AMHERST — Northampton senior Kolbie Jones went scoreless in the first half of the Western Massachusetts Division 2 championship against Taconic. She particularly had trouble with her matchup against guard Faith Cross.
“The big thing is I told Kolbie ‘stop letting her push you around, you’re a senior, she’s a freshman. I know she’s big but you have to put more physicality into it and get her off the box and off the basket,’” Northampton coach Perry Messer said. “I thought Kolbie did a better job in the second half of that.”
Much like the rest of the Blue Devils this year, Jones’ role changed as she began to attack more.
“During the first half, I wasn’t attacking,” Jones said. “I’d be looking to pass because I knew we could get a lot of outside shots.”
After not scoring in the first half, Jones came out with an explosive third-quarter performance. She had eight points by the end of the quarter. She added four points in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 12.
“She was just being strong. I’ve never see her be so confident in herself,” Amanda Mieczkowski said. “I was so happy for her to see her confidence coming out finally. She didn’t care who was in front of her. She did not hesitate, and that’s what we need from her.”
Jones and Mieczkowski kept finding each other and connecting in the middle of the court to set up scoring plays. Jones’ spike in production in the second half didn’t just come from the chemistry with Mieczkowski. Messer encouraged the team to follow through with shots and drive harder.
“I think during halftime Perry really brought up the fact that we have to execute because we were looking at the shots we weren’t following,” Jones said. “Perry said I can drive and I can get as many baskets as everyone else on the team so I really took that to heart during the second half. I looked to drive more and get more open layups and fouls that led to more shots. By driving I was able to be there for rebounds too.”
Northampton will play Nashoba in the state semifinals at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday at AIC in Springfield. Knowing the next loss will end the season has been a motivator for Jones.
“I can’t say ‘you know, I’ll make it next time’ or ‘next time I can run harder, I can rebound better,” Jones said. “I have to play 110 percent every game because it could be my last. If I don’t, it very well could be my last, so that runs through my brain every time. I have to play every game and every possession like it could be our last because it very well could be.”