It was an impressive start for the West girls basketball team in the Bay State Games on Friday. 

The West opened the day with a 57-24 blowout win over Central and followed it up by defeating Coastal 54-23 to go 2-0 on the day at Emmanuel College in Boston. 

After winning gold at last summer’s Bay State Games, West head coach Ralph Loos said he has the talent on this year’s squad to make another run at the title.

“They played well today,” Loos, who also coaches the Amherst girls varsity team, said. “It’s a lot of the same kids from last year who won the championship. We’ll be playing more challenging games [Saturday] but if we play to our potential, we’ll be pretty good. It’s a good group of kids.” 

Greenfield’s Amber Bergeron led the way in the opening game of the day against Central, scoring eight points and pulling down a plethora of rebounds. Drew Alley of South Hadley, Niyama Adadevoh of Amherst, Olivia Chrzan of Monson and Margaret Edwards of Williston Northampton each scored seven points. Amherst’s Audrey Bowen tossed in six points, fellow Hurricane Sara Hastie scored five points and Granby’s Aubrey Parent tallied three points in the win.

It was Amherst’s Tessa Kawall and Bergeron who took over in the win over Coastal, as Kawall scored 15 points and Bergeron tossed in 14 points. Chrzan tossed in 10 points, Bowen, Adadevoh and Parent each scored five points, Hastie tallied three points and Edwards sank a free throw to round out the scoring. 

Easthampton’s Kayley Downie and Chicopee’s Blaize Mack also competed for the West squad. 

“If I had to name an MVP from today it’d be Amber and Drew,” Loos said. “They both played phenomenal today. It was a pretty balanced effort. We want to play fast and that really suits both Amber and Drew’s games.” 

With four Amherst players on the team, mixed with plenty of familiarity among the Western Mass. basketball community, developing chemistry on the court hasn’t been a challenge for the West squad. 

“Having those Amherst kids on the team and getting to coach them for the final time is emotional,” Loos said. “I do this so I can coach those kids one last time before college. With only three new kids from last year it’s been great to see them come in and play well right away. These kids know each other and play with or against each other. Western Mass. is a tight knit basketball community. That piece makes it easier. I don’t have to do much and can just be a cheerleader most of the time.” 

Loos said he was most impressed with the effort his squad showed on the defensive end of the court, as the West team wasn’t just concerned with putting the ball in the basket. 

“My only job is to get them to play hard,” Loos said. “They’re plenty talented. We played hard today and that’s what I care about. I was more impressed with how they played on defense today. These kids can get out of bed and score the ball. Seeing them compete on defense was encouraging.” 

The West is back in action on Saturday at Emerson, facing off against Southeast at noon and Northeast at 3:30 p.m. West will close out pool play on Sunday against Metro before the medal rounds begin that afternoon. 

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