NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It was an all around great day for the Drury girls basketball taem Friday as it clinched a Western Massachusetts tournament bid on the night Brooke DiGennaro scored the 1000th point of her career in a 62-38 win over Pioneer at home.
It was an emotional night for senior DiGennaro as she eclipsed the 1,000-point mark. The milestone came in the third quarter from the free throw line as she was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. After making her first two free throws the game was stopped and her teammates, family and friends all joined in on the celebration of a milestone moment.
It was something she’s worked on her whole life and with the hard work and dedication she finally was able to achieve it.
“When I was in 8th grade my varsity coach stopped me and looked up at the banner and said I would be up there one day,” she said. “He said you’re going to work yourself and push hard and play as a team and the emotions of today, I had to push through and be there for my team.”
And that is exactly what she has done.
DiGennaro Friday led her team in scoring with 22 points while freshman Kayla McGrath chipped in with 14.
It was a slow start for Drury (10-7) at the beginning as it was unable to convert on open shots around the hoop. Eventually the Blue Devils settled in and were able to turn their defensive pressure into points.
With two quick steals resulting in layups on the other end Drury was able to start a 6-0 run, forcing Pioneer into a timeout. No surprise it was DiGennaro who set up all three assists during that run. The quarter ended 16-16, but the momentum was building for the Blue Devils. Right out of the gate Drury went on an impressive 13-0 run thanks to more of that defensive pressure and active hands in the passing lanes. They held Pioneer scoreless for the first six minutes of the game and really were able to dominate and take control.
“Pressure is what we do well,” Drury coach Ian Downey said. "Obviously, Berkshire County teams know what we do well so it’s not as easy, so our hope was being a team that is not use to us we could use it to our advantage, and we were able to do that.”
Drury went into the break with a 31-21 lead and really never looked back from that point on. A few small runs from Pioneer kept it close, but it always seemed like it was going to be Drury’s night. In the fourth quarter Drury really stepped up the tempo getting after lose balls and fighting for rebounds allowing them to widen the gap with a combination of that defensive pressure and good ball movement it saw them push the lead to 20 points and really put this one to bed.
“The one thing I stress before every game is no matter what the outcome is I want people to say we gave the most effort in a game. When we get pushing the ball up the floor and get our pressure going and have girls diving on the floor and trapping we’re a completely different team” Downey said.
“Today was a big day for us with Brooke getting her 1,000th and us clinching a Western Mass spot. Hopefully, this alleviates some of the pressure we’ve been dealing with the last few weeks.”
