HATFIELD — The Smith Academy girls basketball team mounted a second-half comeback in its 40-31 victory over Franklin Tech on Monday night.
Heading into the halftime break, the Falcons faced a 21-17 deficit. They came out of the break with a new mentality, outscoring the Eagles by five in the third quarter and eight in the fourth.
“Halftime adjustments were to have a little patience, stay in control and not play into any franticness,” Smith Academy head coach Tomie Lafond Zerneri said. “When we get offensive rebounds, bring the ball back out, run our offense, stay in control and keep going to the basket.”
Anna Scagel led the Falcons in scoring on Monday, hitting two 3-pointers in a 15 point effort in the win. The senior was active on defense as well, creating turnovers and forcing tough shots on the other end.
“[Scagel] seems like she’s finally got her confidence,” Lafond Zerneri said. “She’s really been very hard on herself. She feels like she has to do well for everybody. Everyone’s counting on her. So it was nice to see her finally, like, take a breath and relax and just play. I’m really proud of her.”
Right behind Scagel was Vivan Higuera, who got to the free-throw line at will en route to a 14 point night. The freshman facilitated the offense throughout the game, helping break a consistent Franklin Tech press defensively.
This season has forced Higuera to learn a new position as well, shifting from a shooting guard to the team’s main ball-handler at point guard. The change has gone well so far, with consistent development.
“[Higuera’s] learning how to be that director as a point guard, but also get herself to the basket,” Lafond Zerneri said. “She’s been doing a really good job of keeping us composed and really directing and learning a new position all at the same time.”
With the win, the Falcons improved to 4-4 overall, responding after a tough loss on Friday. They’ll be back in action at home on Wednesday, Jan. 14 hosting Granby at 7 p.m.
“[Monday] played out great,” Lafond Zerneri said. “We’ve been really working up to this. We’ve been trying to take our small wins, and [Monday] we kind of put it all together finally, and checked off all the boxes.”
Smith Voc 47, Duggan 32 — The Vikings continued their strong start to the season, winning their third straight game.
Sofia Zina made five shots on Monday, finishing with a game-high 12 points for Smith Voc.
Savannah Fredette made five shots of her own, tallying 10 points in the win.
South Hadley 62, Chicopee Comp 32 — The Tigers put a halt to their five-game losing streak with a dominant victory on Monday.
Cara Dean exploded for 27 points, including four made 3-pointers. Oliva Athas hit three long range shots of her own, finishing her night with 18 points.
Monday’s contest was the first of a three-game homestand, hoping to continue the positive momentum on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. against Pittsfield.
Frontier 70, Hoosac Valley 41 — The Redhawks cruised past the Hurricanes at Goodnow gymnasium in Suburban league play.
Addie Harrington dropped 20 points with six assists, four blocks and three rebounds. Whitney Campbell scored 14 points with six rebounds and six assists. Skyler Steele scored 20 points for Frontier.
Harper Modestow had eight points, seven rebounds and six assists for Frontier. (8-1, 6-0 Suburban).
Boys basketball
Amherst 69, Holyoke 55 — The Hurricanes hurried past the Purple Knights, notching their fifth straight win.
Gael Buford (23 points) and Sam Woodruff (20 points) carried the Amherst offense, which scored at least 14 points each quarter.
Holyoke got a game-high 28 points from Jordan King-Perilli.
Hockey
Amherst 4, Brattleboro (Vt.) 3 — Four different goalscorers pushed the Hurricanes past the out-of-state opponent at Orr Rink.
Grahm Arguin, Ethan Mooney, Noah Latullippe and Brody Palmisano all found the back of the net for Amherst, while goalie Jason Kim totaled 25 saves.
Gabe Alexander recorded a hat trick for the Bears.
Sunday Results
Springfield Central Lady Eagle HS Tournament
South Hadley, Frontier, Smith Voc/Northampton and PVCICS/Granby all had representation at Sunday’s wrestling tournament, with each team earning a top-four finish.
Grace Brach walked away with the No. 1 spot at 152 pounds, defeating Peyton King (Agawam), Destiny Rosado (Springfield Central) and Pratika Pradhan (Putnam) in the process.
Jocelyn Antes nabbed second place for the Redhawks at 126 pounds, defeating Shaelynn Nicholls (South Hadley) and Lucy Martin (West Springfield). Ruth Polin Galay came in third place at 138 pounds for the Vikings, winning the consolation bracket over Isabella Beaulieu (Agawam).
Eunice Lo finished in fourth place at 114 pounds for the Dragons, beating Zoe Chagnon (Chicopee) in the consolation bracket.
Saturday Results
Wrestling
Frontier 42, Agawam 30
Frontier 42, Simsbury 36 — The Redhawks defeated both opponents in their meet on Saturday, both in close contests.
Jocelyn Antes won by pin (1:17) at 120 pounds against the Brownies, with a win by fall (1:44) against the Trojans at 126 pounds. Konnor James won by fall in both of his bouts at 157 pounds (1:14 and 1:07, respectively).
Jack Phillips pinned his opponents at 1:23 against both schools at 175 pounds. Casey Bestler won by fall (1:16) at 190 pounds against Agawam and again at 215 pounds against Simsbury.
Longmeadow, 49 South Hadley 30 — The Tigers fell to the Lancers on Saturday, with just three wins over the 11 competing weight classes.
Patrick Lavelle pinned Jack Chandler at 126 pounds, Logan Luis defeated Issac Root at 150 pounds and Jasiel Ramos pinned John Pappas at 190 pounds.
Holyoke 64, Frontier 18 — The Purple Knights took care of business against the Redhawks at James E Vincent Gym in Southwick.
Josiah Cedeno (106), Jan Luis Rivie Cartagena (132, major decision), Alexander Ramos (175) and Jacob Rosa (190) earned wins for Holyoke.
Friday results
Swimming
Northampton 120, Palmer 50 (girls) – Safia Abdul-Knerr swam to a pair of first-place finishes in the Blue Devils’ victory at the JFK Middle School Pool.
Abdul-Knerr claimed first in the 100 butterfly in 1:08.39 and 100 backstroke in 1:05.63.
Northampton’s 400 free relay squad of Clara Bloomenthal, Willa O’Donnell, Claire King and Abdul-Knerr dominated, winning the event by nearly 30 seconds with a time of 4:20.61.
Palmer 92, Northampton 58 (boys) – The Blue Devils were led by Taj and Mazen Abdul-Knerr in the loss to the Panthers.
Taj Abdul-Knerr took the 200 IM (2:17.48) and the 100 breaststroke (1:07.90), while Mazen Abdul-Knerr managed the top spot in the 100 backstroke (1:01.60) and the 200 free (2:04.13).