Pittsfield Holds Off Frontier in Western Mass Semis
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – With three minutes left and the Pittsfield girls basketball team clinging to a one-point lead, Kyana Summers went a little off script and made the shot of the night.
Summers drained a 3-pointer to give the Generals a 63-59 advantage, and they went on to earn a 73-64 win over Frontier in the semi-finals of the Western Massachusetts Class B Tournament.
“It’s probably a good thing it went in, because if it didn’t go in, I probably would have said something,” Pittsfield coach Kristy Conyers said with a laugh.
“But, you know, we don’t live and die by the 3, and they know that. Obviously, no 3s fell for us tonight. Obviously, we have games where they do fall. But we’re definitely not a live-and-die-by-the-3 type of team.”
Harolyn Castillo had a double-double with team highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Madison Stetz had 15 points and nine boards.
Dezerea Powell and Bre’Jai Ellerbee each scored 14 as the top-seeded Generals earned a spot in Saturday’s regional championship game against No. 2 South Hadley, a 62-46 winner over Springfield International Charter School on Wednesday.
As Conyers alluded to, Pittsfield did not have any success from behind the 3-point line on Wednesday until the late triple from Summers (seven points, six assists). But it was not for lack of trying.
In fact, after storming out to a 26-12 first-quarter lead with smothering defense and transition points in the paint, Pittsfield got a little 3-happy in the second quarter, allowing Frontier to trim seven points off that deficit.
“That’s what we spoke to them about at half-time,” Conyers said. “We haven’t made one 3. Stop settling for it. Go to the basket. That’s what was working for us in the first quarter.”
Everything was working in an impressive opening quarter for Pittsfield.
The Generals jumped out to an 8-0 lead with six points coming off turnovers.
And after Frontier found its footing and made it 10-7, Pittsfield went on a 9-1 run that ended with a basket by Castillo assisted by Summers to make it 19-8. The quarter ended, fittingly, with the ninth turnover generated by Pittsfield’s press and a basket by Caprese Conyers to make it a 14-point margin.
It was 20 points when Castillo scored to make it 32-12 early in the second. But the Redhawks took control from there until half-time, taking advantage of missed shots and nine Pittsfield turnovers in the quarter to mount a 17-4 run that included the last 10 points of the half – seven from Harper Modestow (25 points, 12 rebounds).
Frontier continued to cut into the margin to start the second half, getting within four points when Whitney Campbell scored in transition to make it 48-44 with just more than a minute left in the third.
That’s when Madison Stetz took over for Pittsfield.
She scored seven points and had a steal in the span of 40 seconds, getting to the line in transition and converting a pair to make it 55-44. Powell then scored on a fast break with five seconds left to send Pittsfield into the fourth quarter ahead by 13 points.
The visitors had one more run left in them.
Frontier started the fourth quarter with a 15-3 spurt that ended with a putback by Modestow to make it 60-59, setting the stage for Summers’ big 3 to stem that momentum.
“That’s heart right there,” Kristy Conyers said of her team’s ability to answer Frontier’s run. “Heart and hustle. They know: Push the ball first. Yes, we’re up, and I told them, if we don’t have a good fast break, don’t push it. Relax and run our offense. But if we have a fast break, let’s get it.
“All of our girls run the court, whether they’re a big, whether they’re a guard. As you see, we get guard-to-guard fast breaks as well.”
Modestow scored with 2:20 left to again make it a one-possession game at 63-61, but Pittsfield scored the next four: a lay-up from Ellerbee off her steal and a bucket by Stetz assisted by Castillo to make it a six-point cushion with about 1:30 on the clock.
The Redhawks could not get back within one possession the rest of the way.
Pittsfield (19-1) Saturday will look to avenge last year’s 48-40 loss to South Hadley in the Western Mass final.