PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Ahliya Phillips led the way with 11 points to secure a dominating win over Mount Greylock 54-23 on Thursday as the Taconic girls basketball team played its first game in the new school.

 

Ciany Conyers chipped in with 10, while Taea Bramer and Tamia Patrick added eight apiece for Taconic (3-0).

 

In a game that saw Taconic cruise to an easy win, it didn’t start off the way you would have expected. Both teams had issues taking care of the ball, and for a better part of the first quarter Taconic had trouble pulling away. Mount Greylock (0-2) turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter and had trouble finding room to shoot. The Mounties didn’t score their first basket until the 3-minute mark in the quarter. This helped Taconic take a 15-8 lead after one.

 

Despite the score, it wasn’t easy for Taconic early on. It turned over the ball six times in the quarter and forcing coach Matt Mickle of Taconic into full rotation substitutions. 

 

“We brought a little energy to the gym with the change, we were just really sloppy,” Mickle said. “It’s early in the season, and we have a lot things we need to work on.” 

 

This group substitution saw starting guard Johnahyah Curry, who was in foul trouble early on, bring a spark with a few baskets and assists in a row. Taconic went on an 11-2 run in the second quarter and really set the tone for the rest of the game as they went into the break leading 26-12. 

 

“Unfortunately Curry was battling foul trouble early on and that’s frustrating, but she did give us a spark when we subbed five girls to really create some chaos for us,” Mickle said.

 

With the half-time to regroup, Taconic came out blazing in the second half starting on an 8-0 run. It seemed more relaxed and was attacking the hoop, getting layups whenever it wanted. At this point their was not much the Mounties could do as the pressure on the defensive end by Taconic continued to give them trouble all game long. 

 

“We’re early in the season, and we are rushing our offense and throwing ill advised passes that we need to learn from,” Mount Greylock coach John Jacobbe said. “We competed hard in the first half, and I was happy with the compete level. The second half we wanted to cut into the lead but they scored a few easy hoops and that sank our spirit a little bit.” 

 

Mount Greylock was outscored 31-11 in the second half and was never really able to get anything going. 

 

Mount Greylock will look to bounce back against Drury Monday for its first home game of the season. 

 

Taconic will look to improve on its unbeaten streak next Thursday against Hoosac Valley.