HADLEY — The offensive game of Brayleigh Burgh traveled well for the Franklin Tech girls basketball team in a 44-26 win over Hopkins Academy on Monday night.
Burgh’s marksmanship helped the Eagles (2-3, 1-1 Franklin South) erase an early deficit in the Franklin South contest. The road environment didn’t faze Burgh.
“I am somebody who can shoot when it gets all excited,” Burgh said. “I am the one who can shoot under pressure. That’s my thing. Yeah, we were falling apart at first, but we had to bring our team back together. Once everybody started getting into it and once everybody started getting excited it kind of pushed the five of us.”
Hopkins Academy (1-3, 0-2) had a 11-2 lead late in the first quarter before a Burgh 3-pointer cut the lead down to six points heading into the second quarter. Burgh finished with 20 points with four 3-pointers.
Eliminating turnovers was an emphasis for the Eagles. The defense played a big role in the game as well. Franklin Tech took the lead for good in the third quarter
“It was nice to see them dig in defensively and sort of battle back,” Franklin Tech Joe Gamache said. “The first quarter was a little bit rough. We started battling back and made it interesting. We rebounded and pushed it up the floor and executed. Made a lot more free throws and cut down on the turnovers.”
After a solid start, the offense disappeared for the Golden Hawks. Point guard Olivia Earle controlled the offense and scored three points for Hopkins.
“I think our mindsets changed throughout the game,” Earle said. “Whether it starts feeling heavy or we are getting tired. We start feeling down on ourselves from calls we don’t think are right…our mindsets just affect how we play a lot. We need to communicate with each other and pick each other up.”
Hopkins played without leading scorer Laney Crutch. Hopkins only scored seven points in the second half as the Eagles took their first lead in the third quarter on a strong take to the rim by Samantha Duncan.
“My bench was so short tonight,” Hopkins coach Richard Coach said. “That hurt. I think we just got gassed out there too. We wore down eventually out there. In the long run we are going to be okay. We are 1-1 in the league, and we have everything in front of us.”
A bucket by Lindsey Taylor gave the Eagles a 23-19 lead in the third quarter. Madyson Lynde nailed a jumper to increase the lead. Lynde finished with 11 points for the Eagles. The Golden Hawks showed some life in the fourth quarter after a bucket by Chloe Kosciusko cut the lead down to 30-24.
With the Hopkins’ student section chanting for defense, Lynde went to the basket on consecutive possessions and scored. The second time she added a free throw with the bucket. Duncan scored six of her nine points in the fourth quarter and went 4-for-5 from the line while protecting the lead for her team.
“It feels really good because we didn’t come out the best in the first quarter,” Lynde said. “As the team became more excited about the game. We all really woke up. It was really good to see the team camaraderie. I think that really helps us because that’s how we play. Everyone together.”
Cora White led Hopkins with eight points. Cosciusko added seven points for the Golden Hawks.
