AMHERST — With the clock winding down, a 10-point deficit and following a costly turnover, Raegan Hickey went for the desperation steal. Instead, the referee whistled for her fifth and final foul.
Greenfield High School’s all-time leading scorer, a senior who helped lead the Green Wave to just their second-ever championship appearance and the first in nearly three decades, walked over to the bench. The scorer’s table called out her name and she went into the arms of her father, head coach John Hickey.
The Greenfield crowd, packed into the bleachers at the Curry Hicks Cage Saturday afternoon, lifted to its feet in celebration of the outstanding student-athlete who had given her all in trying to defeat perennial powerhouse Hoosac Valley High School.
Looking around — there was the community rallying in recognition of Hickey.
You could see Superintendent Jordana Harper and GHS Principal Karin Patenaude in the student section. In the bleachers, you could see other familiar faces: Mayor William Martin, School Committee Member Cam Ward, Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh and Ed Berlin, the leading figure pushing for a new public library, the issue that has often divided the city of 17,000.
The standing ovation, as they are in nature, was in unison. And for good reason, how can you not support the hometown team that put together one hell of a run?
Last time they were in the championship game, the Green Wave faced a Southwick team that featured future women’s basketball legend Rebecca Lobo. This time they were bounced by the ballers from the Berkshires, who have now won six of the last seven championships.
In preparation of the big game, the Recorder ran a full-spread of coverage on the Greenfield High School girls basketball team that typically might be reserved for the likes of the Patriots or Red Sox running the tables to a title game. Jason Butynski and Jeff Lajoie left no stone unturned as they plowed through microfilm and dusty old volumes of the paper to retell the tales of the 1990 team, while trying to weave the words that will furnish future newspaper clippings.
So here we are again, making history, one shot, one story at a time.
While we’re reflecting though, what else do we remember from 1990?
That weekend the paper reported about the blaze that burned down the ex-Kendall plant in Colrain. It was initially deemed suspicious. The Greenfield schools proposed a $10.2 million budget to the Selectboard, signaling a 4.25-percent increase from the year prior. The Selectboard praised the tight budget that was slated to lay off eight teachers. Recorder columnist Irmarie Jones reported three VCR tapes were stolen from South Deerfield Elementary School, leaving students in dismay without their National Geographic videos. A Buckland boy swallowed a toothpick and headed to the hospital for consultation.
For those of us involved in the making of the moments, we often remember exact plays. How could I forget when I bobbled the ball at shortstop to kill my team’s chance of making the playoffs my senior year? How will I be able to forget some 30 years from now (2050?!) the tussle over a $19.5 million public library in Greenfield?
How will the Greenfield ‘Big 3’ of Hickey, Samantha Smith and Katie Haselton remember those moments Saturday?
Will they remember the 56-46 final score? The moments where the game slipped out of reach? Or will time help them remember the historic journey to the championship, leading to a runner-up trophy that should be proudly displayed in the halls of the Barr Avenue building?
And how will the Martins, the Harpers, the Haighs and Berlins remember this time in Greenfield history?
Maybe it will be defined by budget battles, the Civil Service struggles and the bartering between City Councilors of a library in exchange for fast food and gas stations along the French King Highway corridor.
And even if it will be, at least for a couple hours Saturday there was something to stand for that everyone could rally around before they took the 20-mile, half-hour drive up Route 116, over to 5 & 10 on their way to the home of the best team in Franklin County.