The Amherst Regional High School girls basketball team celebrated incredible success on the court this season, amassing an impressive record of 15-1 in a dominant winter on the hardwood.
The Hurricanes fell just three points (and eight seconds) shy of an undefeated campaign, losing to Chicopee midway through the season.
Managing stats like that is quite challenging not only given the competitiveness of Division 2 basketball programs in surrounding regions, but also because this winter season was unlike anything in the past. The opportunity to play meant strictly following COVID regulations, which included mask-wearing and keeping a close eye on for symptoms of both coaches and players.
Amherst coach Ralph Loos began his coaching career in the youth ranks in Amherst, eventually coaching girls basketball at Westfield and Frontier Regional. Loos mentioned that he always “had an eye on Amherst,” however, and took over as head coach last year.
Being fairly new to the program, Loos discussed some of the details regarding how this year’s protocols impacted the team’s performance. He vowed to not coach differently despite the lack of a postseason tournament
“All of the coaches made an effort to do nothing different than a normal year other than the obvious protocols and rule changes,” Loos said. “I am exceedingly proud of the girls and everything they sacrificed to make this season a success.”
He credited Amherst athletic director Victoria Stewart, who played basketball at UMass, and her support of the program in part for their success. Loos also thanked Amherst’s school committee, board of health and the program’s families for helping develop a plan to compete safely and allowing their kids to be a part of the program.
“As a staff, that was a trust we took very seriously,” he said. “The fact we played 16 games in these crazy times was the work of so many people, and our team is just so grateful for it all.”
Petua Mukimba, a senior captain who played in the post, wasn’t sure she’d be able to breathe in the mask.
“I was surprised about how capable I was. I missed doing the tip-off jump ball at the beginning, but I understood from the beginning that it is a great privilege and risk to even play,” she said. “I am very grateful for the MIAA, our school committee and our athletic director, Victoria Stewart, for making basketball possible for us and keeping us all safe.”
The circumstances didn’t slow the team down, and Loos credited the Hurricanes’ depth for their success. They only graduated one senior last year: 1,000-point scorer Erin Klaes (now at Springfield College) from a Division 2 semifinalist.
“The team gained a ton of experience last year. When myself and my assistants, Peter Thurber and Morrissa Heilman, took over the program last year, we really preached ‘not letting good enough, be enough’ and the kids have really embraced that idea,” Loos said. “The fact that we could at any time, choose from 11 kids who all knew what is expected and the effort that was needed to get where we all wanted to go with the team, was such a huge advantage.”
Loos also attributed the team’s success to not only the roster as a whole, but the great leadership from Mukimba and Mayouri Yath, the team’s other senior captain.
“We just all enjoyed playing with each other again and just had fun on the court,” Yath said. “Playing basketball became everyone’s peace, especially during a pandemic. It was nice to have some normalcy back in our lives such as high school sports. I’m very grateful I could be a part of the team for one last time before I graduate and to be a captain.”
With just two seniors on the roster, the future also remains quite bright for the Hurricanes. Junior Delaney MacPhetres had another standout season and should be among the best players in Western Mass. when she returns as a senior. Sophomores Daizany Mares and Tessa Kawall are other young stars ready to continue their ascent into the spotlight with another year under their belts.