UMass basketball: Minutewomen to open Atlantic 10 tourney against Saint Louis

By GARRETT COTE

After defeating George Washington in their regular season finale on Feb. 26, the UMass women’s basketball team completed a turnaround for the ages and earned the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

“Instilling an expectation of success:” How Greg Carvel became UMass hockey program’s all time winningest coach

By RYAN AMES

‘Winning’ and ‘UMass hockey’ were like oil and water before Greg Carvel arrived in Amherst.

UMass football: Minutemen announce schedule for 2025 season, will open MAC slate Oct. 4 against Western Michigan

The UMass football team and Mid-American Conference announced the release of their official schedules for the 2025 season on Wednesday. 

Div. 4 girls basketball: Cara Dean, Kate Phillips send No. 3 South Hadley past No. 14 Littleton in Round of 16 (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

SOUTH HADLEY — Paul Dubuc thought he wrote Cara Dean’s name down on the board as part of the list of starters for the third quarter on Tuesday night. Dean, a sophomore, is a regular in the South Hadley girls basketball team’s starting lineup. Dubuc turned to his bench and asked, “where’s Cara,” after the first possession of the second half. She was sitting down waiting patiently to get subbed back in.

MIAA tourneys: Emme Calkins, No. 9 Northampton handle No. 8 Westwood for spot in Div. 2 Elite 8

After making a run to the state semifinals a year ago, the Northampton girls basketball team is once again in the mix for a Final Four berth.

Boys basketball: Rockport upsets No. 3 Granby 51-46 in Div. 5 Round of 16 (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

GRANBY — A see-saw first half between the No. 3 Granby boys basketball team and No. 19 Rockport ended with an 8-2 Rams run thanks to a pair of Cody Breault 3-pointers. Granby headed to the locker room ahead 29-23. The two sides traded field goals out of the break to make it 31-25, then Vikings guard Josiah Whitley took over.

Smith College, Amherst College placed in same pod for NCAA Division 3 Women’s Basketball Tournament

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — After walking through the ground-level door of Ainsworth Gymnasium, up a flight of stairs and through the first-floor doors, you’re immediately met with five trophies staring right back at you. The two on the end are NEWMAC championship trophies. The three in the middle? A pair of Division 3 Women’s Basketball Final Four trophies and a national-runner up one.

Fit to Play with Jim Johnson: March Madness and The Screaming Coaches

March Madness starts in two weeks and we’ll be watching a lot of basketball. I’ve been watching basketball for over 75 years, starting with my All American father when I was just a boy. Later, I followed my brother who was the point guard on a great high school team. With all this legacy, I thought I would be good at basketball as well, but that was not to be. I could run, jump, and shoot, but when I got on the court with nine other guys, I felt like I was in the middle of Hwy 91 without a car. Not so for many of the players we will see in the coming weeks. I continue to be amazed by the skill of today’s players, their ball handling and speed is truly amazing.

Women’s basketball: Smith College holds off pesky MIT, captures 5th consecutive NEWMAC title (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — Each member of the Smith College women’s basketball team climbed up the ladder to cut down a piece of the net on the home side of Ainsworth Gymnasium following the No. 1 Pioneers’ 79-66 victory over No. 6 MIT in the NEWMAC championship game on Sunday afternoon.

Amherst’s 4x400-meter relay team captures title at 37th annual New England Interscholastic Indoor Track & Field Championships

By GARRETT COTE

BOSTON — The Amherst Regional girls 4x400-meter relay team will go down in history as one of the best units western Massachusetts has ever seen.

UMass hockey: Minutemen grab huge road win at UMass-Lowell, Greg Carvel becomes winningest coach in program history

By RYAN AMES

LOWELL – The road warriors strike again.

UMass basketball: Rahsool Diggins, Jaylen Curry steer Minutemen to come-from-behind 91-88 win over Rhode Island

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Getting consecutive stops on the defensive end felt almost impossible for the UMass men’s basketball team through 30 minutes of action. Rhode Island used a 3-point barrage and timely Sebastian Thomas drives to the hoop to build a 77-67 lead with 10 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the second half.

Women’s basketball: Smith College routs Salve Regina, advances to NEWMAC final seeking 5th straight title (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — How does five in a row sound, Smith College?

Girls basketball: Northampton finds another gear late, holds off Reading in Div. 2 Round of 32

By GEORGE MILLER

NORTHAMPTON – A rockfight of a ballgame saw Northampton and Reading combine for only 55 points through the first three quarters Friday night, and then the teams promptly erupted for 43 total points in the fourth quarter alone.

MIAA tourneys: Noah Hambley, Jack Loughrey help South Hadley boys advance via wild 3OT victory over Uxbridge

By RYAN AMES

SOUTH HADLEY — Fans in South Hadley Friday night were treated to an all-time classic.

On The Run with John Stifler: Downtown Northampton is worth the walk

As soon as I write “Picture Main Street” here, I’ll hasten to say this is not an opinion piece about whether or not widening sidewalks, reducing the number of automobile lanes in downtown Northampton from four and a half to three, and adding more bike lanes is a good idea. I appreciate concerns from downtown businesses about losing sales because getting around town may be difficult during the remodeling. I also think narrowing Main Street ultimately won’t make the traffic more congested, and the result may look as nice as the pedestrian-friendly centers of Boulder, Colorado, and Burlington, Vermont.

UMass hockey: Minutemen rally late for tie, take shootout win over UMass-Lowell

By RYAN AMES

AMHERST – It was a battle right to the very end in the No. 17 UMass hockey team’s 3-2 shootout win over No. 16 UMass Lowell on Thursday night at the Mullins Center.

Boys basketball: Holyoke puts it all together in dominant 93-56 state tourney win over Wakefield (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

HOLYOKE — The No. 13 Holyoke boys basketball team entered the second half of its MIAA Division 2 Round of 32 matchup with No. 20 Wakefield ahead 46-32. Although the Purple Knights felt great about where they stood, starting forward Chauncey Ruiz, who put up 10 first-quarter points to kickstart the night, had four fouls.

MIAA tourneys: Lockdown defense powers Frontier girls past Manchester Essex, into Round of 16 (PHOTOS)

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

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. 

Women’s basketball: Top-seeded Smith College eyeing another NEWMAC title

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — The Smith College basketball team has its eyes set on a fifth consecutive NEWMAC tournament championship, and the Pioneers started their quest off on the right foot on Wednesday night at Ainsworth Gymnasium. Smith, the top seed in the NEWMAC following an unblemished 11-0 conference record, used 21 points and 11 rebounds from Ella Sylvester to get past a pesky No. 8 Coast Guard team, 70-62, in the quarterfinals.