Figuring out who the top scorers in the area will be this winter has proven to be difficult for a number of reasons.
As COVID continues to linger and have an impact on the basketball season, games have been postponed and players have missed time. That’s left the data all over the place. It’ll likely take a few more weeks to get a clearer picture on who will be in the race to lead the area in scoring, but with most teams playing between five and seven games so far, it’s a good time to get a snapshot of who’s currently doing the best at putting the ball in the basket through the quarter point of the season.
For this list’s purposes, it only includes those who have played in at least five games. Games played on Tuesday night were not included.
On the boys side, one player has begun to separate himself. Franklin Tech’s Ty Sadoski is averaging 19.7 points per game through six contests this season. The Eagles are 2-4 in those games, with the junior putting up a season-high 28 points in a win against Lee the last time Tech took the court prior to Tuesday night’s game with crosstown foe Turners Falls. Sadoski also had 25 of the Eagles’ 39 points in a loss to Athol earlier in the year.
His 19.7 PPG are five points more than Greenfield’s David Carey, who is second amongst area boys with 14.6 PPG in five games. Carey’s season-high came in a 56-53 loss against Lenox, a contest in which the senior dropped 32 points – a single-game high for the area so far.
Behind Carey is a pair of freshmen who may be on the list for years to come. Pioneer’s Brayden Thayer is currently the top scorer on a balanced Panther squad, with the sharpshooter averaging 11.8 PPG through six games. After Thayer comes Green Wave big man Jon Breor, who’s averaging 11.6 PPG through five games. Thayer scored a season-high 18 points in a win over Franklin Tech while Breor scored 17 points against both Frontier and Drury.
Frontier’s Dylan Martin is fifth in the area with 11.4 PPG through seven games. His season-high came against Smith Academy, a game in which he dropped 27 points in a winning effort.
On the girls side, a 20-point performance by Mohawk Trail’s Stella Clark on Monday against Pioneer bumped her into the top spot, as she’s averaging 16.4 PPG through seven contests. The senior has four 20-point performances thus far this year.
Clark’s game on Monday allowed her to jump Athol’s Emma Bacigalupo, who is now second with 15.6 PPG through five contests. The junior has been the top scoring threat for the Bears all season long, scoring 23 of their 33 points against Pioneer, and on Monday, she had 13 of Athol’s 16 points in a loss to Smith Academy.
Frontier has the most wins among area schools on the girls side, and the club is led in scoring by Kylie Laford, who checks in at third in the area with 13.8 PPG. Laford has done her damage from behind the arc and scored a season-best 18 points in a win against Hopkins.
Mahar’s Kendrah Doane sits in fourth place following a 26-point outburst against Ware on Monday that bumped her scoring average to 12.1 PPG through seven games. Greenfield’s Azemina Cecunjanin sits at fifth in the area with 11.7 PPG in six contests. Cecunjanin tallied 19 points against both Mahar and Ware.
While this is where the leaders stand now, there’s a long way to go this season. The list will almost certainly change on a night-to-night basis.