MIAA basketball: Frontier Regional girls topples Tyngsborough, reaches first Final Four since 2000

SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Frontier Regional girls basketball team accomplished something 26 years in the making on Friday night. The top-seeded Redhawks defeated No. 9 Tyngsborough, 59-46, in the Round of 8 of the MIAA Division 4 tournament at Goodnow Gymnasium to send them into unfamiliar territory.

With the win, Frontier advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2000, when it won the Western Mass. championship. The Redhawks had goals throughout the season, and they are reaching them with surging efficiency. Skyler Steele scored 11 points for Frontier.

“We are very oriented in our goals,” Steele said. “Just the culture of this team is amazing. We have such great leaders. We push each other so hard in practice. We just work so well together. We envision things on the court that other people don’t see.”

The incremental improvement started early in the preseason with first year coach David Hastings.

“From the time I came in here we’ve been building a new culture,” Hastings said. “We were just trying to get one percent better every day. They (Tyngsborough) made us do some things tonight that no other team has made us do recently. We had to dig down and try to figure out some different things at halftime. “

The Redhawks faced some resistance against the Tigers but pulled away after the intermission. Addie Harrington overcame a tough night at the free throw line to score 22 points with 16 coming in the decisive second half. The adversity was a good thing for the Redhawks, who face the winner of No. 12 Cohasset and No. 4 Millbury.

“Honestly it felt real to play against pressure like that,” Harrington said. “With this we had to mentally and physically push through.”

Tynsgborough spread the floor nicely with good ball movement in the first half. The Redhawks adjusted by fighting through screens to stay connected to Tyngsborough shooters. The adjustment worked as the Tigers tallied just five points in the third quarter as Frontier pulled away.

Late in the second quarter, the Redhawks trailed 26-25. That’s when Harper Modestow took it down low and scored with a foul to give Frontier the lead going into halftime. On the other side of the intermission, another basket plus a foul from Modestow increased the Frontier lead to 30-26. Modestow ruled the paint against the undersized Tigers, finishing with 17 points.

“I think I played strong, but I don’t think I performed to my maximum,” Modestow said. “I did have some advantages. I had the opportunity to go off. But I thought we played really well. I am happy with how I played but I am happier with our team coming out on top.”

A play by Whitney Campbell ensured the momentum stayed in favor of Frontier in the third quarter. Campbell saved a sure basket by the Tigers with an athletic chase down block on a breakaway. The play sent the fans at Goodnow into a frenzy, especially after Frontier retained possession.

“It got me fired up, it got the whole team fired up,” Campbell said. “It felt really amazing. I don’t get a whole lot of blocks. So running down it was nerve-wracking. But I felt the momentum change after that as well. Momentum shifts can come from anywhere and anybody.”

Harrington scored on the ensuing possession, giving Frontier its biggest lead of the game to that point at 38-29. Steele followed with another basket in transition for the Redhawks. In the fourth quarter, Macy DeMaio drove the lane before kicking it out to Harrington. The junior nailed a 3-pointer, giving Frontier a comfortable 54-38 lead.

Kathryn O’Keefe and Alanna Anderson both scored 12 points for the Tigers. Anderson connected on four 3-pointers for Tyngsborough. Tyngsborough had seven 3-pointers in the game.