We are about one-third of the way through the high school basketball season, so it’s time to begin rolling out our weekly high school basketball notebook. This series will run in print every Thursday through the rest of the winter, highlighting streaking teams, standout individual performances, important games and more. (Do you have any tips for notebook items that should be featured? Email me at gcote@gazettenet.com).

In this edition, we talk about several teams that are hitting their stride as the midway point of the season approaches (including one team coming off an overtime upset), as well as standout underclassmen that have been playing beyond their years for their respective teams.

That said, here is the first high school basketball notebook of the 2024-25 season:

Holyoke riding high behind rocking home crowd

The Purple Knights boys basketball team may have lost 1,000-point scorer Jamil Rodriguez, leading scorer Shawn Rivera and impact player Dylan Rohan to graduation following an impressive season in which they made it to the Division 2 Elite Eight, but it seems Holyoke hasn’t skipped a beat so far this winter.

Holyoke is currently 6-0, and on Monday night, the Purple Knights knocked off undefeated Springfield Central 77-74 at home in overtime in an early entry for Gazette area game of the year. Year in and year out, Holyoke is up there as one of the best high school basketball environments in the state. And if you feel skeptical about that statement, go back and watch the online stream of the Purple Knights’ game with Central – or go see a game in person for yourself. John “Jinx” O’Connor Gymnasium can be deafening, and it was one of the reasons Holyoke picked up the huge win over the Golden Eagles.

Chauncey Ruiz had 19 points and Jacob Andujar added 18 points on six 3s – each one electrifying the crowd – while Calvin Godbolt (14), Jordan King-Perilli (13) and Aden Cabrera (13) all had big games for the hosts as well.

With a balanced scoring attack and countless supporters giving Holyoke a real home-court advantage, the Purple Knights have what it takes to go just as far – if nor farther – in the Division 2 tournament come March.

Red-hot Orioles finding their groove

Belchertown boys basketball head coach Jim Hart, who’s in his first season with the program, said in the preseason that he felt the Orioles had the make-up of a competitive Division 3 squad for the 2024-25 campaign. But, he needed his players to learn the fundamentals and principles of defense for the team to reach its potential. And after losing the first two games of the year, Belchertown has since focused on that end of the floor.

The Orioles have given up an average of just 41 points per game over their last four contests (prior to Wednesday’s game with South Hadley), coincidentally all of them being double-digit wins. The increased defensive intensity has helped Belchertown’s offense as well, as it has scored 66 points or more (80-plus twice) throughout this winning streak.

A big win over Hoosac Valley on Dec. 18 – a game in which Brice Letendre dropped a whopping 37 points – put the Orioles in the win column, and they haven’t looked back since. An 86-15 win over Baystate Academy, 66-38 win over Granby and 74-43 demolishing of Easthampton ensued, and five players scored in double figures in two of those games.

Smith Voc winners of five straight

One of the biggest surprises through about a third of the basketball season has been the emergence of the Vikings girls basketball team. After dropping its first game of the year, Smith Vocational has won five in a row and positioned itself atop the Tri-County League South. The Vikings host Baystate Academy (4-0) on Friday, with the winner putting themselves in control of the league.

Smith Voc goes on the road for four straight games after its clash with Baystate, so a win would go a long way in gaining some momentum for the road trip.

Senior Makayla Tatro and junior Sofia Zina have led the way for the Vikings’ offense.

Young talent shining across the Valley

Almost everywhere you look, a team in the area has an underclassmen or two – or several – contributing heavily to its success this season. There have been more freshmen and sophomores starting than in recent memory, and it seems to be paying off for a lot of teams.

South Hadley girls basketball is loaded with ninth and 10th graders, and they happen to be the Tigers’ leading scorers. Cara Dean, Kate Phillips and Olivia Athas are top three in points on South Hadley, and each of them are either a sophomore or freshman. The Tigers are 5-1.

Aubrey Klingensmith (freshman), Kina Roy (freshman) and Morghan Litz (sophomore) are starters on the Belchertown girls team, and the Orioles are 4-2 and trending in the right direction.

Brayden Nichols-Staples and Eli Reid are a pair of sophomores that are second and third in scoring for the Northampton boys team, as are Tim Loughrey and Noah Hambley on South Hadley. Sophomores Kalli White and Brenna Moreno lead Granby girls in scoring, sophomores Addie Miklasiewicz and Shayne Moynahan are the first and second options for 5-3 Hampshire, and Anna Oravec, Liv Joensen and Emme Calkins are a trio of sophomores that start – and score a lot – for 4-2 Northampton.

The list can go on and on. There are tons of talented young players on display in Hampshire County this winter, and it’s been fun to watch thus far.