Rowe’s season high lifts Pioneer

Senior Olivia Rowe scored a season-high 24 points, notching her second consecutive 20-point outing in the process to help visiting Pioneer capture a 59-50 victory over Athol in an independent girls basketball game Thursday night at Mallet Gymnasium.

Rowe, who is averaging 14.1 points per game this winter, helped the Panthers (8-7) jump to a 21-11 lead after one quarter. The lead was 34-24 at halftime, and the visitors extended the advantage to 46-31 entering the fourth.

Athol (3-11) didn’t go away, outscoring the Panthers by a 19-13 margin in the final stanza to pull the final within single digits.

“We couldn’t crawl all the way back from that deficit but I’m very proud of the girls because they never gave up,” Athol coach Kelly Kaczmarczyk said.

Paige Loughman notched 14 points in the win for Pioneer, while Steph Scoville added 9 points and Sarah Ellis followed with 6.

Haley Bigwood paced Athol with 17 points. Rozlyn Nelson tossed in 7 points and Taylor Cleveland followed with 6.

The Red Raiders host Greenfield Monday night while Pioneer heads to Turners on Tuesday night.

Mahar 62, Easthampton 21 — A strong defensive effort and balanced scoring effort helped Mahar to a dominant 62-21 victory over Easthampton in an independent girls basketball game Thursday at Grzesik-Bixby Gymnasium in Orange.

Mahar led 16-3 after the first quarter and 28-10 at the break. The Eagles (3-10) never threatened in the second half, getting outscored 34-11. The victory moves Mahar (9-6) one victory away from clinching a postseason berth and ended a two-game losing streak.

“All 11 contributed and it was a nice way to rebound off a couple of tough losses,” Mahar coach Larry Fisher said.

Two Mahar players finished with double-doubles in the win. Micalyn Mailloux had a game-high 19 points, and Jazmyn Vautour had 10 points and 10 boards. Tori Tenney had 3 points but finished with a double-double as she had 10 rebounds and 10 steals.

“A great defensive effort from her,” Fisher said.

Delaney Parker finished with 10 points for Mahar, and Courtney Page added 8 points.

Val Murphy led Easthampton with 6 points.

Pathfinder 40, FC Tech 39 — Franklin County Technical School dug too deep a hole to climb out of and a second-half comeback fell one point short in a 40-39 loss to Pathfinder in a Tri-County League North Division girls basketball game in Three Rivers.

The Pioneers led 11-4 after the first quarter and increased the lead to 26-14 at halftime. They needed every one of those points as the Eagles (8-7) roared back in the second half, including the fourth quarter when Franklin Tech outscored the hosts, 18-9, to cut the deficit to one.

Jordan Hurlbert led Franklin Tech with 15 points, and Jocelyn Crowningshield added 13 points. Gem Cruz had 5 points, all from the free throw line.

Hopkins 72, Mohawk 19 — Behind 25 points from Samantha Jenks, host Hopkins Academy built an early advantage and didn’t look back, holding off Mohawk, 72-19, in an independent contest Thursday in Hadley.

Jenks scored 21 points in the first half, as the Golden Hawks (11-5) led 22-4 after one and 45-9 at halftime. Allison Kowal-Safron notched 19 points in the win.

Stella Clark scored 11 points for Mohawk (4-12), which also received 5 points from Grace Poplawski, and Tess Rancourt tossed in a field goal.

The Warriors have a week off before returning to Franklin County West with a home game against Smith Academy, Thursday.

Boys basketball

Turners Falls 64, Mohawk 44 — A big third-quarter effort helped Turners Falls pull away from Mohawk, 64-44, in an independent boys basketball game Thursday night in the Powertown.

The teams were tied at 19-19 after one quarter and Turners held just a 30-27 lead at halftime. In the third, the Thunder turned up the press and it led to the hosts outscoring the Warriors, 26-11.

“Obviously, we played much better defense and got out in transition,” Turners assistant Jay Liimatainen said. “We were creating turnovers.”

The win moves Turners to 7-8 on the season and the team needs three wins in its final five games to qualify for the tournament. The team has a big game tonight at Smith Academy, where a loss would make it a very uphill battle to qualify.

Ryan Campbell had a big night in the win with a season-high 14 points and eight rebounds. Campbell entered the night averaging 4.2 points per game on the season.

“He had an excellent game,” Liimatainen said. “He created five possessions for us in the first half just on pure hustle alone, and three of those led to 3-pointers.”

Chace Novak finished with a team-high 23 points in the win, and Anthony Peterson added 9 points. Ryan Kucenski netted 6 points, while Jeremiah Russell, Kyle Dodge and Jaden Whiting each chipped in 4 points.

Jackson Hicks finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for Mohawk. Anthony Moffatt had 8 points, Owen Cross netted 6 points, and Reuben Bassett had 4 points and six rebounds.

Pioneer 59, Athol 50

Pioneer (59)

Loughman 2-8—14, Ellis 3-0—6, Scoville 3-3—9, Rowe 11-2—24, Briggs 0-4—4, Johnson 1-0—2, Tibbetts, Flagg, Kahler. Totals 20-17—59.

Athol (50)

Nelson 2-3—7, Cleveland 2-2—6, Deleo 0-1—1, Baptista 5-1—12, Polana 1-0—3, Bigwood 7-2—17, St. Cyr 1-0—2, Wrigley 1-0—2. Totals: 19-9—50.

3-Point Goals: (P) Loughman 2. (A) Baptista, Polana, Bigwood.

Score by quarters:

Mahar 62, Easthampton 21

Easthampton (21)

Roy 1-0—2, Downer 2-0—4, Murphy 2-1—6, Navarro 1-0—2, H. Coleman 1-0—2, A. Coleman 0-1—1, Damon 2-0—4. Totals 9-2—21.

Mahar (62)

Parker 4-0—10, Tenney 1-1—3, Prescott 2-0—4, Mailloux 5-7—19, Apteker 0-1—1, Davis 1-1—3, Page 3-2—8, Bonk 1-0—2, Fournier 0-2—2, Vautour 4-1—10, Graeff. Totals: 21-15—62.

3-Point Goals: (E) Murphy. (M) Parker 2, Mailloux 2, Vautour.

Score by quarters:

Hopkins 72, Mohawk 19

Mohawk (19)

Clark 5-1—11, Poplawski 2-1—5, Reynolds 0-1—1, Rancourt 1-0—2, Lesieur, Ward, Dupree, Allen. Totals 8-3—19.

Hopkins (72)

Earle 2-0—4, Hanscom 2-0—4, C. Kowal-Safron 3-0—8, A. Kowal-Safron 7-0—19, Palmisano 3-0—6, Jenks 11-1—25, Mitchell 2-2—6. Totals: 30-3—72.

3-Point Goals: (H) A. Kowal-Safron 5, C. Kowal-Safron 2, Jenks 2.

Score by quarters:

Pathfinder 40, FC Tech 39

FC Tech (39)

Hurlbert 6-3—15, Cruz 0-5—5, Doane 1-0—2, Crowningshield 6-0—13, Duga 2-0—4, Kucenski, Merritt, Ryan. Totals 15-8—39.

Pathfinder (40)

Wells 2-0—4, Mitchell 2-0—4, Duba 4-1—10, Latuplippe 4-0—8, Papesh 1-2—4, Daley 3-0—8. Totals: 16-5—40.

3-Point Goals: (FT) Crowningshield. (P) Duba, Daley 2.

Score by quarters:

Boys Game

Turners Falls 64, Mohawk 44

Mohawk (44)

Moffatt 3-1—8, Davenport 2-1—5, Hicks 7-1—15, Dubrieul 1-0—2, Lococo 2-0—4, Cross 3-0—6, Bassett 1-2—4, Matthews, Sumner. Totals 19-5—44.

Turners Falls (64)

Campbell 5-4—14, Russell 2-0—4, Dodge 2-0—4, Kucenski 2-2—6, Whiting 2-0—4, Novak 8-2—23, Peterson 4-1—9, Lavin, Driscoll, Waldron, Duclos. Totals: 25-9—64.

3-Point Goals: (M) Moffatt. (TF) Novak 5.

Score by quarters: