The Turners Falls High School girls’ basketball team has been playing as well as any team in Franklin County of late and came into Thursday night’s showdown with Greenfield High School having won eight of nine games.
But the Green Wave continued to prove it’s the cream of the crop in Franklin County as it got a balanced scoring attack, with four players scoring in double figures, to knock off the Indians, 61-40, in a FCL South Division game in Turners Falls.
Greenfield (11-1) has now beaten both Mahar Regional School and Turners Falls in the past nine days and ran its winning streak to 11 games after it lost the first game of the year.
The Wave outscored the Indians in each of the four quarters, and held a 30-20 lead at the break. The Indians kept things within striking distance early in the second half but Greenfield took advantage of a sudden letdown by the Indians according to Turners Falls coach Ted Wilcox, which allowed the Wave to pull away.
“In the third quarter, our girls came out hard and they chipped away at the lead, but all of a sudden we had a letdown and you can’t do that anytime against Greenfield,” he said.
The Green Wave had four players finish in double-figure scoring, including Raegan Hickey, who poured in 17 points to pace the Wave. Samantha Smith finished with 13 points for the Green Wave, and Molley Duclos tossed in 11 as the two post players outscored the Turners Falls post players, 24-12. Katie Haselton added 11 points in the win.
Maddy Chmyzinski scored 14 points to pace Turners Falls on offense. Kylie Fleming finished with 6 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, and also grabbed 6 rebounds. Aliyah Sanders added 6 points, and Taylor Murphy and Chloe Ellis each chipped in 4.
Southwick 52, Pioneer 48 — McKinley White scored 17 points on Thursday night and Southwick-Tolland Regional High School held off a late comeback by Pioneer Valley Regional School to pull out a 52-48 independent girls’ basketball win at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield.
The Panthers trailed 30-22 at halftime but cut the deficit to four points (38-34) entering the fourth and then had the deficit down to 2 points with under a minute to go. The comeback came up short and Southwick earned a season sweep of the Panthers after the Rams clubbed Pioneer, 46-30, back on Dec. 23.
“The team that is playing now is different from the one that played the first three games of the season,” Pioneer coach Meg Burrington said. “The girls just get better every day. We are excited where these kids will be going over the next month.”
Alyssa Cournoyer finished with 14 points in the win, and McKenna Leary added 11.
Caroline Merkle paced Pioneer with 16 points, and 10 rebounds, and Olivia Rowe added 11 points. Maddy Tyson finished with 9 points, 5 assists and 5 steals, and Jess Scoville added 6 points.
Mahar 65, Hopkins 41 — Mahar Regional School had four players finish in double figures and the Senators cruised past Hopkins Academy, 65-41, in a FCL North Division game Thursday in Hadley.
The Senators scored nearly half (30) of their points from the free-throw line, as they shot 30-of-46 in the win. That comes after Mahar went to the line 50 times during a 81-74 victory over Mt. Everett Regional High School on Saturday.
“We attacked the hoop the whole night,” Mahar coach Larry Fisher said. “That was our game plan. We just need to shoot 65 to 70 percent when we go that much. I’m very pleased with the win because that can be a tough gym to play in. They have a nice pep band and a nice atmosphere there.”
Kadie Jillson led the Senators (6-5) with 16 points, and Kenzie Tenney added 12 points and 13 rebounds. Hannah Paul notched 12 points, and Cassie Verheyen finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.
Samantha Jenks led Hopkins with 22 points.
Athol 51, Easthampton 33 — A decisive 15-4 edge in the second quarter helped Athol High School build a sizable halftime lead and Red Raiders went on to a 51-33 FCL North girls’ basketball win over Easthampton High School Thursday night in Easthampton.
Hope Parker and Julia Carey combined to outscore the Eagles by themselves. Parker drained a pair of 3-ball and finished with a game-high 21 points, and Carey netted 20 of her own to lead Athol (4-9, 1-2 FCL North).
Lily Peoli led Eeasthampton (5-7, 0-2 North) with 10 points, while Juli Korza had 7.
Ware 39, Mohawk 38 — Mohawk Trail Regional High School’s fourth-quarter rally fell just short as Ware High School snuck away with a 39-38 independent girls’ basketball win Thursday night in Ware.
Jordan Halgas continued her hot shooting, netting a game-high 19 points for the Indians. Shelby Tweedie and Aidyn Welsh both added 6 points.
Grace Poplawski finished with 15 points and Emma Poplawski chipped in 8 for the Warriors, who trailed 18-13 at the break.
Mohawk (0-12) hosts Pope Francis High School Tuesday night at 7.
Putnam 53, FC Tech 27 — Brianna Metellus scored 12 points on Thursday and Putnam Vocational Technical Academy cruised past Franklin County Technical School, 53-27, in a Tri-County League North Division girls’ basketball game in Turners Falls.
The Beavers (7-3) led 23-0 after the first quarter and 41-6 at halftime.
Angelica Peguero netted 9 points in the win, and Chadiah Haywood and Keondra Goldsberry each tossed in 8 points.
Ashlee Townsley led the Eagles with 8 points, while Michelle Leh and Jocelyn Crowningshield each scored 6. Brooke Adams tossed in 5.
McCann Tech 77, FC Tech 60 — Franklin County Tech jumped out a 21-9 lead after one quarter, only to watch McCann Technical School rally for a 77-60 TCL boys’ basketball victory Wednesday night in North Adams.
Jake Tower netted 23 points, Ethan Sheldon added 16 and Steve Lemire 13 for the Hornerts, who trailed 33-30 at halftime but used a 23-11 scoring advantage in the third quarter to take control.
Colin Gould pounred in a game-high 26 points for the Eagles, while Joel Farrick hit for 14 and Jared Bergmann threw in 9.