A trio of Hampshire County basketball programs have made it to championship Saturday, as the Northampton and South Hadley girls teams and Granby boys team will compete in their respective title games looking to raise hardware. These same three squads all competed in the Western Mass. finals last winter and are once again back in the big game.

The Tigers defeated Pittsfield in the Class B championship in 2024, and those two have a rematch on their hands in 2025. The same goes for the Blue Devils, which fell to Springfield Central a year ago but have revenge on their minds this time around in Class A. And lastly, the Rams were defeated by Mahar in last season’s title tilt, but after knocking off the Senators in the semifinals, Granby will battle Drury for the Class C crown.

All three local teams are certainly going to have their hands full playing against some of the best in the West. Let’s take a closer look at each matchup and what it will take for Hampshire County to go 3-for-3 on Saturday.

No. 2 South Hadley vs. No. 1 Pittsfield, Holyoke Community College, 2 p.m.

This year, the Tigers essentially had an identical regular season to their 2023-24 campaign, where they dominated their schedule and entered postseason play riding high. South Hadley started 1-1 before ripping off 12 consecutive victories en route to a 16-2 record. Head coach Paul Dubuc’s group has turned it up a notch of late, winning five straight after a 3-point loss to Hoosac Valley earlier this month.

Since the loss, South Hadley has scored 60 points or more in four of those five games – including its last three outings. The Tigers are also only giving up 36.4 points per game to their opponents over that stretch. They get it done on both ends of the floor, and when their extremely balanced offensive attack is clicking, they’ve been a tough team to beat over the last two year.

South Hadley is a whopping 20-0 when it scores 60 points or more since the start of last season.

“We have a lot of experience,” Dubuc said after South Hadley’s semifinal win. “Hopefully it’ll help us. We play so hard, I have no complaints. Our effort is always there, but when we’re making baskets, we’re a tough team. Sometimes we’re not making baskets, but our defense is usually there.”

The Tigers also have the experience that helps win games of Saturday’s magnitude. Aside from freshman Olivia Athas, all of South Hadley’s rotational players that played a key role in its run to the Division 4 state championship game are back. Seniors Ava Asselin, Caitlin Dean, CC Gurek and Maddie Soderbaum as well as sophomores Cara Dean, Kate Phillips and Taylor Bullough all produce for South Hadley.

But the Tigers haven’t faced a team quite like Pittsfield, which comes in at 19-1 with wins over Northampton and Springfield Central. If South Hadley wants to repeat recent history with another Western Mass. final win over the Generals, it’s going to have to bring its best stuff to the hardwood on Saturday.

No. 2 Northampton vs. No. 1 Springfield Central, Westfield High School, 4 p.m.

The Blue Devils (16-4) have lost four games this season. One to Pittsfield, a close one to Worcester South High School, and then two to Springfield Central. The Golden Eagles have had Northampton’s number of late. Over the past three years, Northampton is 0-7 against Central, including a 48-30 loss in last season’s Class A final.

This year, the Blue Devils fell 57-42 at home to Central and 69-38 on the road just 10 days ago. It is no secret they’re underdogs, but that’s fine with head coach Perry Messer.

Messer knows his team has its hands full with a state powerhouse, but his players are sick of losing to the Golden Eagles. He’s hoping that frustration can fuel the Blue Devils to play their best game of the season when they need it most.

“They physically beat you up, and at some point, I’ve asked our team, ‘Who’s sick of getting beat by them?’” Messer said. “‘Because if you aren’t sick of getting beat by them, the same thing is going to happen.’ We had two days to prepare ourselves… We’ll strap them up and be ready to go.”

Senior Bri Heafey and the tall and talented sophomore trio of Emme Calkins, Anna Oravec and Liv Joensen lead the charge for Northampton. Heafey, who scored 1,000 career points in the Blue Devils’ quarterfinal win over No. 7 Westfield, said one of her main high school goals is to win a Western Mass. crown. She’ll have one last chance to do it on Saturday.

No. 1 Granby vs. No. 2 Drury, Westfield High School, 2 p.m.

The Rams had waited patiently for almost 365 days to play Mahar in the Western Mass. tournament again. After losing to them in the finals last winter, they wanted a shot at revenge – and they didn’t miss. Granby knocked off Mahar 62-45 to get back in the championship game, and now there is only one thing left to do.

Finish the job.

Standing in the way however is Drury, a pesky No. 2 seed that has played in plenty of Western Mass. finals throughout head coach Jack Racette’s tenure with the Blue Devils.

But this Granby team is experienced, and with a large number of seniors (9) orchestrating the show, the Rams feel good about their title chances.

“Our senior leadership, great leaders on our team,” Granby head coach Dylan Dubuc said after beating Mahar. “We have guys that have been around and they understand the moment. They’re not just going to roll over… It’s what good teams do.”

Drury and Granby have not met this season, but the two sides played in the Class C semifinals last year – a tight game won by the Rams, 51-46. The Blue Devils only graduated one senior so their team looks very similar, and similarly Granby only lost two.

It should be another terrific playoff matchup between to teams that don’t often see one another. Senior NeNe Fernandez spearheads an explosive Rams offense that has scored 65 points or more (including one game with 97) seven times in their last 10 contests.

Seniors Riley Goodhind, Sawyer Clarke, Cody Breault and Raymond Colon also are important pieces to the puzzle, and if they knock down shots from the perimeter like they did against Mahar, the Rams become very difficult to beat.