HOLYOKE – In a rematch of last year’s PVIAC Class B girls basketball final, South Hadley couldn’t go back-to-back as it was edged by Pittsfield, 52-47, Saturday afternoon at Holyoke Community College.

The Generals exacted some revenge against the Tigers after falling 48-40 in 2024.

Second-seeded South Hadley (18-3) entered the matchup winners of five straight, but faltered against a talented, top-ranked Pittsfield team that has only lost once all season.

“We played hard, we were right there,” Tigers head coach Paul Dubuc said. “We had it to a possession. We fouled them at the end, gave them a reset, which didn’t help, but my girls played so hard. If anybody is to blame, I’m to blame, I’ll take the responsibility.”

The Generals (20-1) led 45-38 after the third quarter, but South Hadley cut the deficit down to five with about 90 seconds to go. Cara Dean made a layup to bring it to 50-47 in favor of Pittsfield with 40.9 seconds left, but that wound up being the last basket the Tigers made. The Generals weren’t in any hurry to score and forced South Hadley to foul on its ensuing possessions. Pittsfield sank two of its final four free-throw attempts to seal the victory.

Kate Phillips produced 12 points to pace the Tigers while Olivia Athas and Cara Dean each tallied 10 points.

“She’s tough, she’s really tough,” Dubuc said of Phillips. “[Cianna] Gurek was a leader, she doesn’t come out much, she was playing sick, she played her heart out so we’re not worried too much about it.

“I thought our seniors played pretty good,” Dubuc added. “[Dean] always plays hard.”

Ava Asselin (three points), Caitlin Dean (five points) and Gurek (seven points) rounded out the scoring for the Orange and Black.

Pittsfield was aggressive on defense all game and the Tigers struggled to counteract. The Generals forced numerous turnovers and earned multiple steals Saturday, which limited South Hadley’s scoring opportunities. In their previous nine games — all wins – the Generals allowed an average of 36.5 points.

“They’re good, they’re 19-1 for a reason,” Dubuc said. “We were there with them, we had them a couple different times and we just let them off the hook. It’s only going to make us better.”

Pittsfield’s Harolyn Castillo was a force, particularly in the paint, as the Generals’ No. 5 snagged rebounds seemingly left and right. Castillo contributed 10 points as well, trailing only Caprese Conyers’ game-high 15 points for the victors. Kyana Summers also played well for Pittsfield with nine points.

The Tigers trailed by a possession after eight minutes (13-10) and at halftime (29-28), however a 16-point third quarter from the Generals proved to be too big of a gap for South Hadley to overcome.

Saturday’s result had no bearing on the Tigers’ MIAA state tournament seed, which was announced prior to tip off. South Hadley earned the No. 3 spot in the Division 4 tournament and will play the winner of No. 30 Southwick and No. 35 Maimonides in the Round of 32.

“It’s not like our season’s done and we’re going home and crying,” Dubuc said. “We’ll be ready for whoever’s next.”

Elsewhere in the Division 4 bracket, Frontier (No. 13) and Hampshire (No. 17) received byes into the Round of 32, while Easthampton and Smith Voc will compete in the preliminary round.

The Eagles will host Tri-County on Monday at 5 p.m. The Vikings will head to Winthrop on a day and time still to be announced.