Girls basketball: Emme Calkins leads Northampton to 68-52 victory over South Hadley

NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton girls basketball team handled South Hadley in a 68-52 victory at home on Thursday night. The Blue Devils’ second win in a row also serves as their eighth so far this season.

Northampton got off to a strong start in the first quarter, with South Hadley calling a timeout after starting the game down 7-0. The Tigers switched into a zone defense after the slow start, having a bit more success with an aggressive half-court trap.

The trapping zone gave the Blue Devils’ ball-handlers some problems, making getting the ball up the court a challenge. Northampton struggled with a few turnovers down the stretch, becoming more confident as time passed.

Offensively, South Hadley couldn’t find a groove early on, missing multiple open looks from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils’ frequently switching, man-to-man defense came with a high-risk, high-reward mentality, with the Tigers unable to capitalize.

“I thought we played real good defense starting the game,” Northampton head coach Perry Messer said. “We came out, and shut [the Tigers] down in the first quarter, stayed after them, but gave up too many open looks from the 3-point line… That’s what kept them in the game.”

Facing a sizable deficit at halftime, South Hadley came out of the break with a new mindset. The Tigers got themselves back in the game, draining the momentum out of the Blue Devils’ home crowd for a limited time before the deficit increased again.

Emme Calkins continued to find success for Northampton, leading the team in scoring and playing aggressive defense throughout all four quarters.

The junior was efficient from the outside, hitting a trio of 3-pointers out of her nine total made shots from the field, and finishing the game with 29 points.

“[Calkins] makes the right plays 90% of the time,” Messer said. “She’s making the right decisions, and she’s leading by example.”

Cara Dean and Taylor Bullough led South Hadley in scoring on Thursday, hitting a combined four 3-pointers and walking away with 14 points each in the loss.

The Tigers showcased their depth throughout the game, with seven of the eight players who saw playing time scoring at least one point.

“Everybody might have the best player when they play us, but we’re gonna have the next three, or we’re gonna be close,” South Hadley head coach Paul Dubuc said.

Second-chance opportunities came frequently for the Blue Devils, with Anna Oravec and Liv Joensen leading the way by aggressively attacking the offensive glass and generating extra offensive possessions.

Oravec put together a solid night all around, tallying the second-most points of any player with 19 in the win.

Northampton did all it could to put up more shots than the Tigers, pairing the aggressiveness on the glass with a full-court press in the second half to force turnovers.

South Hadley made the most of its offensive opportunities in the fourth quarter, clawing back into the game to make it interesting. The Tigers found themselves facing a deficit in the single digits with under three minutes to play, but couldn’t fully put the comeback together before the final buzzer sounded.

With the win, the Blue Devils improve to 8-4 on the season. They’ll look to continue their two-game winning streak on Monday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. on the road against Springfield Central.

“We’re striving to get a little bit better each day, so that’s half the battle,” Messer said. “We just keep going. That’s the biggest takeaway. Just keep playing hard, keep attacking.”

The loss for South Hadley puts its record at 3-7 this season, looking to get back in the win column on Friday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. on the road against Pioneer Valley Christian Academy.

“I’ll never question my kids’ effort, because they played their butts off,” Dubuc said. “They play hard. They don’t give up. We just got caught in a couple of situations… It’s a grind, man. But we’re in it. We’re in it for the long haul.”