SOUTH HADLEY — Heading into Tuesday’s tilt against Wahconah, expectations were mixed for the South Hadley girls basketball team. The Tigers were ranked No. 5 in the most recent MIAA Division 4 Power Rankings, just four spots behind No. 1 Wahconah. But the last times the two teams met was a lopsided affair, a 63-28 blowout win by the Warriors.
“We just wanted to play better. The last time we played them, it was a really off game for us,” South Hadley’s Talia Uribe said of the team’s last matchup.
The Tigers were determined to bring an intensity that they were lacking in that first game, and they delivered above and beyond what anyone could have predicted. Despite a heroic comeback effort and a home crowd that shouted itself hoarse, South Hadley fell just short in a heartbreaking 54-52 loss.
It was a tough pill to swallow for the Tigers (10-4), who thought they might be able to snatch the win away from the top-ranked team in their division. But despite the outcome, players said there was no other team they would have rather been playing than a side that could match them step for step.
“It’s really exciting, especially when they’re number one because that’s who you want to beat. That’s who you want to be playing against, the best team, so that you can be the best team, too,” Uribe said. “It’s really fun, especially when they come in your gym. It sucks to lose in your own gym, (but) I’m proud we came back.”
The contest had both highs and lows for the home team; toward the start, it seemed as though Wahconah (13-3) may run away with the game early. Though it took over two minutes for either team to work out the nerves and get their first basket, the Warriors took an early advantage and slowly built as much as a 13-point lead in the second quarter.
The Tigers did what they could to whittle it back down to a manageable gap, pulling within seven points toward the tail end of the half, but the Warriors still managed to march into the intermission with a 29-18 lead. Despite the deficit, South Hadley head coach Paul Dubuc knew his team had the ability to claw their way back into the mix.
“I love the way we play. I love our heart. I love our spirit. At halftime, we all knew we weren’t out of it,” Debuc said. “We just said, ‘let’s get a stop and a bucket.’”
That was exactly what his team did in the second half. The Tigers outscored the Warriors 13-6 in the third quarter, pulling back within four points heading into the final period, and they kept pouring on the pressure late.
When Kacie Levrault grabbed an offensive rebound in the fourth quarter for South Hadley and put it back to take the team’s first lead since the first quarter, the gym erupted, and it was game on from that moment forward.
It was a true team effort for the Tigers; nine different South Hadley players found the scoresheet, distributing the ball evenly to keep pace with the Warriors. Olivia Marion led the team with 14 points, while Uribe (9), Levrault (8), Cianna Guruk (5) and Alex Jackson (5) provided the majority of the team’s secondary scoring. But despite the comeback effort, it wasn’t enough for the ‘W.’
It’s likely that these two teams could see each other again, whether that be in the Western Mass. tournament (they were the top two teams in the most recent WMass Class B rankings) or MIAA state tournament. If that’s the case, playing them now gives the Tigers a better idea of how they’ll match up in the future, and more tape for the team to watch to break down. Even if they don’t face off again, playing a top-rated team this close to the postseason was a great preview of playoff action for South Hadley, getting them primed and ready for what the team hopes will be a deep playoff run.
And if they do meet Wahconah again?
“We’re gonna get the next one,” Marion said.