SOUTH DEERFIELD — After a hard-fought loss to Pittsfield in the Western Mass. Class B semifinals, the Frontier girls basketball team was more than ready for its MIAA Division 4 tournament opener against Manchester Essex on Thursday. 

After a slow start offensively, the 13th-seeded Redhawks found their rhythm in the second quarter to take a 20-14 halftime advantage before outscoring the 20th-seeded Hornets 31-19 in the second half to run away with a 51-33 Round of 32 victory at Goodnow Gymnasium. 

Frontier (18-3) advanced to the Round of 16 where it will face fourth-seeded Bourne, which knocked off Easthampton, 71-37, in another Round of 32 contest Thursday. The date and time was still to be determined at press time.

“Every single game, every team is going to be scratching and clawing to win,” Redhawks coach Dave Machon said. “It’s win or go home. I tell the girls, upper seed, lower seed you have to have that mentality and you have to play to win or else you go home.” 

It was the defensive effort that carried Frontier on Thursday. 

The Redhawks didn’t give Manchester Essex (9-13) any easy looks at the rim, forcing the Hornets to settle for deep shots outside. 

Frontier’s press also was able to turn the ball over which led to easy hoops on the other end. 

“I’ve been preaching that defense wins championships for five years,” Machon said. “I was happy with how we played defensively and ran our defense tonight. It’s new to us but it was working tonight.” 

It was a low scoring first quarter, as Addie Harrington tallied in the paint, Skyler Steele drained a 3-pointer and Whitney Campbell made a pair from the stripe while Lily Oliver scored all seven points for Manchester Essex to tie thing at seven after eight minutes. 

The Frontier defense was swarming the Hornets early in the second quarter, not allowing Manchester Essex to score until the four minute mark of the frame. Frontier’s Harper Modestow got to the rim for two and hit a 3 while Steele made a jumper to give the Redhawks a 14-7 lead. 

The Hornets chipped away as Oliver hit a 3 late in the quarter but Claire Kirkendall closed the half with a jumper for Frontier that gave the Redhawks a 20-14 lead at the intermission. 

Frontier took control in the third. 

Olivia Machon got things started with a basket and followed it with a 3-pointer. Emerald Jakes responded with a basket for Manchester Essex but the Redhawks then went on a 9-0 run off six points from Modestow, two from Campbell and a free throw from Steele to take a 34-16 lead. 

The Hornets made a trio of shots to cut the lead to 36-24 going into the fourth but Harrington scored a trio of points before Campbell and Kirkendall added baskets that gave Frontier a 43-27 lead late in the frame to put the game away. 

After playing a grueling schedule before the tournament, the Redhawks feel more than ready for the challenging opponents it’ll be facing moving forward. 

“Seeing Pittsfield, seeing Wahconah, seeing Belchertown to wrap up the regular season, we had a lot of tough competition right at the right time to prepare us for the tournament,” Dave Machon said. “It was great preparation.” 

Div. 4 Round of 32

No. 3 South Hadley 65, No. 30 Southwick 37 – Less than a week removed from a loss in the Class B title game, the Tigers showed no signs of rust in their state tournament opener Thursday night.

Cara Dean scored nine of her team-high 19 points in the first quarter, and South Hadley marched into the Round of 16 thanks to a 65-37 victory over Southwick.

The third-seeded Tigers will next host either No. 14 Littleton or No. 19 Blue Hills in the Sweet 16.

Olivia Athas and Kate Phillips tallied 15 points apiece for South Hadley, which led 16-11 after one quarter and 26-17 at halftime before turning it on in the second half. A massive 30-6 advantage in the third quarter created more than enough breathing room for the hosts. CC Gurek added eight points for the Tigers.

No. 16 Uxbridge 45, No. 17 Hampshire 39 – After a convincing preliminary round win over South Lancaster earlier in the week, the Raiders were unable to continue their winning ways Thursday in a Round of 32 loss on the road in Uxbridge.

Hampshire closed out its season 13-9 overall. Uxbridge advanced to play at top-seeded Cathedral in the Round of 16.

No. 4 Bourne 71, No. 29 Easthampton 37 – A trip to the Cape led to the end of the Eagles’ season Thursday night.

Powerhouse Bourne eliminated Easthampton in the Div. 4 Round of 32 thanks to a 71-37 victory.

The Eagles finished their season 12-11 overall. Bourne (20-2) will host Frontier in the Round of 16.

Div. 3 Round of 32

No. 1 St. Mary’s Lynn 68, No. 33 Belchertown 16 – The top-seeded Spartans looked the part, storming out to a double-digit lead after the first quarter and a 33-8 halftime advantage en route to a victory Thursday in Lynn.

St. Mary’s Lynn will host No. 16 Newburyport in the Round of 16.

The Orioles, which took down Dover-Sherborn thanks to a buzzer-beater earlier this week, finished their season 12-10.