’s matchup.
