The Conant girls’ basketball team is coming back down to earth a bit this season, but still looks like a strong competitor in Division III.

The Orioles battled well against visiting Hopkinton in Jaffrey Monday night, but struggled to take care of the ball at times and were unable to score with regularity, ultimately losing to the preseason No. 5 Hawks 42-34.

“It was a winnable game,” said first-year head coach Devon Spirka. “The girls feel we could have, should have won it. I feel we could have and should have won it. But I’m not too mad with the loss, because I saw a lot of growth that they’re going to need later in the season.”

Spirka takes over this year for Brian Troy, who coached the Orioles to three championships. Conant is coming off four straight finals appearances, including two undefeated regular seasons; the current senior class had only lost three total games coming into this season.

But without Troy and collegiate hoopers Brynn Rautiola (Keene State College) and Emma Tenters (Emmanuel College), Spirka and the Orioles are searching for a new identity this season.

“Obviously we’re not undefeated,” Spirka said. “I’m not trying to be undefeated. It’s a marathon, not a sprint sort of mindset this year.”

Conant (2-2) was able to slow down the sprinting Hawks (4-0) on Monday night. Spirka’s players were focused on limiting transition against Hopkinton, and they succeeded there. Until a go-to scorer emerges, the Orioles will need to win their games with defense, and that side of the ball looked strong Monday.

“Our defense sparks our offense,” Spirka said. “We are trying really hard in practice to develop scorers. We don’t really have anyone on the team this year that has that scoring mindset that they truly feel in their mind that they are the scorer on the team. We have a lot of unselfish players, which I think will benefit us in different ways.”

The Orioles got a good scoring boost from senior forward Amy Lucier (game-high 14 points), who battled Hopkinton big Sydney Westover (six points) in the paint and dominated on the glass.

“It all starts for her with her rebounding,” Spirka said. “If she can start the game off rebounding, it kind of sparks her aggressiveness and that beast mode that she can get into, and I think that’s what happened.”

No other Oriole had more than six points, highlighting Conant’s area of need. The Orioles battled back from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit and forced two Hopkinton turnovers in the final minute and a half, but couldn’t cut it closer than four. As the season progresses, Conant’s most experienced players – senior captain Bella Hart and junior captain Hannah Manley – seem likely to step it up, though right now, they’re still acclimating to the responsibilities of their new leadership roles.

“Their role is much bigger, and they need to handle the pressure,” Spirka said. “I tell them all the time, ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ The fact that teams feel that they need to guard you that tightly is props to you because you’re that good of a player. So handle it, don’t get flustered by it, handle it. Now that we’re a few games in, they’re really starting to understand it a little bit more.”

Conant can also get positive contributions from junior forward Lola Hayes, a versatile player who does a little of everything on both sides of the ball; senior captain Graecen Kirby, a three-season captain who keeps the Orioles’ energy up; and senior Irelynd Aucoin, who has stepped into valuable rotational minutes this year.

For the first time in recent memory, the Orioles aren’t preseason favorites to make a title run. After years of Conant running roughshod over Division III, there are plenty of teams around the state licking their chops for the chance to take down the Orioles.

But with last year’s champion Concord Christian now ripping through Division II, DIII is still relatively wide open, and if Conant makes the necessary improvements throughout the season, there’s no reason they wouldn’t make a fearsome opponent come playoff time.

“I’m glad to play teams like [Hopkinton], where it’s close games and it’s not 30-point blowouts, because this is preparing them for what they need to be able to do,” Spirka said.

Conant hosts preseason No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (3-0) Thursday night.