HOLYOKE — The Holyoke girls basketball team didn’t let the moment get to it.
The Purple Knights led Northampton by three points with a little under 30 seconds to go in regulation Thursday.
Northampton’s Amanda Mieczkowski already had 27 points. She dribbled the ball at the top of the key needing three more to tie the game. The Purple Knights’ Bianca Ortiz stepped forward and defended Mieczkowski’s potentially game-tying 3-pointer at the top of the key.
The shot bounced off the left side of the rim and out to seal the Holyoke victory, 58-55.
Energetic defense in the last minute of the game led the way for Holyoke. Ortiz scored 16 points to lead the Purple Knights (6-5, 1-0 Valley).
“At times if we are struggling, it compounds,” Holyoke coach Andrea Enright said. “When we were struggling (tonight), we were able to get ourselves out of it, pick each other up. That way mistakes didn’t affect us. One mistake didn’t turn into two or three.”
FINAL: Holyoke 58, Northampton 55
Big win for the Purple Knights. pic.twitter.com/0vttF5cEEM
— Gage Nutter (@GageNutterDHG) January 17, 2020
Holyoke played Northampton tough defensively to start. With around four minutes to go in the opening frame, Ortiz stole a Northampton (6-2, 1-1) pass and got fouled while shooting at the other end. She made both free throws to put Holyoke ahead, 7-6.
“We let them get confidence to start the game,” Northampton coach Perry Messer said. “I tell the team all the time, if you let someone get off to a good start, all of a sudden they feel good about themselves and you’re in trouble the rest of the night. We didn’t lock them down when we needed to in the first half.”
To try and create separation on offense, Northampton used a lot of high screens to create open shots outside the key or to get an extra step on a defender and drive into the paint. Mieczkowski found success driving in the paint by scoring with layups and drawing fouls.
Ortiz closed the opening quarter strong with a 3-pointer and a fast break layup to put the Purple Knights ahead, 14-13.
Moving into the second quarter, Holyoke started to attack down low. Perez drove into the paint from the left side and dropped the ball off to Ortiz for an easy layup to start the second quarter.
Finding ways to read how an opposing team’s center is playing on defense has been a key for Holyoke’s guards this season.
“It’s something we are working on,” Enright said. “At our second Westfield game is when we started clicking and deciding when we have the drive and shoot or dish down low. My guards have been reading much better as the season has progressed”
Yamaya Perez, who scored 13 points, thrived as a playmaker in the first half for Holyoke, but struggled from the field. Her shot started to fall in the third quarter. She made her first two 3-pointers of the game in the frame and brought another dimension to the Purple Knight’s offense.
“What she’s good at is making everyone better,” Enright said. “She has to get hers, too, but when she wasn’t scoring I thought she was getting other people the ball in spots where they could score.”
Mieczkowski helped carry the offensive load in the second and third quarter when Holyoke went on runs. She scored 18 points in the two quarters.
“You have to pick your poison,” Enright said. “I thought we did a much better job toward the end, when we helped on Amanda (Mieczkowski), recovering. … That’s something we haven’t been strong at. To see our defensive rotations today, it’s a step in the right direction”
With around six minutes to go, Tori Lopez hit a 3 for Holyoke and followed it up with a jumper at the elbow to put the Purple Knights ahead 47-44.
“We were pushing,” Ortiz said. “We’ve been losing, so we made up for it. We played as a team.”
Northampton was without senior center Sydney Lewandowski on Thursday due to a knee injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season. The team could feel her absence in the front court.
“Not having her really hurts us,” Messer said. “Something she does well is defensive rotations.”
With 40 seconds to go in the game, Perez dropped the ball off to Lopez in the post for a layup to put Holyoke ahead, 58-53. The Blue Devils closed the gap to three with a pair of free throws, but the missed 3-point attempt sealed the victory for Holyoke.
The Purple Kngihts have had issues sticking together late in games this season, but Thursday night showcased what can happen when the group hangs in tough at the end of games.
“It’s about them building each other up and being able to notice if someone is struggling or frustrated and not letting them hang their head,” Enright said. “The mental aspect of today’s game was huge for us.”