Generals Earn Rebounding Edge, Win over Devils
PITTSFIELD, Mass — The Drury girls' basketball team was looking to make a statement against Pittsfield on Tuesday night. Instead, the Blue Devils are now looking for answers after the Generals pulled away in the second half for a 56-40 win at home.After losing by just on point at home in early January, Drury (14-4) had high hopes for Tuesday night's rematch. Things started off well enough for the Blue Devils, who trailed 14-11 after the first quarter of play. Pittsfield (15-5) increased its lead slightly to earn a 29-24 edge at halftime but then took over in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 12-6 in the frame to open up a double-digit lead heading into the fourth.
"It was a disappointing effort," Drury head coach John Franzoni said. "The rebounding stats pretty much summed up the game, as PHS outrebounded us 43-20. Pittsfield dominated the boards and that led to many second- and third-chance opportunities, which extended their possessions and provided them with too many scoring chances. I was proud of our girls for making several runs at them, but the second-chance points were back breakers. We will have to work on our rebounding and get tougher on the boards if we want to make a run in the Western Mass tournament."
Senior Jill Ritrosky was the main culprit for the Generals, scoring a game-high 22 points and grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds. Junior Courtney McLaughlin added 15 points and seven assists for Pittsfield, which clinched second place in the North Division with the win.
Sophomore guard Morgan Lamarre had a solid game for the Devils, finishing with nine points on the night. The Generals' defense held junior point guard Danielle Racette to just eight points and four assists, however, which is somewhat lower than her season averages (12.5 ppg, 5.28 apg) this year.
"Our game plan was to slow down Racette and to keep her off of the foul line," Pittsfield head coach Joe Racicot said. "With this defensive effort in mind, we allowed Racette only three trips to the foul line. After holding Lee to 29 points in our last game, I thought our defensive effort was second to none once again."
Both teams now await their seedings for the upcoming Western Mass. tournaments. The Generals will compete in the Division 1 tournament, while the Blue Devils will try to make a run in the Division 2 field.