AMHERST – Finishing at 7-11 in Division II, the Souhegan girls basketball team fell just short of the goal to qualify for the state playoffs.

Coach Michael Heaney took an honest look at the finish and the situation.

“We had a bit more than our share of injuries and illness and never really got the lineup we anticipated on the court together,” he said. “We let a few games slip away that we could have won but I felt like the kids played their hearts out.

“We had some young players gain invaluable experience for next year and that’s always exciting.”

While the steps by the underclassmen are huge to the program, losing a talented senior group is a huge hit, led by Wheaton bound point guard Mia Len.

“It’s hard to adequately describe the emotion of Mia being finished,” said Heaney.

“She’s the only player I have coached who started for me for four years. I am a much better coach because of Mia, because she pushed me to work harder, study the game more and be better prepared because she worked so hard.

“It’s always unique and special when your best player is a point guard because you spend more time talking to and debating that player more than any other. At the end of the day Mia graduating is pretty close to what it was like when my daughter graduated – grateful and proud and enormously sad that it’s over.”

Len isn’t the only Souhegan senior moving on.

Maddie Robicheau was the only player besides Len to start every game. She’s moving on to play softball at Fairfield.

Beth Greenwood is one of the few girls in New England who plays varsity baseball in high school. She will study to be an engineer in college.

Emma White will play at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

Kenzie Robinson will play lacrosse at St. Anselm. Elizabeth Apple, a talented performer, is set to study the arts in college.

And Brenna Noorda will study at BYU-Idaho in the fall.

The Milford High girls, an extremely young group, also missed the playoffs, closing out at 3-15.