TURNERS FALLS — The finals are set for the Franklin Tech Girls Summer Basketball League. 

The semifinals took place on Tuesday, with Franklin Tech squaring off with Mahar in the opening game of the night before Frontier and Pioneer faced off in the nightcap. 

A fast start allowed the Senators to seal a spot in the finals, as they knocked off the Eagles, 42-27. The Redhawks and the Panthers were close throughout, with a Frontier buzzer-beater sending the game to overtime knotted at 48. The Redhawks couldn’t carry that momentum over into the two-minute extra session however, as Pioneer earned a spot in the title game with a 52-48 triumph. 

For Mahar, it was all about showing up laser focused, dialing in on the defensive end to take control of the game. 

“We started off the game at a good speed,” Mahar’s Nevaeh Scribner said. “We knew we had to win so we came out fast. It was a strong start.” 

Mahar held a 14-2 lead 10 minutes into the contest and extended its lead to 20-4 at the intermission after Scribner drove to the rim and converted the layup as the halftime buzzer sounded. 

Franklin Tech found its footing on the offensive end late in the game but by then, the Senators had the game in hand to advance to the championship game. 

“Our passing has been really good,” Mahar’s Hayden Comeau said. “We’re clicking so well and a lot better than any of us thought we would. And we’re getting in shape for the basketball season and the fall sports season.”

Scribner led the way with 17 points while Comeau tossed in 11 points. Taylor Paluk tallied six points, Julia Hatch finished with five points while Thea Whitmore added two points in the win. 

Hannah Gilbert led Franklin Tech with 15 points. Lilianna Inman scored eight points while Brayleigh Burgh recorded four points in the defeat.

With a good chunk of the roster returning from last winter, Mahar has used the summer to continue building chemistry that it hopes will carry over into next season. 

“We definitely have a young team,” Scribner said. “We lost three seniors but we’ve had a young team. We just need to continue to build and grow on that.” 

The Senators took home a summer league title five years ago, and are hoping they can add another championship on Thursday, with the title game set to begin at 5 p.m. at Franklin Tech. 

“I started this my eighth grade season and we won the championship that year,” Scribner, a rising senior, said. “I want to end my summer league career with a championship.” 

Neither Frontier or Pioneer could separate from the other in the second game of the night. 

The Panthers clung to a 26-25 halftime lead and while Pioneer kept that lead in the second half, the Redhawks never let it run away with the game. 

The Panthers led 36-30 midway through the half and with two minutes to go, Pioneer held a 48-42 edge. 

Frontier’s Skyler Steele knocked down a 3-pointer with 22 second left to make it a 48-45 game and the Redhawk defense did what it needed to do by recording a steal, but Frontier was unable to make the tying 3. 

With two seconds left, the Redhawks came up with another steal and called timeout, giving it one more chance to tie it with a 3. 

On the inbound, Frontier lobbed a pass to Ashley Taylor at the top right circle and she swished the triple as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to overtime. Taylor also hit the game-winning shot in the 2023 Franklin Tech Girls Summer League championship game. 

Despite that, the Panthers regrouped and got the job done in the two minute overtime period. Natalie Rios made a shot to give Pioneer a 50-48 lead and later, Emme Calkins sank a pair of free throws to give the Panthers their 52-48 lead. The Pioneer defense didn’t allow Frontier to score in overtime to seal the victory. 

“We just had to forget about it and lock in,” Pioneer’s Addison Harrington said. “We just had to slow down when we had the ball but still make quick decision with the ball.” 

The loss was the first of the summer for the Redhawks, which won the championship last year. 

“That team has never been beat before this summer,” Harrington said. “That’s exciting.”

Harrington led the way with 21 points while Kyler McClelland knocked down five 3s to finish with 17 points. Calkins added 12 points in the win. 

Steele scored 18 points, Jazzy Hayes recorded 12 points, Olivia Machon finished with 10 points while Claire Kirkendall tallied three points for Frontier. 

“We could have played better on defense with the drives,” McClelland said. “We played well on offense but our defense could have been better and we could have boxed out better, especially in the first half.” 

Like Mahar, McClelland said the chemistry has grown throughout the summer for her team.

“We have such a small team,” McClelland said. “We’re playing together and the chemistry is coming together.”