PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Jamie Duquette scored 27 points, and the PIttsfield defense held Hoosac Valley to 20 points at half-time of a 64-56 win on Wednesday night.
The Generals took control of the game in the second quarter and withstood an onslaught from Averie McGrath, who scored 19 of her game-high 32 in the second half.
Pittsfield never trailed in this one and opened up a working margin with a 12-0 run to close the second quarter that was fueled by its defense.
“We’ve been working hard on the different zones, and we found one that they all adapted to,” Pittsfield coach Joe Racicot said. “Basically, we did some things, but [Hoosac Valley] figured it out in the second half, and we had to keep switching things up a little bit.
“I’m really proud of the kids the way they came out. We had a tough game on Monday with Westfield, lost a three-pointer at home. And we had a nice talk about trying to defend our house. And this is what they gave us. This is sweet.”
Pittsfield won for the fourth time in five games to improve to 7-5 this winter while handing the Hurricanes (10-2) their first loss since Dec. 21, snapping a seven-game winning streak in the teams’ only meeting this winter.
The Generals took the lead for good when Duquette scored in transition to make it 5-3 and started a 10-2 run in the first quarter.
She scored the next four points by putting back offensive rebounds and ended the quarter with seven points.
Duquette also finished the game with 11 rebounds as Pittsfield dominated the glass in the early going.
Randi Duquette finished with 15 rebounds to go with 12 points. Charlotte Goodnow had five boards, and sophomore Britain Sadowy had four rebounds early on to help the Generals establish their lead.
“Britain’s young, and she’s up and coming,” Racicot said. “She’s been doing a lot of good things. She’s still learning, but she’s adapting to whatever we throw at her.”
Goodnow hit a pull-up jumper midway through the second quarter to stretch PIttsfield’s lead to 30-13.
But after a Hoosac Valley timeout, the Hurricanes rallied with seven straight points – five at the foul line from McGrath – to get within 10.
But Randi Duquette got to the line and converted a one-and-one to stop the run, and Dezerea Powell (10 points) scored twice in a 12-0 spurt to end the half and send the Generals to the locker room with a 42-20 lead.
Hoosac Valley came out like a house afire to start the second half, using a 19-4 run to get within seven when McGrath scored in transition in the last minute of the third.
Goodnow quieted that run with a bucket with three seconds left, and PIttsfield opened the fourth with a 6-0 run to get the lead back to double digits for good.
Although McGrath hit three 3-pointers in the fourth to win the individual scoring duel with Jamie Duquette, the latter will take the team win.
“Jamie and her sister, they’ve just been phenomenal as captains,” Racicot said. “Their rebounding, their scoring, their giving out assists. When things are clicking, they’re usually behind it.”
Pittsfield travels to Chicopee on Friday.
Hoosac Valley is right back in action on Thursday when it hosts Mount Greylock.
