Harrigan, Witek Help Teams Back to Western Mass Supremacy

The two most decorated Berkshire County high school basketball programs of the last decade are off to another strong start in this decade.

 

And this week's iBerkshires.com/Southwestern Vermont Health Care Athletes of the Week are helping to lead the way.

 

No one won more Western Massachusetts titles or went to more state finals in the 2010s than the Hoosac Valley girls basketball team.

 

It ended the decade (or started the new one, depending on how one counts) as a co-state champion after the state final was called off at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

This year, post-season roundball is back, and so is Hoosac Valley, which won yet another Western Mass title on Saturday afternoon.

 

Rylynn Witek has been one of the top scorers for the Hurricanes all winter, and she was again on Saturday, scoring 16 in their win over Lee.

 

For the season, Witek is averaging more than 10 points per game, and she finished in double figures in each game of last week's three-game regional tournament.

 

The Hurricanes are a long way from getting back to the top of the heap in Massachusetts, but they will open play in the Division 5 state tourney later this week as the No. 1 seed in a 52-team field.

 

In the Division 5 boys bracket, Taconic is the top seed, and it came out on top in Saturday's Western Mass final to build momentum heading into the state's version of March Madness.

 

Senior Sean Harrigan, who on Friday was named to the Hoop Hall's Western Mass All-Star Game squad, tied for game-high honors in the Class B final with 16 points, including the game-winning points with an and-one late in the fourth quarter of a three-point win.

 

Harrigan leads Taconic this season with nearly 17 points per game.

 

Two of Taconic's four losses this winter came without Harrigan in the lineup due to injury.

 

Of course, it speaks volumes about the team "that even without its leader, Taconic was within six points in one of those losses and within four points in the other against teams -- Pope Francis and West Springfield -- that qualified for the state Division 2 tournament.

 

"[Tayvon Sandifer] was on fire," Taconic coach Bill Heaphy said after Saturday's Western Mass title game. "Sam [Sherman] was steady. Sean was just Sean. They've got to respect him. And [Maimoudou] Bamba, I thought was active on the glass and made things difficult for their big guys. Team win."

 

The iBerkshires.com Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Southwestern Vermont Health Care.