H.S. basketball: Harrington and Steele lead Frontier Regional girls to win over SICS

AMHERST — Addie Harrington and Skyler Steele both scored in double-figures for the Frontier Regional girls basketball team in a 50-36 win over Springfield International Charter School on Saturday.

Steele led the team with 22 points on 10-for-15 from the floor. She added eight rebounds for the Redhawks (1-1). Harrington finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

The Redhawks never trailed in the wire-to-wire win in independent play.

“The way our girls played was more the style we wanted to play,” Frontier coach David Hastings said. “It was a little more up-tempo. Offensively and defensively, I thought they communicated exceptionally well. It’s a work in progress here.”

The Redhawks played under the bright lights of the Mullins Center at the Pioneer Valley Tip-Off Classic event on the UMass campus. Quite a different environment than the intimacy of Goodnow Gymnasium.

“It was really good,” Steele said. “It was definitely different shooting. Coach talked about the depth perception, and it definitely was different. But it was awesome. It was a really good time.”

Steele handled the depth perception just fine, nailing a couple 3-pointers in the game. Outside of a slow stretch in the second quarter, the Redhawks’ offense had a fast pace throughout. If the opportunity was there, the Redhawks pushed the pace.

“We pushed the ball more,” Harrington said. “We were more patient on offense, so it gave us more looks.”

Harrington often looked to Steele for transition offense. Steele had several finishes near the rim under duress from the SICS defense.

“We both know if one of us gets the rebound one of us is running up the court,” Harrington said. “Sky (Steele) can pass the ball like crazy. Finishing is just key. We are both pretty good at that.”

Harrington did well initiating offense in addition to her scoring for the Redhawks.

“I more or less watch my teammates and trust them to make the cuts,” Harrington said. “Hopefully the pass I make can get to them in time. I just know they are there.”

When Harrington decides to attack with her own offense is dependent on the defense’s reaction to what the Redhawks are running on offense.

“When the defense goes underneath the screen” Harrington said. “It is most likely when I will shoot.

Frontier began its season with a loss to Northampton.

“It’s definitely good that we are playing better teams,” Steele said. “That will prepare us for tournament a lot better than last year. These high intensity games are definitely a lot better than the ones where we have to hold back. I think that will only make us stronger.”

Frontier jumped out to a 16-7 lead after the first quarter. Steele started strong, collecting nine first quarter points for the Redhawks. Steele did a lot of her scoring in the open floor. Some forced turnovers created transition for Frontier. Harrington scored seven points in the first frame.

“They are getting one percent better every day,” Hastings said. “Hopefully they are playing the best they can by the end of the year. ” 

Whitney Campbell had a nice all-around game for the Redhawks, finishing with five points, five assists and five rebounds.

“I pointed out yesterday in practice that the entire team’s communication was certainly building,” Hastings said.

Frontier experienced a brief lapse in offense before finishing the second quarter on an 8-1. Frontier went into halftime with a 24-14 lead.

Alanie Torres had 10 points for the Bulldogs.