Hoosac Valley is the PVIAC Western Mass. Class D champion.

MARC J. WRZESINSKI — EAGLE CORRESPONDENT

 

HOLYOKE — The standard in Cheshire is high, but this year's Hoosac Valley basketball team wasn’t about to not meet it. It ended up being a closer finish than the score indicated and Hoosac might’ve liked, but in the end, the red and white won, 71-56 over Lenox, to earn their second straight PVIAC Western Massachusetts Class D Championship.

 

“It feels really good, we’re all really excited about it,” said Hoosac’s Taylor Garabedian. “We all pushed through it to the end.”

 

“The girls played good, we just got out of sorts there in the fourth quarter. We knew they were gonna press, we were down Ashlyn [Lesure] which really hurt us. All the girls can handle the ball, they just panicked, out of their comfort zone. But Lenox fought back, they’re tenacious, we knew it,” said Hoosac head coach Jon Frederick.

 

“I’m proud of the way we played, everybody that hit the floor today contributed.”

 

Hoosac entered the fourth quarter with a massive lead, up 56-36. Lenox got a layup and then a triple to start the quarter, but a jumper from the left elbow by Gabby Billetz helped reestablish things for the Hurricanes, 58-41, but the Millionaires wouldn’t quit.

 

A trey from Alivia Mauer was countered by two free throws from Hoosac's Emma Meczywor. The Hurricanes' Maryn Cappiello went 2 for 3 from the line after being fouled beyond the arc but on the ensuing possession, Jocelyn Fairfield drove in, went up in traffic, laid it in, got fouled and hit the ensuing free throw.

 

After a Hoosac turnover, Lenox’s Kelsey Kirchner hit a shot, Mauer took a charge and it all of a sudden it was just 61-52 with 2:53 left and Hoosac took a timeout. Out of the break, Fairfield got a steal on the inbounds pass, put up a shot, missed, but Kirchner got the offensive board, passed it to Aida Nichols and Nichols popped it in.

 

A few plays later, Hoosac tried to inbound and the Millionaires' full-court press again paid dividends, Nichols got a steal and then put it right up and in and it was a five-point game with 1:54 remaining and the Lenox crowd roaring.

 

“In the timeout, we all came together, told everyone to calm down, we got it, the energy was crazy from Lenox, so we just had to keep our composure and push through,” said Garabedian.

 

But Hoosac wasn’t the No. 1 seed for nothing. A play later, Abby Scialabba took a long two, Shea got the miss and put it back in for two with 1:02 left in the game. A few plays later, Billetz put it away by going 2 for 2 from the line with 28.1 seconds left to make it 67-56 Hoosac. A Lenox miss from deep was rebounded by Shea, who also went 2 for 2 from the stripe and Lenox ran out of time to complete the comeback.

 

“I think our future is really bright, our girls didn’t give up. Had their heads real high,” said Lenox head coach Nicole Patella. “Hoosac just shot the lights out. Every time we’d catch a break, their shot would fall, we didn’t have a couple of our shots fall. But they gave 110 percent, that’s all you can ask for at the end of the day.”

 

Free throw shooting was clutch for the ‘Canes, who went 22 for 29 from the charity stripe, including 11 for 15 in the fourth quarter. Taylor Garabedian, who played out of position for much of the second half, was 4 for 6 in the fourth while Billetz was 5 for 6 in the game.

 

Billetz was huge throughout, she had 15 points, five offensive rebounds, three blocks and two steals. She made second-chance opportunities for Lenox few and far between while routinely giving Hoosac extra looks and a safety net

down low.

“Gabby’s huge for us, as is Taylor, we knew we had a size advantage, we wanted to try and pick that apart as best we could,” said Frederick. “We got a ton of rebounds. I thought [Lenox] did a good job, seeing as they weren’t overly big. Once Ashlyn fouled out, we had to have Taylor at the point, which isn’t ideal but it’s good, it’s all good.”

 

Shea led all scorers with 22 points, pouring in nine points in the first quarter when Hoosac took an initial lead. After two points in the second quarter, she scored 11 in the second half including a pristine 4 for 4 from the line and her cuts helped the Hurricanes offense flow. Lesure had six points and a couple of assists but fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

 

Hoosac had a 13-0 run to start the first quarter and a 15-0 run to start the second. Which is why it ended up with a 20 point lead in the third and Lenox had to make up so much ground.

 

“These girls can play,” Frederick said. “When they’re out and focused and ready to go. You pinch ‘em a little bit and it throws them off-kilter… Our group is a resilient group too, it’s a good thing.”

 

Lenox was led by Mauer who scored 17 and was a threat from deep all game, hitting five 3-pointers and making a number of good passes. Fairfield added 13 and when Lenox had success in the paint, it was generally because of her. Parsenios and Kirchner poured in nine each.

 

“My girls thought they could win this game coming into it so that says a lot about their character. Hoosac’s been here but I thought our girls played really hard, both programs are really bright,” Patella said. “Jocelyn’s just huge on the glass, Chloe’s a lightning bug on defense, she seems to know where the ball is going.”

 

The season isn’t over for either team, the brackets for the MIAA State Tournament were released and both received a bye. Lenox is No. 13 in Division V while Hoosac is No. 4 in D-V and both are in the same initial grouping, so if each program wins its first game (in the round of 32), the two will have a

rematch in the Sweet 16.

For now, Hoosac will enjoy its Western Mass Title, its second in a row under the new system. For a first year coach like Frederick, the expectations at Hoosac weren’t understated, and neither is the win.

 

“It’s huge, I’ve been in this program since my daughter [played], she’s been out now for six years. I know the tradition up there, there’s a lot of history up there. Big footsteps to follow in,” Frederick said. “These kids are dedicated to their craft. They do it in the spring, they do it in the summer, they obviously do it in the winter. Having a group like that kind of keeps it easy, makes it easier so I couldn’t be prouder of the kids, the commitment.

 

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