PEMBROKE – With only one senior between the two schools, Pembroke and Quincy are amidst a youth movement, but the Presidents came out on top of the court for the second straight year.

With the top spot of the Patriot League Fisher Division in the balance, Quincy prevailed 51-49 in a come-from-behind girls basketball victory over the Titans.

The Presidents (7-1, 5-0) remained undefeated in Fisher League play behind the double-double efforts of junior forward Alyssa Hopps, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds, including key free throws down the stretch to seal things.

Niamh Gendron chipped in 15 points, six rebounds and four assists as the Presidents sent the Titans to their second loss in as many years to Quincy on their home court.

“Their whole defense is about causing havoc and disruption and they do a really great job at it, read passes really well, and it’s hard to prepare for something like that,” said Quincy head coach, Sarah Conlon. “For a very young team with two freshmen playing significant minutes, the whole team really did a great job.”

Pembroke (6-2, 4-1) led 27-20 at the half as a 7-0 run erased the first lead of the game for Quincy, which led 16-15 with 6:30 to go in the second quarter. Caroline Balasco (11 points) was strong in the backcourt with five of the seven points in the stretch and Alissa Marcella finished with 10 halftime points en route to a game-high 23 points.

The backcourt of Balasco and Allie Dwyer had the Titans cruising in the second quarter, but halftime adjustments from Quincy doomed the Pembroke ship.

The Presidents came out with Gendron in the high post and Hopps would roll to the hoop from the top of the key for easy give-and-go layups for Quincy out of the gates in the third quarter for four consecutive successful possessions.

This opened the play from beyond the arc as three-pointers from freshmen starters Frankie Diaz and Rory Kennedy tied things up twice late in the third as the Presidents shot three-of-five in the final three minutes of the third quarter.

Pembroke answered with back-to-back threes of their own from Marcella and Elli Tam (14 points) as the Titans held a slim three-point lead, 42-39, heading into the fourth.

In the final eight frantic minutes, Kennedy hit her second three-pointer of the second half and made this one count as Quincy took the lead for only the second time but for good with 3:07 left in regulation, 46-44.

Free throws in the final seconds dogged both teams but it was Hoops who grabbed a few rebounds, drew the foul line assignments, and hit just enough from the charity stripe to secure the win.

“We are young, so we were 5-15 two years ago with a bunch of these girls playing as freshmen and last year we made it to the tournament, and this year we are maturing but that’s one of those games against a really talented team that we just needed to be more precise,” said Pembroke head coach Tim Lopes. “We still have all our goals ahead of us, which are achievable, and I think both us and Quincy are better teams than at 5 p.m. when we got here.”