Girls basketball: South Hadley, Northampton looking to replicate last year’s success in 2024-25
Published: 12-16-2024 3:53 PM
Modified: 12-16-2024 4:09 PM |
SOUTH HADLEY — When a team reaches the state championship game, it’s typically led by a group of seniors – veteran players that have accumulated experience and played in pressure situations throughout their careers. They’re unfazed when playing in big games.
But that notion certainly wasn’t the case about the South Hadley girls basketball team last season. The Tigers had only one senior on their roster, Drew Alley, and they relied upon and trusted their handful of underclassmen time and time again en route to their MIAA Division 4 state championship game appearance. Although South Hadley fell short to No. 1 Cathedral, it went on one of the most impressive runs in quite some time in Hampshire County girls basketball.
The Tigers started the season 3-3, losing to Chicopee Comp, Hoosac Valley and Northampton, and had to travel to Wahconah for a difficult test looking to avoid dropping below the .500 mark. South Hadley scraped out a gutty 44-37 win, and it kick-started a stretch of 19 consecutive games without a loss – the next defeat not coming until the state final.
And so, with all but Alley back in the gym this winter, South Hadley once again has high hopes for the season.
“We’re all a year stronger and smarter,” Tigers head coach Paul Dubuc said. “We should have a good year if we stay grounded and we work our butts off. We understand nothing is going to be handed to us. We’re looking forward to it. It should be a fun year.”
South Hadley started off this season in dominant fashion, defeating Wahconah 61-38 at home on Thursday night. One of the team’s strengths in its run to the state title was depth, and the fact that the Tigers could hurt teams from anywhere on the floor at anytime. That seems to be the case in the 2024-25 season as well, as 10 different South Hadley players scored in the victory over Wahconah, including five players with seven or more points.
But even though the Tigers, on paper, have another spectacular opportunity to play for a state title, Dubuc has tried to put everything into perspective to his team early on. Just because they have the same players, doesn’t mean the same results are guaranteed.
That message has been received, at least so far.
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“They’re hungry. We’re going after it like it’s our first one,” Dubuc said. “[Alley is] not here, the seniors have to take ownership, and we’re going to go from there. The girls are excited. I told them flat out that we could have a better season and be a better team than we were last year, but we might not go as far. Things have to go your way. You have to stay healthy and you have to get some good bounces.”
South Hadley’s length and athleticism overwhelmed opposing teams, especially late in games when they were tired. Going back to the deep bench of the Tigers, they often didn’t suffer from fatigue in the fourth quarter. So when they put on their full-court press in the second half, it was turnover central – which led to easy baskets for South Hadley and its lead often grew quickly.
That should certainly be the case this season, too. Cara Dean, Caitlin Dean, Kate Phillips, Ava Asselin and Maddie Soderbaum all have the height and length to be disruptive on defense, and they’re all talented on offense. When South Hadley adds in CC Gurek, Olivia Athas, Taylor Bullough and several others, there really isn’t a weakness to this Tigers team.
Dubuc plans to play as many of his players as possible during the regular season.
“The only thing we’re expecting is to improve every single day,” Dubuc said. “Obviously we want to be back where we were last year. We love the responsibility of having that expectation and we want to work up to that. I’m not going to make any predictions, but we’re going to play hard. And I think we’re deeper this year. I expect to play at least 10 players. That’s what we’re going to try to do. CC, Caitlin Dean, Cara Dean, Kate Phillips, Maddie, Ava, all the seniors, they’re the leaders.”
South Hadley’s next game may just be its biggest regular season contest, a Wednesday night battle with Northampton – a Division 2 semifinalist last year.
The Blue Devils are similarly constructed to the Tigers. They’re big, they’re athletic, and they have a handful of scorers they lean on. Senior Bri Heafey put up 22 points in Northampton’s season-opening win over Amherst last Friday, sophomore Anna Oravec poured in 14, Makayla Fydenkevez added nine points and Liv Joensen scored eight. That’s not to mention sophomore Emme Calkins, who became one of Northampton’s most consistent 3-point weapons toward the end of last season.
The Blue Devils, like South Hadley, press and play fast. Head coach Perry Messer is going to use that to his advantage all year long.
“We’re going to use our length, and we’re pretty athletic,” Messer said. “It’s all about getting better every day. We want to be playing our best basketball when we get into March. We always have a tough league, and we’ve made our schedule even tougher than it’s been in the past. There aren’t going to be any easy breaks.”
Northampton lost to Springfield Central in the Western Mass. Class A finals, then won three straight Division 2 state tournament games to get to the Final Four. A hard-fought defeat to Worcester’s South High Community School ended its season. The Blue Devils won’t have seniors Ava Azzaro, Chloe Derby or Sarah Molnar this season, but their returners garnered valuable experience from last season’s deep run and are more than capable of filling those voids.
Expect Northampton and South Hadley to be Hampshire County’s two best girls basketball teams this season.
Although Belchertown, Hopkins Academy and Smith Academy didn’t have the seasons they were hoping for last winter, all three bring back almost all of their players for this season.
The Orioles lost only one senior and have Chloe LaRoche, who is 300 points shy of 1,000, leading the charge for the 2024-25 campaign as well as sophomore guard Morghan Litz. This Orioles roster is filled with athletes, which should help improve on their six wins from a year ago.
“We have a lot of very good young talent to mix with some veteran seniors,” Belchertown head coach Jason Woodcock said.
Hopkins is coming off a three-win winter, and after saying goodbye to only two seniors, the Golden Hawks are looking for more success this time around. Maggie Potter is the lone senior, and she’s expected to shoulder some of the offensive load along with junior Chloe Kosciusko. Freshmen Olivia Earle and Morgan Augustin are players to watch as well. First-year head coach Dick Coach described this Hawks team as “enthusiastic” and “high-energy.”
Smith Academy did sneak its way into the Division 5 state tournament last season before falling in the Round of 32 to Lenox. The trio of seniors that the Falcons have back are terrific talents, as Alexa Jagodzinski, Caitlin Graves and Piper Higuera are not just leaders on the floor, but off the floor too. Throw in juniors Anna Scagel and Molly O’Brien, and Smith Academy has plenty of options at its disposal this season.
“Our goal is an improved record from last year, make the playoffs and finish our season strong,” first-year head coach Tomie Lafond Zerneri said. “We expect to push ourselves to play our best every practice and game.”
Easthampton started the year hotter than anybody last season, winning its first eight contests in a row before suffering its first loss. The Eagles will be without their two leading scorers, Kayley Downie and Sophia Faginski (graduation), but senior Christine Raymond and junior Samone Young showed great flashes last winter and take over scoring duties this season. Senior Veronica Rapoza is another weapon at the forward position for this Easthampton group, coached by Brian Miller who is in his sixth season.
Smith Vocational ripped off six straight wins after losing its first three last year, and ultimately fell in the Division 5 preliminary round. Makayla Tatro had a monster year as a junior, and she’s primed for an even better one as a senior now only 153 points away from 1,000 in her career. Behind her and junior Sofia Zina, the Vikings will be another tough matchup for anyone in the Tri-County League South.
Lots of new faces will be patrolling the sidelines this season. Granby welcomes new head coach Dave Padavano to lead the Rams following an 11-10 season last winter. They’ll be a strong team in the Franklin County League West, with Kalli White, Autumn Sicard and Brenna Moreno serving as strong offensive options.
Hampshire also has a new head coach, as Jay Plamondon comes over from Elms College to assume a Raiders team that won 10 games a year ago. They should have no problem putting points on the board with Shayne Moynahan, Addie Miklasiewicz, Destiny Saltis and Alexandra Henrichon all returning following good showings last season.
Amherst adds to the list of teams with new head coaches. Anthony Quinones takes over for the Hurricanes, a team that struggled last season with a 4-16 record. Amherst only has three returning players from that team and Quinones said several of the ‘Canes players have never played basketball before. It’ll be another rebuilding year for Amherst, but Quinones is looking forward to watching his team improve throughout.
Junior guard Kiara Perez scored nearly 200 points as a sophomore for Holyoke last season, and she’s back and ready for another massive year. Purple Knights head coach Andrea Enright is in year No. 6 at Holyoke, and she’ll have four seniors to lead her team into 2025.