MIAA basketball: Hampshire girls’ offense sputters in 52-33 loss to Tyngsborough in D4 Round of 16

WESTHAMPTON — The No. 8 Hampshire Regional girls basketball team struggled in the second half of Wednesday night’s MIAA Division 4 Round of 16 matchup against No. 9 Tyngsborough in its 52-33 loss.

Coming out of the break, down 17-15, the Raiders started the third quarter pretty even with the Tigers. Over time, the deficit continued to widen, with Tyngsborough’s three-quarters-court trap wearing down its opponent.

Hampshire’s offensive struggles were persistent through the final 16 minutes of play, ending the night with just 33 points on the board, its third-lowest scoring game of the season.

“We didn’t hit shots,” Raiders head coach Jason Plamondon said. “You’ve got to make shots in the postseason. In the Round of 16, everybody’s good. There are no teams left that you can make defensive mistakes and not hit shots and win.”

The Tigers found a groove on the offensive end down the stretch, scoring more than double their total from the first half (17) in the second (35). Tyngsborough found success at all three levels, with an emphasis on turning their defensive stops into easy buckets.

“[The Tigers] are really good,” Plamondon said. “They’re hard to defend because they have five players that can put the ball on the floor, but also hit shots. It’s hard to defend that when you put five shooters out there. They’re a dangerous team.”

As the fourth quarter came to a close, Tyngsborough’s momentum propelled it to a substantial lead. Hampshire kept up the effort as time continued to wind down, diving on loose balls and pushing the ball up the court until the final buzzer.

“Everything we did at the end of the game is everything that I’m extremely proud of,” Plamondon said. “We had each other’s backs. We had girls chanting defense. We had girls supporting each other even when they were out of the game, even when we were playing our younger girls. That’s what this program is about.”

Addie Miklasiewicz led the effort for the Raiders as the junior picked up a number of steals that caught her opponent off guard, playing through the whistle on each possession.

By the end of the night, Miklasiewicz tallied a team-high 10 points, emptying the tank in what ended up being the final game of her junior campaign.

“[Miklasiewicz] has grown so much over the past two years as a person, as a leader, as a player,” Plamondon said. “She’s just an amazing person. And that’s where it starts. Basketball is basketball. If you’re an amazing person, you’re a hard worker, you’re a good teammate, everything else [follows].”

The Tigers had three different players reach double figures on Wednesday, led by a 16-point effort out of Alexis Deschenes, who tallied at least three points in all four quarters of play.

As a young team, Hampshire gained some valuable experience in the loss, looking back on the season with a positive mindset. Alexandra Henrichon and Makayla Labrie’s contributions as seniors will be missed, but the future for the Raiders is bright.

“They changed this place,” Plamondon said of his seniors. “I got here last year, and they bought in since day one. It’s all been about getting a group of girls that really loved each other. That’s all they wanted. And you could see that [Wednesday], they all fought for each other. Some nights, it’s just not your night.”

“They really developed a team chemistry that’s beyond any game we could win,” Plamondon continued. “I know we didn’t win the game on the scoreboard. We’ve won the season just based on the way they fought for us.”

No. 3 South Hadley 80, No. 14 West Bridgewater 28 — The Tigers were nearly unstoppable on offense in their blowout Round of 16 win on Wednesday.

South Hadley outscored the visitors 26-6 in the first eight minutes and never looked back, advancing to the Round of 8 against No. 6 Southwick.

Taylor Bullough energized the Tigers’ attack, scoring 25 points, with five 3-pointers highlighting the performance. Kate Phillips (15 points), Cara Dean (14 points) and Olivia Athas (10 points) helped South Hadley drop its second-highest point total on the season.

Division 2

No. 4 Foxborough 56, No. 13 Northampton 43 — The Blue Devils saw its tournament run come to a close in their Round of 16 loss on Wednesday.

Northampton rounded out the season, 14-8.

Boys basketball

Division 4

No. 1 Wareham 83, No. 17 South Hadley 67 — The Tigers’ season came to an end in the defeat to the top-seeded Vikings.

South Hadley concluded the campaign at 11-11 overall.