Balanced Panthers top Turners

A balanced offensive effort helped Pioneer Valley Regional School dispatch Turners Falls High School, 47-23, in a Franklin County League South Division girls basketball game Tuesday night at Messer Gymnasium in Northfield.

The Panthers (5-2) had five players score at least four points against the Thunder.

Paige Loughman scored seven of her game-high 15 points in the first quarter to stake the Panthers to a 12-6 lead. In the second quarter, Pioneer had five players score as it outscored the Thunder 12-5 to take a 25-11 lead into the break.

Loughman had a big night for the Panthers with 15 points to go with 10 rebounds and six steals. Olivia Rowe netted 11 points to go with eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Alina Cecunjanin notched 7 points to go with five boards, Steph Scoville had 6 points, and Emily Tibbetts collected 4 points. Abby Briggs chipped in with five rebounds.

“If they spread the scoring around, it’s hard to stop,” Pioneer coach Meg Burrington said. “They worked beautifully as a team, tonight, passing and driving. They really clicked.”

The defensive effort was also working for the Panthers, who limited the Thunder to a season-low 23 points. 

“They girls really stayed tough. Every possession they were really in it and did what they needed to do,” Burrington said. “We took a few more chances, went after a few more balls, but it paid off with a great defensive effort.”

Pioneer also limited their turnovers to 14 after averaging 25 for much of the season.

Lindsay Whiteman led Turners (0-7) with 9 points, while Aly Murphy and Dabney Rollins each finished with 4.

Greenfield 57, Mahar 43 — Freshman Racquel Provost scored a career-high 18 points, and visiting Greenfield overcame an early double-digit deficit to get past Mahar, 57-43, in a Franklin County League North contest Tuesday night in Orange.

Mahar (4-4, 2-2) got off on the right foot at home. The Senators led 15-3 after one quarter, stymieing the Green Wave in a key league battle.

Greenfield (7-1, 4-0) responded, however. The visitors scored nine straight points and ultimately outscored Mahar by a 26-6 margin in the second quarter to nab a 29-21 lead at intermission.

Greenfield did enough in the second half to hold on, outscoring Mahar by a 28-22 margin to stay unbeaten in league play. Katie Haselton scored 17 points and Raegan Hickey made it three Greenfield players in double figures with 15 points. Samantha Smith added 5 points, meaning the senior center needs 20 points Friday against Pioneer to join the 1,000-point club.

Mahar’s Micalyn Mailloux led her team with 12 points, while Jazmyn Vautour added 10 points. Sophia Apteker pulled down 11 rebounds, Siobhan Davis notched 10 boards, while Abby Bonk tossed in 7 points.

“I’m very happy with the effort,” said Mahar coach Larry Fisher. “We went down 13 or so in the third quarter and the girls could’ve folded but they didn’t. They made it a game at different times in the second half.”

Frontier 53, Hopkins 45 — Frontier got big efforts from inside the paint to get past Hopkins Academy, 53-45, in a FCL North game Tuesday night in Hadley.

Amelia Sobieski scored 23 points to go with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Red Hawks (3-3), while Charlotte Doulette recorded 12 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. 

“We played an inside-out game the entire night. We established the post and we went to the post,” Frontier coach Rick Recore said. “We had success, whether it was getting to the free throw line or converting our chances. Amelia and Charlotte were just tremendous. Charlotte played the best game she has played in a Frontier uniform on both ends of the floor.”

Kaitlyn Mackin registered 6 points to go with 11 boards, and Olivia Deane had a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 6 points.

Samantha Jenks scored 19 points to lead Hopkins (6-4), and AJ Mitchell added 9 points. Frontier defended well against Hopkins’ Allison Kowal-Safron, holding her to 3 points when she normally averages just shy of 10.

“I normally play a man defense but we went to a 3-2 zone,” Recore said. “We spent the past three days practicing it and it was very, very effective tonight. We used our length and athleticism to our advantage up high.”

Frontier hosts Pope Francis on Friday.

Mohawk 47, McCann  37 — Host Mohawk picked a nice time to play arguably its best game of the season.

The Warriors built a 23-11 halftime lead and held off FCL West-leading McCann Tech, 47-37, Tuesday night in Buckland.

“Great team win,” said Mohawk coach Larissa Harrison. “We came out right from the start ready to execute. We stayed strong and took care of the ball and everyone stepped up.”

The Warriors (3-5, 2-2) led 16-6 after one quarter to set the tone.

Grace Poplawski and Ashley Reynolds scored 16 points apiece in the win. Stella Clark followed with a season-high 10 points, and Grace Ward scored 3 points and recorded eight blocks to pace Mohawk inside.

McCann Tech (6-2, 3-1) was led by Kaylee Tatro’s 16 points — all coming in the second half.

FC Tech 53, Pathfinder 39 — Behind a big effort from forwards Jordan Hurlbert and Gemma Cruz, Franklin Tech knocked off Pathfinder, 53-39, in a Tri-County League North Division girls game Tuesday in Turners Falls.

Hurlbert poured in a game-high 17 points in the win, while Cruz scored a career-high 14 points. Cruz’s big night included six free throws, while Hurlbert had seven field goals en route to her big performance.

“I think our forwards played their best games of the year,” Franklin Tech coach Sean Knightly said. “I appreciated the hustle from the whole team. They never gave up.”

Jocelyn Crowningshield added 10 points for The Eagles (3-5), and Isabelle Duga chipped in 8 points. 

Tiffany Papesh led Pathfinder with 14 points, and Trista Daley added 13 points.

Boys basketball

Greenfield 48, Southwick 47 — After three quarters of offensive struggles, Greenfield exploded for 19 points in the fourth to edge Southwick, 48-47, in an independent boys basketball game Tuesday night at Nichols Gymnasium.

Mason Meadows scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter, as Greenfield survived Southwick’s final possession with solid defense to earn the one-point win.

“Every one of our games are going to be nail-biters this year I feel like,” Greenfield coach Angelo Thomas said. “It’s fun, though. I really have to bear down as a coach in these situations and it’s fun to see what we can do in tight games.”

Southwick (4-4) led 33-29 entering the fourth before Greenfield outscored the Rams by a 19-14 margin.

“We finally started to hit some shots after struggling the whole game to score,” Thomas said.

Hunter Campbell scored 8 points for the Green Wave (5-2), with Danny Vega and Owen Phelps adding 7 points apiece.

Pioneer 47, Turners 23

Turners (23)

Fleming 1-0—3, Whiteman 3-2—9, Murphy 2-0—4, Rollins 1-2—4, La. Spera 0-1—1, Li. Spera, Lu. Spera 1-0—2, Halloway, Bogusz, Waldron, Reynolds, Garcia, Moreno, Johnson. Totals 8-5–23.

Pioneer (47)

Tibbetts 2-0—4, Loughman 6-2—15, Ellis 1-0—2, Scoville 2-2—6, Rowe 3-5—11, Kahler 1-0—2, Cecunjanin 3-0—7, Briggs, Flagg, Johnson. Totals: 18-9–47.

3-Point Goals: (TF) Fleming, Whiteman. (P) Loughman, Cecunjanin.

Score by quarters:

Greenfield 57, Mahar 43

Greenfield (57)

Provost 7-2—18, Haselton 8-1—17, Hickey 5-4—15, Joy 1-0—2, Smith 2-1—5, Reed. Totals 23-8–57.

Mahar (43)

Parker 1-0—2, Tenney 2-0—4, Mailloux 4-4—12, Davis 1-2—4, Page 1-0—2, Bonk 3-0—7, Fournier 1-0—2, Vautour 4-1—10, Prescott, Apteker, Graeff. Totals: 17-7–43.

3-Point Goals: (G) Provost 2, Hickey. (M) Vautour, Bonk.

Score by quarters:

Frontier 53, Hopkins 45

Frontier (53)

Walker 1-0—2, Mackin 1-4—6, Sobieski 10-2—23, Doulette 5-2—12, Deane 2-0—6, Diemand 1-2—4, Ring, Roberts, Warren. Totals 20-10—53.

Hopkins (45)

Hanscomb 2-0—4, Kowal-Safron 1-0—3, Palmisano 2-0—4, Jenks 6-5—19, Mitchell 4-1—9, Beauchamp 2-1—5, Boisvert 0-1—1. Totals: 17-8—45.

3-Point Goals: (F) Deane 2, Sobieski. (H) Kowal-Safron, Jenks 2.

Score by quarters:

Team effort. Marie had her when we went man and she did a great job

Mohawk 47, McCann 37

McCann Tech (37)

Marino 0-1—1, LaCasse 5-3—13, Towler 2-2—7, Tatro 7-2—16. Totals 14-8–37.

Mohawk (47)

Ward 1-1—3, Dupree 1-0—2, Clark 5-0—10, Poplawski 6-2—16, Reynolds 6-4—16, Lesieur, Allen. Totals: 19-7–47.

3-Point Goals: (MT) Towler. (Mo) Poplawski 2.

Score by quarters:

FC Tech 53, Pathfinder 39

Pathfinder (39)

Wells 2-0—5, Denault 1-0—3, Mitchell 1-0—2, Latulippe 1-0—2, Papesh 5-3—14, Daley 5-2—13. Totals 15-5–39.

FC Tech (53)

Hurlbert 7-2—17, Cruz 4-6—14, Doane 1-2—4, Crowningshield 5-0—10, Duga 4-0—8, Kucenski, Merritt. Totals: 21-10–53.

3-Point Goals: (P) Papesh, Daley, Denault, Wells. (FT) Hurlbert.

Score by quarters:

BOYS GAMES

Greenfield 48, Southwick 47

Southwick (47)

Scharmann 1-2—4, Billings 2-2—7, Parrow 2-2—6, Lis 2-0—4, Roy 5-6—17, Clark 4-1—9. Totals 16-13–47.

Greenfield (48)

Vega 3-0—7, Haselton 0-1—1, Phelps 3-0—7, Meadows 7-3—17, Campbell 3-1—8, Cote 1-0—2, Hart 1-0—2, Brewington 1-2—4, Cardenales. Totals: 19-7–48.

3-Point Goals: (S) Billings, Roy. (G) Vega, Phelps, Campbell.

Score by quarters: