Third-quarter run proves pivotal for Hoosac Valley
LOWELL — The Hoosac Valley girls’ basketball team has built a power in Western Massachusetts, with eight state final runs in the last 11 seasons.
On Saturday, the top-seeded Hurricanes used that experience to stay poised and capture their third state title. They used a monster third quarter to overcome a slow start against second-seeded West Boylston and win the Division 5 championship, 7153, at the Tsongas Center.
“It’s so awesome,” senior forward Taylor Garabedian said. “Not even just the seniors have been together — the whole group has been together since third grade.”
That pivotal, 22-6 third quarter flipped a 32-31 halftime deficit into a game-breaking lead for Hoosac Valley (22-3). The Hurricanes struggled to make shots and settle in defensively during the first half, but scored first out of the half and didn’t relent.
“We’ve faced a few hard games, and we do a really good job of staying with it, pushing the pace, and not putting our heads down,” Garabedian said. “We’ve been here before, and we knew how to overcome it.”
Garabedian, sporting a right knee brace after partially tearing her posterior cruciate ligament in the Hurricanes’ semifinal loss last year, had a team-high 22 points. A southpaw, she cut and rolled hard to the basket, found extra chances with offensive rebounds, and spearheaded the defense at the top of Hoosac Valley’s soft press.
“She’s a cross-country runner, so we know that she’s got a full tank of gas pretty much all game,” said coach Jon Frederick.
West Boylston (21-4) came out with confidence during the first half, highlighted by a nolook pass from a driving Maddie Pitro to Shannen Luksha. The Lions led by as many as 13, and when Frederick called time out midway through the second quarter, he reminded the team that they’re familiar with this stage.
“We’ve been here; we know how to play, right? Why are we playing so passive?” Frederick said. “Once we kind of woke them up . . . They know how to play. They know what’s expected. They know how to run our sets against whatever is presented in front of them.”
Abby Scialabba and Ashlyn Lesure each responded with big late-game efforts and finished with 16 points apiece for Hoosac Valley. Pitro powered West Boylston in the loss with 23 points, though foul trouble limited her in the second half.
Frederick is in his second year as head coach but has been one of many in a pipeline of Hoosac Valley youth development. He credits those volunteers for committing to building the school’s basketball fortress.
“We have people that have been there five, 10, 20 years, that are putting in the time with the youth,” he said. “It just transposes up because we all know the kids. The coaches that are down there know what we’re trying to do up here, so everybody’s getting on the same page, and having that continuity and those volunteers is what makes this program as successful as it is.”