SPRINGFIELD — Amanda Mieczkowski snapped the Northampton girls basketball team out of a daze.
The Blue Devils sophomore point guard brought the ball up on their first possession of the second quarter then took two hard dribbles into the lane. She was passive up to that point, and Northampton struggled offensively in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament semifinals. Mieczkowski broke through two defenders with a jump stop and finished over a third to cut Northampton’s deficit to 1 at Western New England, Monday.
“Going into games like these I really focus on defense,” Mieczkowski said. “I think that click just came from wanting us to get a push of momentum because we were really low.”
She scored eight of her game-high 15 points in the second quarter, as the top-seeded Blue Devils built a lead they never relinquished. They beat No. 5 Pittsfield, 53-44, to reach the sectional finals for the first time since 2013. They’ll play the winner of Tuesday’s semifinal between No. 2 Tantasqua and No. 3 East Longmeadow. The championship is at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at the Curry Hicks Cage.
“Throughout all of the seniors’ four years here we’ve gotten really close but never actually gotten a title,” Northampton senior Claire Babbott-Bryan said. “So that would be really exciting.”
The Blue Devils (18-3) opened Monday’s win looking like a team that hadn’t played in nearly two weeks. Northampton ended its regular season Feb. 21 then scrimmaged West Springfield last Wednesday. They committed three traveling violations in the first quarter and trailed Pittsfield 11-7.
“I knew we’d be out of rhythm offensively, and I knew there’d be some nerves to start the game,” Northampon coach Perry Messer said. “One thing we’ve gotta be able to hang our hat on is defense.”
The Blue Devils got the message. They held Pittsfield to 3 points in the second quarter and increased the tempo of the game with their pressure.
“They were in our face the whole night, I think that bothered us,” Pittsfield coach Joseph Racicot said. “Between their defense and the fact that we might have rushed some things, I think that might have made the difference.”
Mieczkowski gave Northampton the lead for good, 12-11, with a fast-break layup from Emma Tanner 1:06 into the second.
“There were some offensive lulls throughout the game, but we ended up finding Emma (Tanner), finding Mitch (Mieczkowski) in breakaways,” Babbott-Bryan said.
Northampton built a 20-14 halftime lead and kept adding to it in the third quarter. Mieczkowski hit a jumper 1:10 into the second half to give the Blue Devils their first double-digit lead, 40-30.
Babbott-Bryan made a layup with 3:29 left in the third that gave the Blue Devils their biggest lead at 45-33.
Junior center Kolbie Jones took two charges during the frame that fired up Northampton’s bench.
“We all get hyped,” Mieczkowski. “She’s strong when taking it to the hoop, couldn’t ask for more from her.”
Pittsfield didn’t go quietly. Bella Aitken brought the Generals’ deficit to single digits by hitting a 3 with 1:18 left. They pulled as close as 7 after Taea Bramer made the score 49-42 with 39.9 seconds remaining, but Northampton closed the game at the free-throw line.
“We channel our nervousness into hard defense,” Babbott-Bryan said.
Pittsfield pressed nearly to the end of the game. Mieczkowski directed Northampton’s press break smiling cheekbone to cheekbone. Last season she and Northampton lost to eventual state champion Central in the Division 1 semifinals on the same floor, and she faced the same situation against the Golden Eagles with a different score and different approach.
“I just looked back on that, and now I’m like, ‘we’re here, let’s do it,’” Mieczkowski said.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.
Northampton 53, Pittsfield 44
Pittsfield (14-8)
Shade 2-0-7, Bramer 4-2-14, Perkett 1-0-2, Aitken 3-3-10, Buda 1-0-2, Garvey 3-1-7, Lummus 1-0-2. Totals 18-4-44
Northampton (18-3)
McGrath 1-0-2, Mieczkowski 7-1-15, Tanner 5-2-12, Babbott-Bryan 2-5-9, Kerwood 1-2-4, Maurer 1-2-4, Jones 1-3-5, Campedelli 0-0-0, Lewandowski 1-0-2. Totals 19-15-53
|
Pittsfield |
11 |
3 |
14 |
16 |
—44 |
|
Northampton |
7 |
13 |
15 |
18 |
—53 |
3-Pointers—Pittsfield 4 (Shade, Bramer 2, Aitken)