TURNERS FALLS — For the first time in program history, the Franklin Tech girls basketball team marched on in the Western Mass. Basketball Tournament.
The fifth-seeded Eagles used a dominant third-quarter performance, along with their usual stifling defensive effort, to cruise past No. 12 Pathfinder, 47-25, in the opening round of the Division 4 tournament on Monday night.
Franklin Tech, which improved to 19-4 overall, advanced to play at No. 4 Lee (12-9) in the Div. 4 quarterfinal round on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Wildcats rolled to a 60-12 win over No. 13 St. Mary’s in their first-round matchup on Monday.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and everyone coming together this season,” said Franklin Tech senior Jordan Hurlbert, who led the way with 17 points and 13 rebounds. “We don’t have that one player who just dominates the game. Some teams, that’s how it is, but everyone contributes here.”
While the Eagles have been mainstays at the postseason table over the past two decades, Monday’s victory was historic for a program that has no intention of seeing their season end come Thursday.
“All three of our seniors, and by extension the rest of the team, wanted to extend our season and get a tournament win,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “Now we’re in a situation where we’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Playing Lee, it’s a four (versus) five game — there’s really not a whole lot of pressure on us. The higher seed, at home, they’re supposed to win. One of our goals was to get to the Cage for the first time and now we’re one game away from making that a reality.”
Pathfinder (12-9) got within 20-12 early in the third quarter after a 3-pointer from Jocelyn Wells. But that was as close as the Pioneers could muster, as Franklin Tech answered with a 14-3 run to take control of the contest. Jocelyn Crowningshield scored six points during the spurt, as the Eagles played their trademark full-court press and converted turnovers into fast-break points on the other end.
“I felt like, early in the game, there were some jitters,” began Gamache, whose team led 8-5 after one quarter and 18-9 at halftime. “I think we tried some different things early on that maybe we overthought some things. Once we got back to running things the way we normally do, we managed to get rolling from there.”
Hurlbert scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half, when the Eagles outscored Pathfinder by a 29-16 margin. She added four blocks to go along with her double-double.
“Toward the end of our season she has really become a presence down low,” Gamache said of Hurlbert. “Tonight she was super focused, did some things extremely well and was a major force in the paint.”
Crowningshield joined Hurlbert in double figures with 10 points in addition to five steals and five assists, while Desiree Doane went for eight points and six assists. Gabby Castagna tossed in six points, while Gemanaia Cruz (four points, six rebounds, four assists) and Isabelle Duga (two points, two steals, two assists) rounded out the scoring in the win.
Despite the challenge that awaits Franklin Tech in the Berkshires on Thursday, Hurlbert said her team is embracing their roles entering the quarterfinal matchup.
“We’re kind of the underdogs now,” she offered. “In a way, everyone is looking at us saying, ‘They shouldn’t be here.’ We just have to go out and play our game and we’ll see how it goes.”
The win completed a three-game season sweep for the Eagles against Pathfinder, as Franklin Tech defeated the Pioneers twice during the regular season, though the most-recent meeting on Feb. 11 was just a 40-37 victory on the road.