AMHERST — Belchertown came back once.
The Orioles couldn’t rally a second time in Saturday’s Western Massachusetts Division 2 girls basketball title game.
After it was tied at 11 early, Pittsfield outscored Belchertown by 27 the rest of the way in a 69-42 victory at UMass’ Curry Hicks Cage.
“They were on fire tonight,” Belchertown senior Cara McKenzie said. “They played a great game. Credit to them.”
Belchertown’s first comeback came when the Orioles (17-5) trailed 8-2 in the first quarter.
Kayla Henry set to work with a jumper to cut it to 8-4. She also hit a 3 to tie the game at 11 with 2 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
“We just kept pushing,” Henry said.
Pittsfield (16-7) built a 14-11 lead after one quarter and extended it to 27-16 at halftime. The Generals held Belchertown without a field goal for the last 2:48 of the first half.
The Orioles had the ball down five with three minutes to go until halftime. They turned the ball over, which led to a Pittsfield 3-pointer.
“That last two minutes of the half was tough,” Belchertown coach Jay Woodcock said.
Pittsfield sophomore Alexis Garvey made the whole game difficult for Belchertown. The six-footer scored a game-high 25 points and hit three 3-pointers.
“Her ability to shoot 3s is something I’ve never seen in a girl her size,” McKenzie said. “She’s quick and she’s really strong.”
She worked one-on-one against McKenzie because Belchertown shaded its defense toward Peyton Steinman at the outset. She only scored five points in the first half.
Then Belchertown went to a zone to try and deal with Garvey inside. Steinman feasted. She scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half.
“They had a good shooting night, we didn’t,” Woodcock said. “They made us work for everything we got.”
The Orioles kept working in the second half, even as their deficit ballooned. Pittsfield outscored them 22-5 in the third quarter.
“If we don’t keep (the energy) up it’s going to be like a 70-point game,” Henry said. “You’ve got to keep fighting to the end. I wasn’t coming out.”
McKenzie didn’t have a choice. She picked up her fifth foul with 2:52 remaining defending Steinman. Belchertown’s fans gave her a standing ovation as she walked off the court for the final time.
“It’s certainly a tough situation for me, but they were there for me and it means a lot to have their support,” McKenzie said.
Woodcock asked Henry during the fourth quarter if she wanted to come out. She didn’t. Henry finished with 23 points and hit a jumper at the buzzer, fighting to the last moment.
“She’s earned the right to decide how she finishes her career,” Woodcock said. “You saw her to the very last second fighting and clawing.”
Henry and McKenzie were Belchertown’s only seniors. They won a Western Mass. title in 2015, played in two title games and reached the Cage three times.
“I couldn’t be prouder of those two. As kids, they’re so much better than they are as athletes, and they’re pretty good athletes,” Woodcock said. “They’re like daughters to me. I’m going to miss ‘em.”
The other 14 players on Belchertown’s roster used them as role models all season. They played a lot this year with the Orioles lacking experience.
“We’ll have our work cut out for us to get back here,” Woodcock said. “A lot of my sophomores represent different things on the court. We’ll build on that next year and do the best we can do.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.
Pittsfield 69, Belchertown 44
Pittsfield (16-7)
Steinman 8-5-23, Bramer 1-2-5, Curry 1-0-3, Perret 1-0-3 Aitken 1-0-2, Shade 1-0-3, Satrape 2-0-4, Garvey 10-2-25, Shaver 0-1-1. Totals 24-10-69
Belchertown (17-5)
Duffy 1-0-3, Henry 5-12-23, Pikul 1-1-3, Roche 0-0-0, LeBlanc 0-0-0, S. Birks 0-2-2, McKenzie 2-3-7, Genereux 0-0-0, J. Birks 0-0-0, Masalerz 2-0-6, White 0-0-0, Leja 0-0-0. Totals 19-8-49
|
Pittsfield |
14 |
13 |
22 |
20 |
—69 |
|
Belchertown |
11 |
5 |
12 |
16 |
—44 |
3-Pointers—Pittsfield 7 (Steinman 2, Bramer, Perret, Garvey 3), Belchertown 4 (Duffy, Henry, Mastalerz 2)