Big Second Half Lifts Mounties over Eagles
PITTSFIELD, Mass — After losing to Hoosac Valley and being eliminated from postseason play last week, the Mount Greylock girls' basketball team was simply playing for pride in Saturday's Coaches vs. Cancer matchup against Mount Everett.The Mounties showed plenty of pride in the second half, rallying from a four-point deficit by outscoring the Eagles 36-22 after halftime on their way to a 53-43 win at Pittsfield High School. After having their own playoff dreams dashed last week, Greylock (8-11) played spoiler this time, leaving Everett one win shy of the Western Mass. tournament with a final record of 9-11.
The Eagles started strong on Saturday, using a 15-8 edge in the second quarter to take a 21-17 lead at the break. The Mounties scored the first six points of the third quarter, however, only to see Deseraye Conaway (team-high 18 points) tie the game back up for Everett with just four minutes to go in frame. Senior forward Caitie Benoit (five points, nine rebounds) hit a big 3-pointer right after that, though, and Greylock closed out the third on an 8-0 run.
Paul's Barrett's team gave up just six points total in the third period, giving the Mounties a six-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Freshman guard Lucy Barrett and senior forward Sierra Holland then sealed the victory for Greylock by combining to score 17 of their team's final 20 points. Barrett ended up hitting three treys on her way to a career-high 27 points in the win, while Holland added seven points and three rebounds.
"Mount Everett battled to the end as they fought to qualify for Western Mass.," Paul Barrett said. "We came out of the locker room down by four points at halftime and stepped up the intensity on both ends of the court. Caitie's three and a couple of hoops by Lucy more than eliminated the deficit and our strong defense helped us take the lead for good. Kelsey Goodwin and Caitie were strong on the boards, capturing 17 rebounds combined, while the team was an impressive 18 of 22 from the free-throw line."
Greylock will try and play spoiler again on Tuesday night, when it closes out the season with a road game at St. Joe's. The Crusaders (9-9) need one more win in order to qualify for the Division 3 Western Mass. tournament.
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