PRINGFIELD – Arriana Hasiuk received the ball under the Red Team's basket.
As she brought it down, she heard someone calling to her from the corner.
“Ari! Ari!”
It was her Chicopee Comp and All-Star game teammate, Aliza McLeish.
Hasiuk sent a bounce pass over to McLeish for a wide open 3-pointer. As the two ran back down the court they shared a smile and a high-five.
“It felt so nice to have this last game together,” said Hasiuk on playing with McLeish. “We have played so long together, it was nice.”
Hasiuk was named MVP of the Western Mass. Girls basketball All-Star game on Friday at the Basketball Hall of Fame. She chipped in 16 points to help lead team White to an 80-51 victory over team Red.
Central’s Jaliena Sanchez scored a game-high 18 points for team White -- she was recognized at halftime as the Western Massachusetts girl’s basketball Player of the Year.
Hasiuk scored 11 points in the second half to give the White team a comfortable cushion.
“I really did not expect it at all,” said Hasiuk on her MVP recognition. “Even at the end of the game I had no idea. I just kind of played. It was fun. It was different playing with everybody. We all connected, it was nice.”
The White Team set the tone early.
Sanchez dribbled and shot her way to nine first half points to help put her side ahead.
She drove into the paint with help from her infamous handles and dropped a couple of no-look passes throughout the game. Her Golden Eagles teammate, Selenya Gonzalez, chipped in nine points in the first half and finished with 12.
Hoosac Valley’s Lexi Mercier led the Red team in scoring at halftime with eight points, six coming from two 3-pointers.
South Hadley’s Mia Kelly also put together an impressive perfoamance for the Red team.
She turned stellar defense into offense and created easy transition opportunities, scoring 13 points in the second half. She finished the game with 17 points and as her team’s leading scorer.
In addition to her 11 second-half points, Hasiuk found shooters open around the arc and was one of the game’s hardest-working rebounders.
On top of playing with McLeish for a final time, the Colts senior also relished the opportunity to play with girls she is used to going up against in the regular season.
“It is interesting seeing the different ways we all play then seeing it all come together,” said Hasiuk. “The whole experience was really cool…Just being with everyone on the different teams was great. It worked out well.”
