It’s been building to this.
Fourth-seeded Greenfield High School has a chance to reach the WMass finals for the first time since 1990 on Wednesday night. The Green Wave tangle with top-seeded South Hadley High School (16-5) at 7:30 p.m. at Curry Hicks Cage on the campus of UMass in the Div. 3 semifinals, marking the second consecutive year Greenfield has secured a trip to the Cage.
The Wave hope Wednesday’s semifinal game will produce the program’s first-ever win at the Cage. In last year’s loss to eventual champion Hampshire, Greenfield led late before a 3-pointer in the waning seconds forced overtime. In the extra session, the Raiders pulled away for a 63-59 win.
“I guess it helps being there once, but I think the kids are excited for that opportunity again,” Greenfield head coach John Hickey said. “Some teams have never played at the Cage. We’re fortunate to go back-to-back. The girls aren’t satisfied just being there, they want to get to (the finals).”
The rise of the Green Wave program has coincided with the team’s tandem of seniors Samantha Smith and Raegan Hickey. In their four years of high school, Greenfield has amassed a 77-9 overall record. The squad is still missing that elusive sectional title, however, something that very much remains the goal this week.
“This is the year, plain and simple. That’s no secret to anyone that’s been following our program,” Hickey said. “Getting to the Cage last year was great, getting back is even better, but I think this year there’s more to prove.
“The seniors have been working hard for this the last four or five years,” he continued. “I think they know they’re right there so now they want to make the best of it.”
Standing in Greenfield’s way of a spot in Saturday’s title game is a South Hadley team that has been a mainstay at the Cage over the past decade. The Tigers have reached the semifinals in four of the past five years, though they, too, have yet to find the next gear. South Hadley has reached the title game just once during that span (2017), and the program also has never won a girls basketball championship.
To get back there, the Tigers will need a herculean effort from its star player. Senior point guard Mia Kelly does it all, leading the squad with an 18.3 point per game average. In the team’s 65-50 win over Drury in last week’s quarterfinal round, Kelly, who is headed to Div. 2 Stonehill College to play next year, scored 27 points to help the Tigers rally from a halftime deficit.
“Our main concern is Mia Kelly,” offered Hickey. “We have to try and contain her the best we can. She can dribble, drive and shoot the ball. She’s a good all-around player and we respect her a lot.”
Greenfield has won two in a row against South Hadley, including a decisive 49-33 victory when the teams met back on Dec. 28 at the Hoosac Valley Holiday Tournament in Cheshire. Kelly had 20 points in that meeting, while Greenfield’s three-headed monster of Smith, Hickey and Katie Haselton combined to score all 49 points. The last time South Hadley beat Greenfield came in the 2015 Div. 3 first round, 49-28. Hickey scored 5 points as an eighth-grader in that defeat.
Smith should have a matchup advantage inside against South Hadley. The senior forward is averaging a Franklin County-leading 18.6 points per game, scoring in double figures in all but one game this season. If she can get to the free throw line consistently, the Tigers could be in for a long night.
Hickey and Haselton are both averaging better than 15 points per outing, but Greenfield has also received a nice offensive boost from freshman Racquel Provost in recent weeks. The guard is fourth on the team in scoring at 5.8 points per game, though she is averaging 10 points per game in her last four games. That includes a career-high 16 points in a win over Hopkins Academy on Feb. 14.
“I think we have an edge in size and speed so we’ll try and use that to our advantage,” Hickey said. “But we aren’t going to do anything differently than what we’ve been doing. (South Hadley) is at the Cage a lot. They have the experience, which definitely helps. They play in a strong league, that’s why they’re the No. 1 seed. Their schedule does prepare them for this time of year.”
Greenfield (18-3) did avenge last year’s loss to Hampshire to get back to the semifinals, knocking off the Raiders in the quarterfinal round, 60-33. It was the first step in what the team hopes will be a lengthy postseason run. The winner of Wednesday’s semifinal plays either No. 2 Hoosac Valley or No. 3 Wahconah, Saturday at 2 p.m. back at UMass. That all-Berkshire County semifinal precedes the Greenfield-South Hadley game at 6 p.m.
“I think they’re ready, mentally,” Hickey said of his team. “I think they know that opportunities like this don’t come around often. People know that going to the Cage doesn’t happen a lot so they want to go out and make the most of it.”