AMHERST — The experience Hoosac Valley gained winning the past two Western Massachusetts Division 3 championships showed early and late.
The second-seeded Hurricanes raced out to an 8-0 lead in the first 3 minutes, 37 seconds of their semifinal against Hampshire Regional.
They then held the Raiders to two points over the final 5:42 of a 60-49 win, Wednesday at UMass’ Curry Hicks Cage.
“We definitely had nerves and jitters at first, but once we started playing it kind of went away,” Hampshire senior Chelsea Moussette said. “Hoosac has been here every year pretty much, so they’re more experienced playing here than us.”
Lexi Turgeon put No. 3 Hampshire on the board with 4:32 left in the first quarter.
The junior scored a career-high 12 points and helped the Raiders ease into the game offensively.
“We know they’re going to try and put pressure on me and Chels, usually, so if someone can step up like that it’s kind of a relief that we don’t have to put all the weight of the game on Chelsea and I,” Hampshire junior Katy O’Connor said.
The Raiders needed scoring from sources other than Moussette and O’Connor with the way Hoosac defended Hampshire’s two 1,000-point scorers.
They shadowed Moussette with two players when she brought the ball up the court and collapsed in on O’Connor whenever she received the ball in the high post.
“We said we were going to double Chelsea and shadow her and double Katy and let the other girls step up,” Hoosac Valley senior Madi Ryan said.
O’Connor didn’t score until she hit a 3-pointer with 2:05 to go in the first quarter.
She cut Hoosac’s lead to 14-12 with a putback after an offensive rebound with 1:46 left, and Katelyn Pickunka tied the game at 14 on a feed from Moussette 46 seconds later.
The Hurricanes went into the second quarter with a 17-14 lead after Ryan, who finished with seven points, hit a 3 at the buzzer.
It was the first of three consecutive buzzer-beaters to end quarters.
Skylar Case drained a heave at the halftime horn to put Hoosac Valley up 32-30.
O’Connor had given Hampshire (19-5) its first lead of the game, 30-29, after a fast-break layup with seven seconds left.
It was the Raiders’ only lead of the game.
Though O’Connor, who finished with game-high 17 points and 17 rebounds, tied the game at 32 with 7:33 remaining in the third quarter, Hoosac (19-5) scored the next nine points.
Hampshire cut that lead to six with its own buzzer-beater, as Turgeon took a feed from Moussette on the right wing and buried a shot to pull the Raiders to 46-40 entering the final quarter.
The Raiders cut the deficit to one possession twice in the fourth.
Moussette hit a 3 with 6:10 left, only her second field goal of the game to finish with five points, to bring Hampshire to 47-45.
Then O’Connor hit two free throws after a Hoosac score to make it 49-47 with 5:42 left.
“I’m extremely proud of them,” Hampshire coach Amy Cyr said. “Throughout the season, we’ve been down and we used it to get better, to work harder, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Hampshire only scored two points the rest of the game.
The Raiders lost an inside presence when Pickunka (10 points) fouled out with 2:27 remaining.
Hoosac then made its free throws down the stretch to secure a return trip to the sectional finals, where it will face No. 4 Drury, at 2:15 p.m. Saturday at the Cage.
Moussette, Nicole Buzzee, and Lily West played their final game for Hampshire.
The Raiders will return their leading scorer in O’Connor and another starter in Pickunka.
“Chels is my best friend. We’re going to miss Chels as our point guard. We’re going to miss Nicole’s defense, and we’re going to miss Lily a lot,” O’Connor said. “(Playing with them at the Cage was) the best feeling in the world.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.
Hoosac Valley 60,
Hampshire Regional 49
Raiders (19-5)
Moussette 2-0-5, Turgeon 5-0-12, Buzzee 1-0-3, Abel 0-0-0, Labrecque 0-0-0, Goodnow 0-0-0, Dearborn 0-0-0, C. O’Connor 1-0-2, K. O’Connor7-2-17, West 0-0-0, S. Aldrich 0-0-0, D. Aldrich 0-0-0. Totals: 21-2-49.
Hurricanes (19-5)
Field 6-0-15, McMahon 1-0-2, Ryan 1-4-7, Mendel 5-5-16, Case 1-0-3, Frederick 5-3-14. Totals. 20-14-60.
|
Hampshire |
14 |
16 |
10 |
9 |
— |
49 |
|
Hoosac Valley |
17 |
15 |
14 |
14 |
— |
60
|
3-Pointers—Hampshire Regional 5 (Turgeon 2, Moussette, Buzzee, K. O’Connor), Hoosac Valley 6 (Mercier, Field, Ryan, Mendel, Case, Frederick)