Ware presses on past Panthers

Ware High School made all the right adjustments on Friday night.

After giving up 13 points in the first quarter to Pioneer Valley Regional School at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield, Ware changed its press and stymied the Panthers’ offense over the next two quarters to build a lead as it went on to a 49-37 victory in Franklin County League South Division girls’ basketball action.

The first quarter belonged to the host Panthers as Paige Loughman, Steph Scoville and Olivia Rowe each had a pair of field goals to help them to a 13-6 lead. Ware changed up its press in the second quarter and Pioneer (3-2) began to struggle with turnovers, allowing Ware (4-1) to outscore them 19-9 and take a 25-22 lead into the break.

“We came out great, broke their press and spread the scoring around,” Pioneer coach Meg Burrington said. “Everyone was playing in unison. In the second quarter, Ware switched up their press. It’s not that we struggled to get through it — we were hitting the right passes — we just weren’t catching them. Our brains were ahead of our hands.”

The biggest blow for Pioneer came in the third when Putnam outscored it 11-3 to pull away.

“The third quarter blues continued,” Burrington said. “I think only once this season have we played a good third quarter.”

Ware also made life difficult on the Panthers defense as it spread out its scoring, with five players scoring at least seven points. Shelby Tweedle led the Indians with 10 points, while Olivia Vadnais and Aidyn Welsh each scored 9.

Rowe went on to nearly register a triple double in the loss as she scored a team-high 14 points to go with 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Loughman added 8 points and 10 boards.

Greenfield 49, South Hadley 33 — For the second year in a row, Greenfield opened the Hoosac Valley Holiday Tournament with an impressive victory.

The Green Wave moved to a perfect 5-0 on the season, storming out to a 19-point halftime lead en route to a 49-33 win over South Hadley in a semifinal game Friday night in Cheshire. Greenfield advanced to tonight’s championship game at 6 p.m. against Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, which defeated host Hoosac in overtime, 51-46, in Friday’s other semifinal. Hoosac and South Hadley play for third place at 4:30.

It was the second year in a row that Greenfield beat South Hadley in the Hoosac tourney, following last year’s 56-53 win. The Wave led 31-12 at halftime and cruised, limiting the Tigers (2-2) to just five field goals before intermission.

Just three players scored points for the Wave, though all three had strong nights. Senior Samantha Smith was the high-scorer with 19 points, and she added 10 rebounds. Raegan Hickey followed with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Katie Haselton added 14 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

Greenfield committed just 13 turnovers in the win. South Hadley’s Mia Kelly led all scorers with 20 points, but no other Tiger had more than three points in the loss.

Mohawk 50, Easthampton 31 — Another big game from Grace Poplawski enabled visiting Mohawk to pick up its first Franklin West victory of the season, Friday night.

Poplawski dropped 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, helping the Warriors handle Easthampton, 50-31.

“Great effort from everyone,” said Mohawk Larissa Miner, whose team outrebounded Easthampton by a decisive 51-23 margin.

Mohawk (2-3, 1-1) led 13-7 after one quarter and 26-18 at halftime before putting the hammer down in the third. The Warriors outscored Easthampton 14-4 in the period to take a commanding 40-21 lead into the final stanza.

Ashley Reynolds notched 9 points in the win. Grace Ward scored 6 points to go with 10 rebounds, with Stellar Clark adding 6 points of her own.

Easthampton’s Val Murphy was the only player on her team to score in double figures with 11.

Mahar 53, Southwick 28 — A well-rounded outing saw nine different players find the scoresheet, helping host Mahar roll to a 53-28 independent victory over Southwick Friday night in Orange.

“It was a good effort from all 11 players,” Mahar coach Larry Fisher lauded.

Micalyn Mailloux’s 17 points led the way for the Senators (3-3), which jumped ahead 17-5 after one quarter and extended it to 31-10 at halftime.

Jazmyn Vautour registered 9 points and 16 rebounds for the winners. Delaney Parker also scored 9 points, while Tori Tenney tossed in 5 points and Siobhan Davis added 4.

The victory was career win No. 199 for Fisher in his 14th year as varsity coach. He’ll go for his 200th victory next Friday night against rival Athol.

Hampden Charter 43, FC Tech 38 — A fourth-quarter comeback bid fell just short for Franklin Tech Friday night. The visiting Eagles were outscored by a 13-5 margin in the third quarter, and that deficit proved to be just a bit too much in a 43-38 loss to Hampden Charter in an independent game in Chicopee.

Jocelyn Crowningshield poured in a team-high 17 points for the Eagles (2-4), which outscored Hampden Charter 14-9 in the fourth quarter. Franklin Tech tied the game late, but a fast-break bucket and a 3-pointer from the host Wolves sealed the deal.

Jordan Hurlbert joined Crowningshield in double figures for the Eagles with 10 points, followed by Gemma Cruz and Desiree Doane with 4 points apiece.

Madison Sheehan, who scored 50 points in a game last year against Smith Voke, led Hampden Charter (1-1) with 27 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

Franklin Tech travels to Renaissance in TCL North action next Friday.

Hopkins 51, Athol 30 — Athol was unable to get anything going offensively in the first half on Friday night as it fell into a deep hole and succumbed to Hopkins Academy, 51-30, in a FCL North game in Hadley.

The Red Raiders scored just four points in the first quarter and only one point in the second and trailed 22-5 at halftime.

Hopkins played without leading scorer Samantha Jenks but Allison Kowal-Safron poured in 20 points to lead the Hawks. AJ Mitchell netted 15.

Haley Bigwood netted 10 points to pace the Red Raiders (2-5), and Angelica Baptista chipped in 8.

Putnam 57, Turners 33 — Second-half turnovers did in Turners Falls on Friday night as the Thunder scored just 11 points after halftime and fell to Putnam, 57-33, in a FCL South game in Turners Falls.

Putnam led 17-9 after one quarter but Turners Falls dug in and cut the deficit to four points (26-22) at the break. The second half was not so kind to Turners, as it scored six points in the third and five points in the fourth as Putnam outscored the Thunder, 31-11 after halftime.

Johnanys Andrades paced Putnam with 18 points, while no other player scored more than seven points.

Dabney Rollins led the Thunder (0-6) with 12 points, and Lindsay Whiteman and Hailey Bogusz each netted 6 points.

Ware 49, Pioneer 37

Ware (49)

Vadnais 4-0—9, Welsh 3-3—9, L. Orszulak 3-1—7, LaValley 3-2—8, Tweedle 4-2—10, Burke 1-0—2, C. Orszulak 1-2—4. Totals 19-10–49.

Pioneer (37)

Tibbetts 0-1—1, Loughman 3-2—8, Scoville 3-1—7, Rowe 6-2—14, Briggs 1-0—2, Johnson 0-1—1, Cecunjanin 2-0—4, Faille, Flagg, Kahler. Totals: 15-7–37.

3-Point Goals: (W) Vadnais. (P) none.

Score by quarters:

Greenfield 49, So. Hadley 33

Greenfield (49)

Haselton 6-1—14, Hickey 6-3—16, Smith 9-1—19, Provost, Joy, Reed, Pruitt-Dahl, Kachelmeyer, Richardson, Kuchieski. Totals 21-5-49.

South Hadley (33)

M. Kelly 8-2—20, T. Gawron 1-0—2, Grochowalski 1-0—2, Zatowski 1-1—3, Sears 1-0—2, Marjanski 1-0—2, Earle 1-0—2. Totals: 14-3–33.

3-Point Goals: (G) Haselton, Hickey. (SH) Kelly 2.

Score by quarters:

Mahar 53, Southwick 28

Southwick (28)

Daley 1-1—4, Shea 3-0—7, Martin 0-1—1, St. Jacques 1-0—2, Andrade 1-0—2, Burke 2-3—7, Grilli 1-0—2, Haseltine 0-3—3. Totals 9-8–28.

Mahar (53)

Parker 3-3—9, Tenney 2-1—5, Prescott 1-0—3, Mailloux 7-3—17, Apteker 0-2—2, Davis 2-0—4, Page 1-0—2, Fournier 0-2—2, Vautour 4-1—9, Bonk, Graeff. Totals: 20-12–53.

3-Point Goals: (S) Daley, Shea. (M) Prescott.

Score by quarters:

Hamp Charter 43, FC Tech 38

FC Tech (38)

Hurlbert 4-2—10, Cruz 1-2—4, Doane 2-0—4, Crowningshield 7-2—17, Duga 0-3—3, Kucinski, Ryan, Jobst. Totals 22-14–38.

Hampden Charter (43)

Wilson 3-0—6, LaPalm 4-0—8, Weigel 1-0—2, Sheehan 12-0—27. Totals: 20-0–43.

3-Point Goals: (FT) Crowningshield. (HC) Sheehan 3.

Score by quarters:

Mohawk 50, Easthampton 31

Mohawk (50)

Lesieur 1-1—3, Ward 3-0—6, Dupree 1-1—3, Allen, Clark 3-0—6, Crawford, Poplawski 5-9—20, Reynolds 4-1—9, Rancourt 1-1—3. Totals 18-13–50.

Easthampton (31)

Downer 0-1—1, Murphy 4-2—11, Navarro 0-2—2, H. Coleman 1-0—2, Massa 1-0—2, Bentley 3-0—7, A. Coleman 1-0—2, Damon 0-1—1, Wolcott 1-1—3. Totals: 11-7–31.

3-Point Goals: (M) Poplawski. (E) Murphy, Bentley.

Score by quarters:

Putnam 57, Turners 33

Putnam (57)

Andrades 7-1—18, Rosado 3-0—6, Ramirez 2-0—5, Harris 3-1—7, Bethea 2-0—4, Merced 1-1—3, Fernandez 1-1—4, Rivera 1-0—2, Haywood 3-0—6, Sullivan 0-2—2. Totals 23-6–57.

Turners (33)

Fleming 1-0—2, Whiteman 1-4—6, Murphy 0-1—1, Rollins 4-4—12, Waldron 0-2—2, Bogusz 3-0—6, La. Spera 1-0—2, Lu. Spera 0-2—2, Moreno, Li. Spera. Totals: 10-13–33.

3-Point Goals: (P) Andrades 3, Ramirez, Fernandez. (TF) none.

Score by quarters:

Hopkins 51, Athol 30

Athol (30)

Cleveland 2-0—4, Baptista 2-3—8, Polana 1-0—3, Bigwood 4-2—10, St. Cyr 0-1—1, Putnam 0-4—4, Deleo, Lee, Wrigley. Totals 9-10–30.

Hopkins (51)

Earle 1-0—2, Hanscom 1-2—5, C. Kowal-Safron 1-0—3, A. Kowal-Safron 7-1—20, Palmisano 1-0—2, Mitchell 7-1—15, Beauchamp 1-1—3, Boisvert 0-1—1. Totals: 19-8–51.

3-Point Goals: (A) Baptista, Polana. (H) A. Kowal-Safron 5, C. Kowal-Safron, Hanscom.Score by quarters: