Division 3 girls basketball: Top-seeded Wahconah ends Frontier’s season just like it started

DALTON — The top-seeded Wahconah girls basketball team started its Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament run with a 50-23 win over No. 8 Frontier Regional.

Wahconah will face fifth-seeded Sabis, which defeated Greenfield 44-41 on Thursday, at the Curry Hicks in the semifinals next week. The time and date are yet to be determined.

“We knew how big (the Red Hawks) were,” said Wahconah junior Maria Gamberoni, who’s team opened the season with a 54-28 win over Frontier. “We didn’t come in with expectations on how the game was going to go. We had gotten a lot better and they had too. We just had to come out hard and knew it was a good game.”

Gamberoni popped a ball loose and broke down the court for the game’s first basket.

“We wanted to get out and run early,” Wahconah coach Liz Kay said. “They got back and it was actually more of a half-court game than I thought it would be. Kudos to our kids for executing in the half court against kids twice their size, which was a pleasant surprise.”

The Red Hawks outrebounded the Warriors by three in the first quarter, but Wahconah’s half-court success helped mitigate the size advantage.

Gamberoni scored eight of her game-high 17 points in the first quarter, also totaling with three of her eight assists and three of her six rebounds.

Morgan Marauszwski was her favorite target early. She quickly showed that Wahconah’s eight-day wait provided more rest than rust.

“We saw the box-and-one in game film, which they used tonight against Maria,” Kay said. “We knew it was coming and saw enough of it to know how to handle it.”

When the Red Hawk defense collapsed, Marauszwski was there with range, scoring five points in the first quarter.

With the score 15-5 late in the quarter, Gamberoni added the exclamation point of a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Two trends came to light by the end of the first half. Not only did the Warriors hold the Red Hawks to five points in each of the first two frames, but Gamberoni ended each half with the right decision.

“Ultimately, she finds whoever is open,” coach Kay explained. “If opponents collapse, she is going to find that shooter.”

The Red Hawk defense did just that at the end of the first half. Gamberoni cut into the paint and was greeted by a swam of Hawks, but found an open Noelle Furlong beyond the arc for her first of three 3s.

The Warriors led 30-10 at the half.

“We were all excited to get out there,” Gamberoni said. “We worked hard for four days of practice and we were ready for it. The nerves were obviously there, but we wanted to just get out on the court and play.”

The Red Hawks, who topped Palmer 54-46 in the opening round, came alive in the third quarter. Amelia Sobieski was a force on the boards for most of the night and was rewarded for her efforts with all six of her points in the third quarter, matching Kaitlyn Mackin for the team high.

Frontier put up 10 points in the frame, but so did the Warriors, with Furlong scoring five, keeping the Red Hawk deficit at 20.

“We had a lot of confidence early on, but it ran thin later in the game,” Frontier coach Dave Machon said. “We worked on X’s and O’s at the half, but it was a battle of will in the end.”

Wahconah 50,
Frontier Regional 23

Frontier Regional (15-7)

Warren 0-0-0, Self 2-0-4, Maes-Polan 0-0-0, Mackin 1-4-6, Sobieski 3-0-6, Laford1-1-3, Bridwell 0-0-0, Diemand 2-0-4. Totals 9-5-23.

Wahconah (17-4)

Morris 0-0-0, Furlong 5-0-13, Gagliardi 0-0-0, Belcher 1-0-3, Gamberoni 6-4-17, Cote 2-0-5, Marauszwski 4-1-12, Quinto 0-0-0, Eberwein 0-0-0, Taylor 0-0-0. Totals 18-5-50

3-Pointers—Wahconah 9 (Furlong 3, Marauszwski 3, Belcher, Gamberoni, Cote)