Hoosac Valley Wins Back-To-Back State Crowns
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LOWELL, Mass. – A decade of dominance culminated in a game for the ages on Sunday as the Hoosac Valley girls basketball erased a 13-point half-time deficit en route to a 64-57 win over Renaissance in the Division 5 State Championship Game at the Tsongas Center.
Ashlyn Lesure scored 18 points, and Regan Shea and Emma Meczywor added 15 and 11, respectively, as the Hurricanes successfully defended their 2024 state crown and won the program’s fourth state title in a run that has seen Hoosac Valley go to the state final nine times since 2014.
“This program is like no other,” Meczywor said. “You can see it in the gym. This entire side was filled with our fans, and we were so much louder than them. And you could just feel the energy that our fans and each other on the court gave each other.”
The second-seeded Hurricanes needed all of that energy after fifth-seeded and unbeaten Renaissance used a 13-0 first-quarter run to take an 18-6 lead.
The Phoenix led by as many as 16 in the second quarter and took a 35-22 advantage into the locker room.
But there were warning signs for Renaissance.
Late in the first quarter, eighth-grade standout Zi’Yan Wallace drew her second personal foul and sophomore starter Zh'Nai Wallace picked up her second technical foul and was ejected.
Zi'Yan Wallace (20 points, 26 rebounds) eventually fouled out of a whistle-laden game with 4 minutes, 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter and her team clinging to a 52-46 lead.
The Hurricanes outscored the Phoenix, 18-5, the rest of the way.
Both teams had to play through foul trouble in a game that started out physical and got downright rugged as the afternoon progressed.
Meczywor eventually fouled out in the final minute with Hoosac Valley up by four, and Lesure finished with four personals. Renaissance collected 26 fouls and saw three of its starters foul out when all was said and done.
“They’ve got physicality, we knew it was going to be there, we know what they’re about,” Hoosac Valely coach Jon Frederick said. “And that’s the way we play, too. So it’s all good when it comes down to it. These kids are tough, and they’ll fight for everything. They’ll go after every loose ball.
“And when push comes to shove, they’ll push and shove just as much as the next kid.”
The Phoenix scored three points at the foul line in a 9-3 spurt midway through the second quarter to open up a 33-17 lead. Keisha Rodriguez scored with about two minutes left in the half to put her team up by 16.
Gianna Witek answered with a 3-pointer for Hoosac Valley, and Sophia Wilson (seven points) hit a pair of free throws with .1 second left in the half to make it 35-22.
The Hurricanes wasted no time getting the margin back to single digits in the second half.
Lesure scored four straight points, and Genevieve Lagess (seven points) scored to make it 37-28 in the first two minutes of the third.
Moments later, a putback by Shea led to an ugly moment when a Renaissance player appeared to kick and punch Lagess while she was on the floor. In the melee that ensued, a Phoenix player was ejected, and Meczywor ended up at the free throw line shooting technicals.
She made three of four to trim the deficit to 39-33 with 4:47 left in the third.
“It was definitely more physical,” Meczywor said. “They came with a ton of passion. We expected it to be physical but not that much.
“Honestly, we held our ground pretty well with them. When they were physical, we were just as physical. We didn’t let our teammates get 1-v-1 with them. We kept it all together as a team, and we really came through.”
It was a four-point game going to the fourth after Lagess put back a rebound to make it 43-39.
Zi’Yan Wallace picked up her fourth foul on the defensive end with 6.1 seconds left on the clock.
Shea scored in transition early in the fourth to get Hoosac Valley (23-3) within a point at 45-44, but Renaissance (25-1) used a 7-2 spurt to push the margin back to six when Jada Marrero scored out of the Phoenix’s press break to make it 52-46.
On Hoosac Valley’s next possession, Zi’Yan Wallace pulled down a defensive rebound that ended up being her last of the game.
Because at the other end of the floor, Meczywor stole the ball from Wallace, and the Renaissance star committed her fifth personal foul trying to get the ball back.
“Her fouling out was huge for us,” Meczywork said. “If she had stayed in the game, I think it would have been a really different end. But we did a great job of making her get in foul trouble and really pushing the ball into her so she would get in that foul trouble.
“We thought that with her being out, we were just going to drive the lane and keep going. … It really allowed us to go and attack.”
In addition to her scoring prowess and dominance on the boards, Zi’yan Wallace also was a big part of that press break for Renaissance. With her on the bench, the Hurricanes forced three turnovers with its press on the Phoenix’s next seven possessions.
But Renaissance did not go away right away.
J’Dore Reese (13 points) and Kaylee Buzzell each scored in the post to help Renaissance extend its lead to 56-49 with 3:06 left in the game.
Shea drained a 3-pointer to start an 11-0 run for Hoosac Valley that flipped the score for good.
Wilson scored with an assist from Meczywor to tie the game, 56-56, with about two minutes left.
And Meczywor grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a lay-up with 1:38 left to give Hoosac Valley its first lead since 6-5 at 58-56.
“That was a Hail Mary,” Meczywor said of her off-balance game-winner. “ I did not think that was going to go in. Thank God it did.”
Meczywor added one more bucket to put Hoosac Valley up four before she drew her fifth personal foul with 47 seconds left.
The foul led to one made free throw for the Phoenix to make it a one-possession game, but Lesure stole the ball on Renaissance’ next possession to keep it 60-57, and Wilson and Shea added the final four points in the closing seconds to make it a seven-point margin.
In addition to marking Hoosac Valley’s second straight State Championship, Sunday’s win was its second in a row over Renaissance, a team that went 48-2 in the last two years.
Even though Hoosac Valley has been a perennial power in the state for just more than a decade, it was not a prohibitive favorite going into Sunday.
“We were the higher seed to start, but Renaissance was undefeated their entire season,” Lesure said. “I feel like they had more of that target on their back, even though we were the defending champs.
“Knowing that they hadn’t lost, and us being their only loss last year and wanting it again this year is what gave us that momentum.”
Frederick, who has one two state titles and a trip to the Final Four in his three years at the helm at Hoosac Valley, had trouble putting into words the feeling of Sunday’s repeat.
“It probably hasn’t sunk in yet, but it’s freaking awesome,” he said. “I mean this is great. How many teams can do it, right? It’s something that we always talk about, especially during playoff time: We’re one out of 36, and one out of 16, and one out of eight, and one out of four and, now, we were one out of two.
“There’s only 10 teams left [in the state’s five divisions] at this point, right, so let’s go freaking win ours and get out of here. In the end, that’s what they kids did. They just wanted it.”