It was about as perfect of a start as the Greenfield girls basketball team could have hoped for on Tuesday against Hampden Charter West. 

The Green Wave shut the Lions out in the first quarter, entering the second quarter with a 19-0 advantage. The smothering defense by Greenfield continued into the second quarter, going ahead 23-0 before Hampden Charter scored its first basket of the game with just over four minutes to play before the half. 

The Green Wave led 29-5 at the half before cruising to a 54-29 independent win at Nichols Gymnasium. 

“It’s always good to win,” Greenfield coach Ben Johnson said. “Everyone scored so that’s always good. We have a young team so it’s always good getting them experience on the court. We’re going to need them the rest of the season.”

It was a full team effort offensively for the Green Wave. Amber Bergeron led the way with 17 points, nine coming in the first quarter. Carly Blanchard tossed in 12 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter, while Gloria McDonald and Tayler Bergeron each chipped in six points. 

Anna Bucala tallied five points, Mackensie Goncalves recorded four points while Ever Kennedy finished with two points to round out the Greenfield scoring. 

With three games to play before the Western Mass. tournament, each game will be impactful for the Green Wave. Greenfield (5-10) sits just outside the top 32 in the MIAA Div. 5 power rankings, currently ranked No. 39. Next up is Hopkins, another squad that sits just on the edge of earning an automatic bid to the tournament. 

Tipoff against the Golden Hawks is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday in Greenfield. 

“We have a big one coming up against Hopkins on Thursday,” Johnson said. “They’re sitting at No. 33 and we’re at No. 39 so it’ll be a big one for both teams.” 

Franklin Tech 46, Athol 14 — The Eagle defense showed up once again on Tuesday, holding the Bears to five points in the first half and nine in the second half to earn a Franklin County League South win at Mallet Gymnasium. 

Hannah Gilbert tossed in a game-high for 19 points while Kendra Campbell tallied 12 points for Franklin Tech. Kyra Goodell added six points, Lilianna Inman recorded four points, Kait Trudeau knocked down a 3 and Cordelia Guerin scored two points in the win. 

Emma Bacigalupo and Jenna Bonenfant both had four points while Kylah Blundon, Abby Lutz and Brooke Hopkins all had two points for Athol. 

Smith Academy 41, Mohawk Trail 22 — Rachel Pease scored a team-high 11 points for the Warriors, who fell to the Falcons in a Franklin County League South contest on Tuesday in Buckland. 

Smith Academy led 25-9 at the half. 

Bella Pettengill finished with six points, Valerie Bzomowski knocked down a 3 and Riley Giard tallied two points for Mohawk Trail. Alexa Jagodzinski led Smith with 10 points. 

Boys basketball

Mt. Greylock 74, Athol 60 — It was a battle between the two top teams is in the Hampshire League North on Tuesday in Williamstown. 

Leading 34-24 at the half, the Mounties took command of the game in the third quarter by outscoring the Bears 27-16 to take a 61-40 lead into the final eight minutes of action. Greylock then held on to keep its unbeaten league record in tact. 

“Greylock played well,” Athol coach Brian Patria said. “They’re very experienced with a lot of seniors. We had a tough time trying to stop their bigs. We wanted to take there guards out with pressure and we did that. They made their shots from guys off the bench.” 

Angel Castillo ran the point and scored 17 points for the Bears. Ben Kearney tossed in 16 points, Conall Tontodonato recorded 13 points and Ethan Bacigalupo came off the bench to score six points in the loss. 

Frontier 58, Lenox 49 — Owen Babb showed up when the Redhawks needed him most. 

Babb did a little bit of everything for Frontier, scoring 12 points, snagging 19 rebounds and tossing out six assists, with eight of those points coming in the fourth quarter, to help propel the Redhawks to a Hampshire League South win in Lenox on Tuesday. 

Frontier trailed 27-25 at the half before taking a 41-35 lead into the fourth. 

Nico Fasulo led the way with 18 points in the victory, with Danny Fellows tacking on 13 points. Max Millette finished with 12 points while Sasha Dragicevich knocked down a big 3 in the fourth quarter for the Redhawks. 

Mahar 59, Drury 50 — Make it four in a row for the Senators. 

Leading 36-35 going into the fourth quarter, Mahar outscored the Blue Devils 23-15 in the final frame to pull away with a Hampshire League South triumph in Orange on Tuesday. The win makes it 10 on the season, sealing a spot in the MIAA Div. 4 tournament for the Sens. 

Connor Sluder had a monster game for Mahar, posting 19 points and 10 rebounds. Lucas Isrow finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Will Barnes and Hunter Martin each scored 10 points in the victory. 

"We continue to grow and it's been a lot of fun to watch,” Mahar coach Chad Softic said. “Connor is playing the best basketball of his career and we are taking care of the basketball. Our guard play has really improved. Lucas Isrow is going to hate me for saying this because he wants to be the "modern" guard but he is completely old school. He defends so well, rebounds well and is strong with the ball. He reminds me of Dennis Johnson and I’m sure he doesn't even know who that is.

“When we were at 3-4 I'm sure a lot of people were questioning us but here we are at 10-5 and we are in,” Softic continued. 

Smith Academy 50, Turners 47 — The Thunder led 30-10 at the half, but the Falcons wouldn’t go away easy. 

Smith Academy outscored Turners 19-7 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 37-29 heading into the fourth. The Falcons then put up 21 points in the final frame while holding the Thunder to 10, with a Turners 3 at the buzzer hitting off the front rim as Smith Academy pulled off a comeback victory in a Hampshire League North contest in Turners. 

Logan Addison had a team-high 14 points for the Thunder, with JJ Charles (12) and Jake Lavin (11) joining him in double-figures. Levin Prondecki and Alex Quezada each tossed in five points in the loss. 

Ryan Bolena finished with 13 points, Griffin Smiarowski tallied 12 points and Riley Intrator recorded 10 points for the Falcons. 

Late Monday results

Girls basketball

Turners 46, Athol 36 — Leading 33-26 heading into the fourth quarter, Thunder guard Taylor Greene made sure the Bears weren’t able to get back in the game. 

Greene scored 11 of her game-high 25 points in the final eight minutes, leading Turners to a Franklin County League South win at Mallet Gymnasium. 

Morgan Dobias and Madi Liimatainen each tallied six points for the Thunder. Abbi Holloway tacked on four points while Steph Peterson finished with three points in the victory. 

Emma Bacigalupo finished with 15 points, Lizzy Mailloux recorded eight points, Jenna Bonenfant tallied five points and Kylah Blundon added four points for Athol. 

Mahar 52, Hopkins 48 — The Senators were hot at the charity stripe down the stretch on Monday against the Golden Hawks, finishing the night with 20 made free throws — nine of which came in the fourth quarter — to hang on to earn a Franklin County League North win in Hadley. 

Kendrah Doane led the way with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the victory, with Nevaeh  Scribner joining her in double-figures with 12 points. Hayden Comeau tossed in nine points and 12 rebounds while Alivia Patch and Astha Bernard each scored five points for Mahar. 

]]>