Fitchburg girls perfect, beat Quabbin Regional
Red Raiders move to 3-0 on emotional night
FITCHBURG » On an emotional night, an emphatic win.
The Fitchburg girls’ basketball team overcame a slow start and brought the lumber defensively, forcing 33 Quabbin Regional turnovers while shooting 43 percent from the floor as the Red Raiders downed the Panthers, 57- 45, at the Doug Grutchfield Field House Monday evening.
The win lifts FHS to 3- 0, its best start in girls’ hoops since the 2010-11 season, when the Red and Gray started 2-1 that year and were 3-1 after four. Quabbin dropped to 2-1, and the two teams will meet in Barre on Thursday night.
“That’s a good team,” Fitchburg head coach Paul DiGeronimo said of the Panthers. “They caused problems for us; they play with a lot of energy, move the ball well. That was a good game.
“If we move the way we are supposed to on defense, we’ll be in good shape. It comes down to really communicating over and over again, and I think our press helped tonight. We’re making progress, but we have to be better right from the get-go.”
Before the game, Fitchburg held a moment of silence in honor of FHS Hall of Famer Paula (Goodchild) Gastonguay, who passed away suddenly on Saturday. Gastonguay was a standout three-sport athlete from the Class of 1990 and was the point guard on the 1989-90 girls’ basketball team which won Central Mass. Division 1 crown and ultimately went to
the state final that year.
In addition, the Raiders set Gastonguay’s No. 24 jersey, now worn by Tanila Council, on the bench while Council switched to No. 4.
With the emotions running high, Fitchburg came out of the gate slow, but found its footing thanks to two quick hoops by Mia Cavins — the first off a key helper by Jen Allen — and a runner by Council. Quabbin took the lead back, and held on to it for most of the first half, with the two sides trading buckets at the end.
One of Alyvia Smith’s (team-high 11 points) four steals saw her bring it all the way to the rack to tie the score at 18-up, before Abby Stone came up with a 3pointer from the top of the key to put the Raiders ahead by three, 21-18.
“Once we start playing the way we are capable and get our heads really into the game,” DiGeronimo explained, “then we’re fine. As the game goes along, it becomes more natural in their movement and where they are supposed to be.
“The nice thing? Everyone’s contributing. That’s the nice thing and they pick each other up.”
Julia Hamel pulled Quabbin to within one, before a pair of Kacey McCreadie free throws pulls the Panthers ahead for 11 seconds, before Smith scored.
Quabbin’s Ashley Leighton scored before Annika Hoecker ended the half for the Raiders with a hoop off the offensive glass to take a
25-24 lead into the mini halftime break.
Fitchburg had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half.
FHS then embarked on a 16-5 run to open the third, which saw Fitchburg play better in the match-up game.
“We did a better job matching up, we really did, and they got some second chance baskets because you have to box out on the free throw,” DiGeronimo said. “We did a better job identifying people in our area, moved the ball better and hitting the open player.”
Smith opened the half with a big triple, before McCreadie (game-high 12 points, 9 rebounds) matched it the old-fashioned way to make it 28-27.
That was as close as Quabbin got the rest of the way as the Red Raiders scored the next nine points, starting with back-to-back Natasha Brito buckets before Hoecker hit the back end of two from the charity stripe to make it 33-27 in favor of the hosts.
Ilka Negron called glass on her first of two, her second one putting Fitchburg out to a 10-point, 37-27 lead.
Madison Leroux broke up the run for Quabbin, but Fitchburg kept pouring it on as Cavins (7 points, 8 rebounds) hit a long two, before Council (10 points) scored off a neat spin in the paint to put the Red Raiders up by 12, 41-29.
Quabbin pulled to within eight at the end of the third, but Allen (8 points) scored off a quick dish by Council to open the fourth, before Smith’s trey at the elbow got the lead back out to 13, 4633.