ORANGE — The Mahar Regional girls basketball team happily defeated its crosstown rival on Friday night. The Senators downed Athol, 63-44, at Grzesik-Bixby gymnasium in independent play.
After the buzzer sounded, the team embraced in a huddle loudly near the bench.
Even with the game decided in the final minutes, both sides cheered as if it was the playoffs. But getting the win over the school down the road always feels good for Mahar.
Hayden Comeau scored 12 points for the Senators (3-0).
“They are our rival,” Comeau said. “Next town over. We came in ready to play and really wanted it. Our first half was not what we wanted but we came back in the second half and did what we had to do.”
First year coach Francis Phillips experienced the spectacle of the rivalry that goes back decades for this first time.
“If you were here for the fourth quarter it was just intense,” Phillips said. “The crowd was awesome. Both teams came to play tonight. You have to give Athol a lot of respect. They definitely made us earn the win tonight”
Comeau is Mahar’s leading scorer. Against Athol, she watched a couple of her teammates shoot with confidence and accuracy.
“Amazing,” Comeau said. “Honestly it just shows how hard we’ve been working in the gym. We take no days off. We work hard and that’s all we do.”
Julia Hatch scored 18 points for the Senators. Eighth grader Nastasia Sanders added 13 points.
Hatch is almost all the way back from a vicious knee injury. She knocked down four 3-pointers for the Senators.
“It feels good to be back with my knee,” Hatch said. “And confidence getting the shots up.”
Athol (0-4) came out with pressure and confidence. The Bears had an early lead against the Senators, but Mahar closed out the first quarter on a 13-4 run. Athol made another run in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 27-21 after a 3-pointer by Ava Adams.
The Senators pulled away in the third quarter. A 3-pointer from Mackenzie Matthews gave Mahar a 39-28 lead.
Athol had a gameplan to take away Comeau as much as possible.
“Julia Hatch made some big shots,” Athol coach Peter Whitmore said. “Kudos to her. But our girls played hard.”
Abigayle Spooner scored 16 points for the Bears with three 3-pointers for the Bears. Shooting with confidence is essential for the Bears moving forward.
“It’s not only the confidence, but I also think it’s mental toughness,” Spooner said. “A lot of girls get down on themselves. When you miss a shot, you feel like you let down the team. But I think it’s important for us to continue to lift each other up. Keep shooting, keep shooting. At the end of the day, you will make a shot.
Madilyn Hermes showed a nice touch from the outside and finished with 10 points. It was one of the more competitive games of the rivalry in recent years.
“It was a nice loud gym,” Whitmore said. “It was nice to have that competitive feeling back.”
Adams added seven points for the Bears. Marley Partridge connected on her free throw for her first varsity point for Mahar.