ATHOL — There were some early moments of adversity for the Athol High School girls basketball team against Mohawk Trail at Mallet Gymnasium on Thursday night.
The Red Raiders trailed the visiting Warriors by three points after the first quarter. Undaunted, Athol went on a run sparked by Emma Bacigalupo in the second quarter to jump ahead.
The freshman’s career-high 13 points and six rebounds lifted the Red Raiders to a 42-36 win over the Warriors in an independent match up.
“I’ve been waiting for that from Emma (Bacigalupo) all season,” Athol coach Kelly Kaczmarczyk said. “She finally showed it tonight. She’s been getting better each game. It was nice to see her shine tonight.”
Athol (4-4) opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run to take the lead. Bacigalupo scored on consecutive fast break layups during the stretch.
On both plays, Bacigalupo sprinted out in front to score uncontested.
“At first it wasn’t going well,” Bacigalupo said. “We just needed to rebound because they are obviously taller than us. We just had to play together as a team. Tonight we did that.”
Bacigalupo went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Even with the points, Bacigalupo’s best play might have come without even taking a shot.
After Mohawk’s Rachel Pease hit a couple free throws, the Red Raiders had a 38-33 lead late in the fourth quarter.
The Red Raiders needed a basket to hold off Mohawk. On two separate shots, Bacigalupo took flight to grab consecutive offensive rebounds. After the second rebound, the ball found Taylor Cleveland who hit a jumper to make it a three possession game.
“In a game that close not everything is about you scoring,” Bacigalupo said. “You want to make your teammates involved, too.
Haley Bigwood scored in double figures with 10 points. Cleveland added eight for the Red Raiders. Athol stayed positive after the slow start on its home floor, according to Kaczmarczyk.
“When we had timeouts the girls came together,” Kaczmarczyk said. “Sometimes there is bickering. Tonight, it was positive. They did it and got it done.”
Grace Poplawski led the Warriors with 18 points. Poplawski had a strong first quarter for the Warriors with seven points in the frame, all from the outside, including two 3-pointers.
The Warriors (1-7) did not have issues finding shots, but not enough of them fell against the Red Raiders.
“We definitely worked well as a team,” Poplawski said. “It was more communication that helped us. Coming to the ball.”
A runner by Geca Baptista made it 42-33, effectively closing out the Warriors with 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors kept attacking, scoring the finals three points of the game.
“We had already played this team once and didn’t do so well,” Mohawk coach Larissa Harrison said. “We had nothing to lose. All I ask my girls to do is work hard and never give up. That’s what they did.”
Athol got going early in the first quarter with outside jumpers from Bigwood and Cleveland.
Sophie Putnam played some solid defense in the paint for the Red Raiders with multiple first quarter blocks defending Mohawk center Stella Clark. Putnam topped Athol in rebounding with seven.
Clark scored five points for the Warriors. The Mohawk press gave Athol trouble, allowing the Warriors to build a 13-10 lead heading into the second quarter.
Bacigalupo scored a hustle basket on an offensive rebound on the final possession of the quarter to give Athol some momentum going into the huddle.
In the third quarter, a 3-pointer by Jenna St. Cyr and a transition layup by Bigwood, the Red Raiders took a 31-21. The lead was Athol’s biggest of the contest.
Mya Lesieur (five points) hit from range later in the quarter, but Athol had a 33-25 lead going into the fourth.
Athol plays again against Easthampton on the road on Monday. The Warriors travel to Turners Falls on the same day.
