Thanks to a thrilling championship-game performance, the West girls basketball team brought gold back across the Mass Pike on Sunday.
Greenfield’s Amber Bergeron sank a go-ahead jumper with less than 20 seconds remaining, and South Hadley’s Drew Alley made a free throw late to help the West secure a 66-64 win over top-seeded Southeast in the gold medal game of the 2022 Bay State Games at Emmanuel College in Boston.
West, which finished 4-1 overall in the tournament, avenged its only loss of the entire tournament after falling to Southeast in a pool play game (67-59) on Saturday.
“We made a few adjustments going into (the gold medal game),” West head coach Ralph Loos said. “It was sort of a dogfight.”
Bergeron led a balanced scoring attack with 10 points for the West, while Alley and Delaney MacPhetres of Amherst notched eight points apiece in the victory.
While playing in all-star team formats can be difficult, Loos said the West squad came together relatively quickly. The squad practiced about two times a week leading into the three-day tournament.
“I told the kids if we’re going to do this, we might as well play to win,” Loos said. “We tried to be on the same page and I think it kind of showed in the end.”
Amherst’s Tessa Kawall and Sara Hastie also provided key minutes for the West throughout the weekend, while Granby rising freshman Aubrey Parent made an immediate impact on the floor.
“She played really well in some moments and that’s a lot to ask from a kid that age,” Loos lauded of Parent.
In Sunday’s final pool play game prior to winning gold, the West captured a 77-62 win over Coastal behind a team-high 25 points from MacPhetres. Niyama Adedovah followed with 12 points while Alley tossed in 11.
West also scored wins over Metro (62-55) on Friday and Central (90-64) on Saturday.
Guerrero earns All-Star selection
The Valley Blue Sox will send one representative to the NECBL All-Star Game, as outfielder AJ Guerrero was tabbed for the South Division squad.
This summer’s game will be hosted by the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks at The Shark Tank on July 24.
Each division’s All-Star roster consists of nine pitchers (a starter, seven relievers and a closer); a starter and two substitute catchers; a starter and substitute for the four other infield positions (1B, 2B, SS, 3B); a starter and substitute at designated hitter; three starting and substitute outfielders; and one Coach’s Selection made by each manager for a total of 29 players per squad. A fan vote will round out each Division’s roster to 30 players.
The festivities begin on July 24 at 2 p.m. with the Home Run Derby. The All-Star Game is set to start at 4:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $5 for kids, $10 for general admission and $15 for the reserved grandstand.