AMHERST — Hampshire Regional High School coach Amy Cyr said her team had to try something different to avenge a regular-season loss to Greenfield High School at the 2018 HoopHall Classic.
So for possibly the only time this season, the Red Raiders played a zone defense Thursday night. In order to slow down Raegan Hickey and the high-powered Green Wave, it was Hampshire’s best chance.
“I don’t think we’ve played a zone all year to be honest,” said Cyr, whose team slowed Greenfield’s offense down just enough to pick up a 63-59 win in overtime of the Western Massachusetts Division III Girls’ Basketball semifinals at the Curry Hicks Cage on the campus of UMass. “But with the way Raegan can shoot the ball, and the way she can drive and pick you apart … we tried to pack it in and hope for the best.”
Hampshire’s defense was particularly stout in the key moments. Trailing 59-56 after Lizzy Howland hit her second of two field goals with 2:46 remaining in overtime, the Raiders closed the game on a 7-0 run. Greenfield was held off the board completely over the final 2:46, and Hampshire finally broke through after losing the past two WMass semifinals. The reward is a championship game matchup against Wahconah Regional High School Saturday afternoon.
“This was a fight all the way until the end,” said Hampshire junior forward Caroline O’Connor, who scored 7 of her 11 points in overtime, including the eventual game-winning layup with 38 seconds remaining that put Hampshire on top, 60-59. “We all came together and made the plays in the end. It came down to just a couple of plays and luckily we did enough.”
O’Connor said Greenfield presented all sorts of matchup problems for the Raiders. After blowing a sizable lead to the Wave in the HoopHall Classic, Hampshire buckled down to avoid a similar fate in the semifinals.
“They play great defense, to begin with,” O’Connor said of Greenfield. “They move the ball well on offense and it’s tough to stay with them. They’ve got great height with Sam (Smith) and Raegan is obviously a great player as well. We knew we had our work cut out for us.”
Back-and-forth affair
The numbers tell the story of how evenly-matched Thursday’s semifinal was. There were eight lead changes and eight ties and neither team led by more than seven points. Greenfield’s largest lead was 23-16 with 1:59 remaining in the second quarter. Hampshire’s biggest advantage was 46-40 with 4:57 left in the fourth.
Foul trouble
Smith and Katelyn Pickunka of Hampshire picked up two fouls in the first half, though both players were able to avoid the dreaded third foul before halftime.
Smith drew her second foul with 2:30 left in the first quarter, sat briefly and returned quickly, managing to get to halftime without picking up another.
Pickunka joined her with a second foul coming with 5:34 left in the second quarter, coincidentally enough on a Smith basket. She also stayed on the floor late after sitting briefly and got to the locker room without a third foul.
Youngsters on the big stage
Greenfield played crunch time with both a freshman, Katie Haselton, and an eighth-grader, Racquel Provost, on the floor in key spots. Haselton finished with 15 points before fouling out with 1:10 remaining in OT. That fifth foul proved tough for the Wave, as Hampshire outscored Greenfield by a 7-0 margin following her exit.
Seniors cap careers at Cage
Thursday’s loss marked the final game for Greenfield’s quartet of seniors. Howland, Kirsten Ward, Jenna Silk and Leah Bosco closed out their careers by helping the Wave to their first-ever trip to the Cage and an impressive 21-2 final record.