Not even a Division I program could derail the Greenfield High School girls’ basketball team.
The Green Wave’s magical season continued to roll along Wednesday night. With Westfield High School in town, Greenfield cruised into next week’s Western Massachusetts Division III Tournament with an 80-41 victory in an independent contest at Nichols Gymnasium.
Greenfield’s winning streak moved to 19 games with the victory, as the Wave (19-1) haven’t lost since a season-opening defeat to Hoosac Valley Regional High School way back on Dec. 16.
“I guess we kind of treated this as our first playoff game,” said Greenfield head coach John Hickey. “We tried to play good, solid defense … run the floor as best as we could. Overall things went well for us.”
The Wave jumped on the visiting Bombers (4-16) early, storming out to a 29-6 lead after one quarter before carrying a 43-25 advantage into the break. Greenfield held a decisive 22-6 edge in the third to put things in cruise control.
“The 29 points, I was real happy with, but I was even more pleased giving up only six (in the first quarter),” Hickey explained. “They made a run in the second quarter, got hot, but we came out to start the third quarter quickly. Overall it was a great team win and effort. I’m really proud of the girls.”
Raegan Hickey had a monster outing to pace Greenfield. In addition to her game-high 29 points, Hickey dished out 12 assists and pulled down 8 rebounds to just miss out on a triple-double. Samantha Smith wasn’t far off from a 20-20 game with 19 points and 18 boards, while Molley Duclos dropped 14 points to put three players in double figures.
Westfield’s Olivia Hadla was the lone player in double digits for the visitors with 19 points.
Mahar 65, Athol 48 — A big first half set the tone as Mahar Regional School closed out a perfect Franklin County League regular season with a 65-48 win over rival Athol High School in an FCL North tilt on Wednesday night at Mallet Gymnasium.
The visiting Senators (15-5, 8-0 FCL) built an early 16-7 lead after the opening frame and extended the advantage to 34-13 at intermission. Athol outscored Mahar by a 35-31 margin in the second half, but the deficit proved too big to overcome for the Red Raiders (8-12, 4-4).
Cassie Verheyen’s 19 points paved the way for the Mahar win. The Senators also received double digit scoring outputs from Kenzie Tenney (17 points) and Hannah Paul (12).
Athol’s Julia Carey finished with 19 points. Teammate Hope Parker following suit with 16 points in the loss. The Raiders needed a win to secure a postseason berth, as they would’ve finished in a second-place tie in the FCL North with Frontier (9-11, 5-3).
Southwick 53, Mohawk 36 — On the road against a playoff-bound team, Mohawk Trail Regional High School played until the very end of its season finale on Wednesday night.
The visiting Warriors outscored Southwick High School by a 16-6 margin in the fourth quarter in what was ultimately a 53-36 loss in an independent girls’ basketball game. Mohawk finished its season 1-19 overall with the defeat.
“We never gave up fighting,” lauded Mohawk head coach Larissa Miner of her squad.
Emma Poplawski played well in defeat for the Warriors, scoring a team-high 17 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Reagan DuPree added 8 points on the night, while Grace Poplawski chipped in 4 points.
Southwick (14-6) led 27-13 at halftime before using a big third quarter to take a 47-20 lead into the fourth.
Mahar 44, Athol 34 — The rivalry brought out the best in Athol High School Wednesday night, but visiting Mahar Regional School made enough plays in the end to hold on for its 18th win of the season.
Host Athol led 33-31 with six minutes left but couldn’t make enough plays late to secure what would have been an upset victory in the regular-season finale. The Senators closed the game on a 13-1 run to secure a 44-34 Hampshire League win at Mallet Gymnasium.
“We were able to slow (Mahar) down, keep it a low-scoring game,” said Athol head coach Dan Bevis. “I’m really proud of my kids with the way they played. With the season they had, they really could’ve rolled over but they fought and had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter.”
Mahar (18-2, 14-2 HL) had a pair of players finish in double figures, with Gabe O’Lari (14 points) and Bryce Cleveland (12) pacing the offensive effort. The Senators led 18-13 after one quarter before the pace of play slowed drastically from there. Mahar managed just 11 points combined between the second and third quarters, with the Raiders (1-19, 1-15) pulling ahead 30-29 entering the final stanza.
“We came in with the mindset that the longer we can keep it close, the better the chance we would have and it played out that way for awhile,” Bevis offered. “Any time you see the kids with Mahar on their chests, it adds a little something to the game. We were able to knock them off here last year. We were there again with a chance, just didn’t make the plays this time around.”
Athol was paced offensively by Isaac Raulston’s 10 points, as he dropped a trio of 3-pointers for a Red Raider squad that finished with eight 3’s in the loss. Tyler Boyd tossed in 8 points, including a pair of 3’s.