WMass Division 3 girls basketball: South Hadley beats Monument to move on to Cage

SOUTH HADLEY — Alexa Blaney hit a 3-pointer to give the South Hadley girls basketball team the first points of the game, and the Tigers never trailed, overcoming Monument Mountain, 60-51, Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament.

The game was intense from the start. South Hadley came out with a physical defensive effort to take and hold the lead, while fans from both sides screamed their hearts out.

With the win, the No. 2-seeded Tigers (17-4) move on to the Curry Hicks Cage to face No. 6 Wahconah (19-3) in the semifinals, Wednesday at 6 p.m.

“We really wanted to go to the Cage,” Blaney said. “It’s what we’ve been talking about the entire season, so it’s a big deal.”

Blaney (14 points) powered South Hadley’s offense with 11 points in the first half. When Blaney’s scoring slowed and the South Hadley lead dropped to four, her sister Olivia came off the bench and scored five points in a 7-0 run to end the third quarter. The Tigers held on from there.

“I thought Olivia Blaney, off the bench, played excellent,” South Hadley coach Paul Dubuc said. “She had a huge layup down here in the second half and she gave people rest when we needed to give them rest.”

The Tigers had two scares. Midway through the second quarter South Hadley held a 12-point lead. But Monument Mountain came back as the Tigers saw three straight possessions end in turnovers. The Senators ended the half on a 9-0 run to close within 34-31 at halftime.

The other scare for South Hadley came from the free-throw line as the Tigers shot 10-for-17.

Mia Kelly led the Tigers with 17 points, including six in the fourth quarter. Mikhaila Edge was close behind with 16 points.

Wahconah beat four-time defending champion Hoosac, 42-33, in Cheshire Thursday.

“They just went into Hoosac and beat them for the second time this year to get to the Cage,” Dubuc said. “So we have nothing but respect for them and their coach and their whole team. So we’ll be ready.”

South Hadley 60, Monument Mountain 51

Monument Mountain (12-10)

B. Saporito 0-0-0, Powell 2-6-10, A. Saporito 1-1-3, Decker 0-0-0, Horan 5-1-11, Troiano 2-0-6, Cooney 1-0-2, Wade 0-0-0, Brown 6-4-19, Rivest 0-0-0, Louw 0-0-0. Totals 17-12-51

South Hadley (17-4)

Murphy 0-0-0, A. Edge 0-0-0, M. Edge 7-2-16, Kelly 7-3-17, A. Blaney 7-1-14, B. Gawron 0-0-0, Grochowalski 0-2-2, T. Gawron 0-0-0, Zatowski 0-0-0, O. Blaney 2-1-5, Sears 0-0-0, Werenski 0-0-0, Walas 0-0-0, Earle 2-1-6. Totals 24-10-60

3-Pointers— Monument Mountain 5 (Brown 3, Troiano 2), South Hadley 2 (A. Blaney, Earle)