Pittsfield's Offense Shoots Down Blue Devils

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Pittsfield girls' basketball team responded from its first league loss of the season with a convincing win against another North Division foe, defeating Drury 63-47 at home. 

The Generals (4-2) lost a close one to Lee on Wednesday, but rebounded nicely with a stellar shooting performance against the Blue Devils. Joe Racicot's squad shot 10 of 21 from 3-point land and jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 24-point first quarter. Senior Courtney McLaughlin led the Pittsfield attack, draining three triples on her way to a game-high 19 points. McLaughlin also added six rebounds and five assists, while junior Dominique Satrape sank two threes on her way to an 11-point night. 

It was the first poor outing of the season for Drury, which allowed 25 more points to the Generals than it had to any other team this season. After trailing by eight points at the end of the first quarter, the Blue Devils (5-2) fell behind by 12 points at halftime and were unable to make a run at the hosts in the second half. 

"Pittsfield jumped out to an early lead and played with a ton of confidence all night," Drury head coach John Franzoni said. "They shot the ball well and beat us in all facets of the game. We need to understand that we have to play the game with passion and toughness in order to be successful. We tried to make some runs at them in the second half, but every time we had a chance to cut it to single digits, they would hit a big shot. Give PHS credit because they were the better team in this game."

Senior point guard Danielle Racette paced the Drury offense, hitting her team's only two 3-pointers of the night on her way to a team-high 17 points and five assists. Classmate Shannon Garvey also played well, posting a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Generals next host Mount Anthony at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. The Blue Devils are off until Friday, when Monument Mountain comes to town for a game at the same time. 

JV Game: Drury's junior varsity team defeated Pittsfield by a score of 44-30. Freshman Molly Moulton led the way with 14 points. Heather Morris added 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Jill Tietgens chipped in with six points. S. Decarlo led the Generals with eight points.