TURNERS FALLS — Franklin Tech made history on Sunday.
The Eagles captured the program’s first Massachusetts Vocational Athletic Directors Association Small School championship in girls basketball, scoring an impressive 55-31 victory over Old Colony Regional in the title game.
Franklin Tech (17-5) has won state vocational titles in softball and volleyball on the girls side, but Sunday’s win was a first for a girls basketball program that reached the tournament final but lost to the same Old Colony team when the event was last contested in 2020.
“It was one of the many goals we set before the season, not only to get here but to win a title,” Franklin Tech head coach Joe Gamache said. “I’m very proud of the girls and the accomplishment. They deserved it.”
The Eagles, which beat Minuteman Regional 47-26 in the semifinal round on Saturday in Turners Falls, were dominant in Sunday’s title-game victory. The hosts opened the game on an 11-2 run behind a pair of 3-pointers from Kaitlin Trudeau, a 3 from Kendra Campbell and a jumper from Hannah Gilbert. They took a 19-9 lead into the first quarter break, and from there, the margin never dropped below double digits.
“We came out and played the way we’re capable of playing,” lauded Gamache. “I think hands down, that was the best basketball they’ve played all season. We executed the game plan, connected on our open looks.”
Campbell led a balanced scoring attack with 13 points, while Trudeau added 12 points and Gilbert made it three players in double figures with 10. Emily Ryan (six points), Emily Merritt (five), Lea Chapman (five) and Christiana Dunn (four) all chipped in offensively.
“We try to preach to them to share the basketball,” Gamache began. “Throughout the season it seemed like we had a different leading scorer just about every night. Definitely proud of the balanced scoring we were able to put together tonight.”
Trudeau and Campbell hit back-to-back 3’s to open the second quarter, and the lead ballooned to 27-9 before Old Colony answered with an 8-0 spurt to get back within striking distance.
It was 34-18 at halftime, and the Eagles held the visitors to just two field goals in the third quarter to run away and hide. Merritt scored all five of her points in the third, and Tech held a 13-6 scoring edge in the period to take a 47-24 lead into the fourth.
Gamache was able to turn to his bench in the final stanza, and the Eagles celebrated their 55-31 win and subsequent title by setting up a ladder and cutting down one of the nets in the gymnasium.
The turnaround will be quick for the state tournament however, as Franklin Tech drew the No. 21 seed in the MIAA Division 5 field and will host No. 44 North Brookfield (10-10) in the preliminary round on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The winner would travel to play at No. 13 Palmer in the Round of 32 on Thursday.
“We were focused on this (tournament) first, so now we’ll turn our attention to the state tournament,” Gamache said. “This is the first year of the new format so we’ll see how it goes. We’re happy we get a home game to start out and we’ll take it one game at a time.”