SOUTH HADLEY — South Hadley needed its defense to make one more stop.
With under 20 seconds to go, the Granby girls basketball had the ball and trailed the Tigers by a point.
The Rams got the ball to Nora Young at the top of the key. After a few dribbles, she drove into the paint and released a contested floater.
The ball bounced off of the back of the rim and out, but Young leaped and reached past the outstretched hands of South Hadley’s Paige Marjanski and Olivia Marion for the rebound. She put up a contested left-handed hook shot, but it fell short. Marjanski grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
She made both free throws at the other end to put the Tigers ahead by three. Granby’s Kaeleigh Croteau released a potentially game-tying 3-pointer as the final seconds ticked away, but her attempt fell short, sealing the South Hadley victory 46-43.
“I knew I just needed to focus on myself and do what I do every day in practice,” Marjanski said of her late free throws.
Marjanski scored a team-high 12 points for the Tigers (4-9, 2-1 Suburban). Marion chipped in 11.
Kaeleigh Croteau scored a game-high 22 points and made four 3s for the Rams (5-6, 1-2 Suburban).
“From the beginning we knew that it was going to be close,” Marjanski said. “We always play tough games against Granby in all sports. It’s a nice town to town rivalry. Going into the fourth quarter we knew we needed to execute and take care of the ball and finish the game strong.”
The Tigers allowed six points in the final quarter. Croteau scored all six points with two 3s.
“Our kids fought,” South Hadley coach Paul Dubuc said. “We played a lot of kids and they battled. … We’ve got girls diving down on the floor. That’s the way you’ve got to play.”
South Hadley knew that Young (12 points) would need to be accounted for on the defensive end. The American International College commit was double-teamed whenever she got the ball in the paint and was forced to kick the ball out to shooters along the outside.
“If you hold Nora Young to 12 points, you’ve done a pretty good job,” Dubuc said.
The Rams got into foul trouble late in the first half and gave South Hadley opportunities from the free throw line.
The Tigers made 17 free throws during the game.
“In the first half we got in a lot of foul trouble and we sent them to the line quite a bit,” Granby coach Tom Burke said. “That hurt us big time. … They made their free throws.”
With help from made free throws and a last-second tip-in before the buzzer from Megan Carey, South Hadley went into halftime ahead 29-20.
The Rams closed the gap as the third quarter progressed. Young played solid defense down low and initiated a few fast breaks by getting the ball to Croteau down court. Kayla McCreary and Croteau each made 3s to close the gap to 40-37 moving into the final frame.
“We’re not the most active team starting off in the second half, but we’re working on it,” Dubuc said. “We answered the bell today. We gave up a lead, but we know teams are going to make runs.”
The Rams grabbed the lead with three minutes to go with a 3 from Croteau, but turnovers and missed shots in the last few minutes of the game made it difficult for the Rams to build on its advantage.
“We missed too many easy shots,” Burke said. “We got shots in great spots, but you have to make the shots.”
Granby was without senior guard Julia Frappier due to an ankle injury she sustained during gym class at school that day.
“She’s some glue for us out there,” Burke said. “She’s a really great passer and defender. … That was a huge blow for us coming into the game, but the kids stepped up. Ella Laliberte, Gabby Walz, (Kristen) Trembley, they did a lot of good things out there. I think we got a little bit deeper tonight.”
The Tigers went 16-6 last season and nearly earned a spot in the Division 3 Western Mass. finals. This season has been an uphill battle, but Dubuc thinks that the group is making progress with every practice.
“We are trying to get better every day,” he said. “We talked with the freshmen a few days ago and said that they aren’t freshmen any more. We are in our league (schedule) now. These are huge. We have to work.”