Spartans power past Panthers into final
Oakmont to play for CMADA Class B title
The Spartans will play for a Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association title.
Getting to the Class B championship game, however, wasn’t as easy as the most recent score may suggest.
Oakmont Regional’s girls basketball team gained some serious separation in the closing minutes of Wednesday’s 54-36 CMADA semifinal victory over Quabbin Regional, coming up big at the end to turn a tight game into a blowout.
The balanced Spartans saw three players score in double figures, led by Victoria Mays, who had 14 points. Amaiya Leblanc and Ella Dellasanta each added 13, while Cali Laliberte had seven points and 11 rebounds.
Oakmont Regional (12-8) will face Hudson — which bested Blackstone Valley Tech 49-30 on Wednesday evening — with a time, date and location yet to be announced.
“We were proud of how our girls reacted to adversity because (Quabbin) presented some challenges,” Oakmont head coach Matt Leblanc said. “They were dotting passes and doing real well in their pick and roll game, but we responded and made adjustments. We had girls come off the bench and give us a lift, but everyone who was on the floor today was in lockstep.”
Ahead 46-36 with 2:45 to go, Oakmont finally put the game out of reach with the game’s final eight points. Amaiya Leblanc drilled a deep 3-pointer to push the lead to 13 before Dellasanta’s runner with 2:11 to go proved to be the proverbial nail in the coffin for Quabbin (9-11).
“We’ve had games when we haven’t been able to throw it in, but tonight, we were able to knock down some big perimeter shots,” Matt Leblanc said. “I think that helped us be able to pound the ball inside to Mays and Laliberte tonight.”
The hosts surged out to several big leads, including
starting the game on an 8- 0 run. But as Quabbin would do time and time again, the visitors clawed back, closing the opening quarter with four of the final six points to cut the deficit to 13- 6.
The Panthers battled back to cut the lead 19-17, but Oakmont answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from Amaiya Leblanc and Dellasanta to push the advantage back to eight. Undeterred, the guests cut the deficit to 25-20 in the closing moments of the half after three straight points from Olivia Rose (team-high 11 points), but the Mays sank a putback at the buzzer to give the hosts a seven-point edge at the break.
Af ter the Spartans opened a 35-20 lead just two minutes into the third, the Panthers again responded with Rose closing the frame by hitting all three free throws after being fouled on a trey to bring the lead back down to 10.