Hoosac Girls Storm Back to Knock Off Notre Dame
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Down by four points at half-time, Hoosac Valley girls basketball coach Ron Wojcik had plenty of adjustments to make in the locker room on Saturday afternoon.
Midway through the third quarter, they kicked in.
The Hurricanes rallied from a 10-point deficit midway through the fourth to defeat Notre Dame Academy-Hingham, 54-41, in the penultimate game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase.
Madi Ryan scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Fallon Field scored 15 with four assists as Hoosac won its 10th straight to run its record to 12-1.
Afterward, Wojcik was at a loss to explain just how his team was about to outscore the Division 2 Cougars by a margin of 30-7 over the last 12 minutes, 30 seconds.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I’d have to watch it. I told the girls at one point, ‘Just keep playing hard.’ And I thought things could start going our way.
“The big thing was getting stops. They just outsized us. They kept getting second and third chances. I think we cut down on some of those. And I think we forced a few turnovers.
“Then we started getting some shots going.”
NDA had a 21-17 advantage in rebounding in the first half, and it was reflected in a 26-22 lead on the scoreboard.
The Cougars used an 8-0 run to push that lead to 10-points with 5 minutes, 13 seconds left in the third, prompting Wojcik to call timeout.
Two possessions later, Kailynne Frederick (10 points, nine rebounds) set up Ryan for a 3-opinter that sparked a 19-2 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters.
Ryan scored on four straight possessions to start the run and had 17 points — 12 via 3-pointers — before the run was over. Her last 3 gave Hoosac a 43-36 lead early in the fourth.
Notre Dame settled down and got within five a couple of times in the fourth, but Hoosac finished with the game’s last seven points, going 7-for-8 at the foul line down the stretch to put the game away.
As Monument Mountain warmed up to take on Hampshire in the nightcap - an eventual 62-48 Hampshire win — Wojcik reflected on the day Berkshire County had in the five-game event. Drury, Wahconah and Mount Greylock each won against tournament-level Pioneer Valley teams before Division 3 Hoosac knocked off the Division 2 visitors from Eastern Mass.
“I think the basketball out here is very, very good,” Wojcik said. “Berkshire County has aways had good basketball. It’s a tough, physical league, and I think that our league physically helps us prepare for games like this because [Notre Dame] is a physical team.”
The ninth annual event to raise money for the American Cancer Society, hosted for a third straight year by Hoosac Valley, raised more than $3,500 for the cause.
Hoosac Valley’s girls return to league play on Wednesday when they travel to Taconic.