BELCHERTOWN — After the Belchertown girls basketball team took a 13-9 lead into the second quarter, visiting Drury went on a 7-1 spurt to start the frame and took a 16-14 lead. But the Blue Devils’ best ball handler, Jacinta Felix, ran into foul trouble and had to spend most of the quarter on the bench.

In response, Belchertown head coach Jason Woodcock shifted his defense to a full-court press.

It was all Orioles from there.

An 18-3 flurry ended the half, putting Belchertown ahead 32-19 at the break. And although Drury climbed back into the game in the second half, the hosts’ lead was too big to overcome as the Orioles defended their home floor in a 50-44 victory on Friday night.

“When [Felix] got her third foul in the second quarter, I called a timeout right away because I wanted to put our press back on,” Woodcock said. “The girls put good pressure on them, and that was the key. We were able to use that press to generate some early offense and pull away. To our girls’ credit, they separated. They rose to the occasion.”

Drury began the third quarter on an 8-0 run, but Belchertown quickly responded with a 6-0 spurt of its own. The Orioles’ 42-30 lead after three was cut down   to five, 49-44, in the final minute of the fourth, but Belchertown’s defense denie d  the Blue Devils of a ny open  shots and they couldn’t get any closer.

Chloe LaRoche led the way with 14 points for Belchertown, Morghan Litz scored 10 points, Aubrey Klingensmith added nine points and Kina Roy chipped in seven in the win.

Belchertown started three freshmen on Friday, and the Orioles have relied on their underclassmen for most of the season. They’ve played in several close games through their first half dozen this winter, which bodes well for them moving forward.

“Keeping the freshmen on the floor in critical moments, it’s a tremendous learning experience for all them, and they’ve had plenty of those moments already this year,” Woodcock said. “It’s a learning curve, and they’re starting to figure it out.”

Belchertown (4-2) next travels to Monument Mountain on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Northampton 49, Minnechaug 44 (OT) — The Blue Devils came away with a huge overtime win on Friday night behind 17 points from Bri Heafey, including some clutch free throws throughout the final stages.

Anna Oravec also scored 15 big points for Northampton while Emme Calkins added eight.

Renaissance 60, Granby 29 — Kalli White went for 22 points for the Rams in Friday night’s loss.

Smith Voc 59, PVCICS 17 — Makayla Tatro paced three Vikings in double figures with 17 points, and Smith Voc built a 21-3 lead after one quarter en route to the decisive victory.

Julianis Suarez scored 13 points and Sofia Zina added 10 for Smith Voc. Amirah Chabi-Yo led PVCICS with 12 points.

Hoosac Valley 59, Hampshire 46 — Shayne Moynahan scored 10 points for the Raiders, which fell into an early deficit but battled against the defending Division 5 state champions in a loss on Friday.

Frontier 70, Hopkins 26 — Addie Harrington tossed in 12 points while Harper Modestow added 11 points, helping the Redhawks improve to 8-0 on the season with a Franklin County League North triumph over the Golden Hawks at Goodnow Gymnasium Friday. 

Frontier led 36-14 at the half. 

Jazzy Hayes finished with nine points, Olivia Machon tallied seven points and Whitney Campbell added six points in the win. Chloe Kosciusko led Hopkins with 11 points while Reese MacGregor scored seven points and Cora White chipped in four points in the loss. 

Easthampton 42, Mahar 17 — The Eagles raced ahead 16-3 at the half to defeat the Senators  in a Franklin County League North contest in Orange on Friday. 

Samone Young finished with 12 points while Piper Collins and Veronica Rapoza both tallied eight points for Easthampton. 

Boys basketball

Smith Academy 54, Ludlow 44 — Garrett Willard poured in 17 points and Connor Kowalski followed with 13 as the Falcons kept the Lions at arm’s length on Friday night.

Longmeadow 72, Amherst 46 — Sam Woodruff’s 17 points led the way for the Hurricanes in a loss to the Lancers on Friday.

Boys swimming

Belchertown 99, West Springfield 81 — Ryan Shea ripped off wins in the 50-yard freestyle (23.23) and 200 free (2:00.89) to help the Orioles win a tight road dual meet on Friday.

James Zlogar took first in the 200 individual medley (2:11.98), and the quartet of Shea, Zlogar, Ryan Gould and Drake Dragon posted a winning time of 1:45.56 in the 200 medley relay.

Northampton 12, Chicopee 10 — Cole Mattison-Gulotta won two events to pace Northampton on Friday. Mattison-Gulotta won the 50 free (26.92) and 500 free (5:44.72).

Girls swimming

Northampton 81, Chicopee 56 — Amalia Guerra and Inez Dole won two individual events apiece to lift the Blue Devils to a road victory on Friday.

Guerra won the 200-yard freestyle (2:06.52) and 100 butterfly (1:09.52), and Dole touched first in the 100 backstroke (1:10.39) and 50 free (29.09). Caiel Kilip-Leonard took diving (201 points) and Saumya Kulp was the 100 breaststroke winner (1:29.15).

Belchertown 100, West Springfield 63 — Grace Perron won the 200 freestyle (2:02.62) and 100 fly (1:07.15) as the Orioles cruised to a win in West Springfield on Friday.

Valerie Williams (50 free, 28.73), Addyson Thomas (100 free, 1:05.06) and Aubrey Harrington (500 free, 6:10.69) were other individual winners for Belchertown.