Drury Earns Season Sweep over Wahconah
PITTSFIELD, Mass — It seems like the Drury and Wahconah girls' basketball teams always play important games with big stakes on the line. Last year, the Warriors and Blue Devils split four games throughout the year, but Wahconah got the final say, knocking Drury out of the Division 2 Western Mass. tournament with a quarterfinal win at home.It was only fitting then that Saturday's game between the two squads would decide the fate of another team's season. This time it was the Blue Devils who played spoiler, however, earning a 46-39 win in the second game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase to knock the Warriors out of playoff contention. Wahconah (8-11) needed to win out in order to finish with 10 wins this season, but it failed to beat Drury (14-3) for the third time this year, leaving the defending Division 2 sectional champions out of the tournament mix this spring.
"I thought our team showed good toughness and composure in the second half," Blue Devils head coach John Franzoni said. "Wahconah is a very good team, and they made several runs at our lead in the second half. Our team made key defensive stops down the stretch, however, and finished off the win with clutch free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter. It shows the quality of the Berkshire County league because the loss eliminated Wahconah from the tournament, and they are a tough team with quality wins over Lee, Athol, and Frontier."
The Warriors were a worthy opponent, sticking right by Drury's side with the exception of one quarter of play. After earning a slim 11-10 lead after the first quarter, the Devils took control of the game with a 12-6 edge in the second. Drury increased its seven-point halftime lead to nine points heading into the fourth quarter, and won the game by holding Wahconah in check from the 3-point line.
"It was a hard-fought contest," Franzoni said. "The key to win was our defensive effort. In our last game against Wahconah, they hit seven threes, so we knew that our team needed to defende the 3-point line effectively. We did a good job on closeouts to defend the perimeter and hold Wahconah to just one 3-point hoop."
Junior point guard Danielle Racette had one of her best games of the year for the Blue Devils, scoring a season-high 22 points with six steals and six assists. She was active and aggressive all game, scoring 14 of her 22 points from the free-throw line. Sophomore Morgan Lamarre chipped in with nine points and four rebounds, while junior forwards Shannon Garvey added four points and a team-high nine boards.
Danielle played another tremendous game on both ends of the court, and Morgan played tough defense and hit some big shots in the second half," Franzoni said. Shannon, Emily Moulton (7 rebounds) and Ali Tatro played tough defense inside, limiting Wahconah to one shot in the second half."
Warriors' pont guard Gabby Lavinio led her team with 13 points, while Maddie Sprague helped out with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Franzoni, who himself is a cancer survivor, said the Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase was a big success. He wanted to credit Athletic Director Jim Abel and Pittsfield High School for all their efforts in hosting what is always a great event.
"I thought that Jim Abel and his staff did a tremendous job organizing and running the Coaches vs Cancer event at Pittsfield High School this year," Franzoni said. "Over $8,000 was raised by the event and the efforts of all the schools involved should be commended. Through the tireless efforts of Jim and his staff, it was a successful day and a first-class event to raise awareness and funds for a worthy cause."