Warriors Win Slugfest with Hurricanes

CHESHIRE, Mass. — It wasn't the prettiest of games but, in the end, the Wahconah girls' basketball team made enough plays on the defensive end to defeat Hoosac Valley, 38-29, and pick up its first victory of the season on Wednesday night. 

Warriors' head coach June Blake admitted her team had its struggles on the offensive end, committing 25 turnovers and shooting just 32 percent from the field. But the Wahconah defense was strong throughout the game, never allowing the Hurricanes (1-1) to score more than nine points in a single quarter. Sophomore forward Maddie Sprague only scored three points, but she made a big difference on the defensive end by snagging 14 rebounds and collecting four blocks. 

"Her basket in the fourth quarter, which she was fouled on and made the free throw, was huge for us," Blake said. "It gave us a five-point lead with 4:30 to go in a game where both teams struggled to score. She then had a huge block on a three-point attempt that we took the other way to go up by seven.

"We did a great job battling in this one. We didn't have a fantastic shooting night, but we did what we had to do to get the win." 

Senior guard Gabby Lavinio led all scorers with 15 points, while senior center added Shannon Lussier added 11 points and eight rebounds for Wahconah (1-1). 

It was a tough night for Hoosac, which didn't have a player score more than seven points in the game. Senior forward Tori Rumbolt did a nice overall game, though, playing tough defense to go along with six points and seven boards. 

"It was a pathetic effort on our part," Hurricanes head coach Ron Wojcik said. "I was really disappointed with our lack of intensity. It also doesn't help shooting 20 percent from the floor. We need to refocus on what it takes to win."

Hoosac next hosts Putnam at 7 p.m. on Friday, while the Warriors play at Brattleboro at 7:30 p.m. on the same night.