NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The McCann Tech girls Wednesday dominated the boards and led by as many as nine points twice in the first half against Athol.

 

But they went to the locker room with just a seven-point margin.

 

And there was just one reason why the lead wasn’t bigger: the Hornets’ 12 turnovers.

 

“At half-time, I said, ‘Guys, if you keep turning it over, you’re going to let them back in,’ “ McCann Tech coach Kathy Budaj said after an eventual 55-34 win in the Hive. “And if you let them back in, you don’t know what’s going to happen. We have to make a statement, we have to come out strong and finish this game in the third quarter.

 

“And they did.”

 

McCann Tech’s statement quarter started with a 12-0 run and ended with a 19-point lead.

 

The Hornets turned the ball over just twice in that period, the second time with 35 seconds left in the quarter.

 

Budaj said her team was more deliberate with the ball after regrouping in the locker room.

 

“Patience,” she said. “Patience. And thinking about what they were doing with the ball. We had some different people out on the court, some different rotations going on. So getting them used to each other is going to take a little bit of time.

 

“But, overall, I’m super happy to see everyone contribute and work. Defense was our motto today, and defense won this game.”

 

Offensively, the Hornets got double-digit scoring from four different players.

 

Hannah Boisvert led the way with 14 points to go with 19 rebounds, including 16 boards in the first half.

 

Macey Tatro scored 13 points and pulled down 11 boards. Reagan Rose and Catryna Marsh scored 10 points apiece.

 

Addie Hayer passed out six assists and had a pair of steals.

 

McCann Tech came out of the gate strong with an 8-0 run to start the game. Boisvert got things started by putting back an offensive rebound, and Marsh capped the run with a jumper from the right wing.

 

Athol got back within three on a transition basket by Emma Bacigalupo (game-high 15 points) to make it 13-10 in the final minute of the first quarter. But McCann Tech pushed the margin back to seven early in the second, and that is where it was at half-time.

 

Boisvert took control at the offensive end in the third quarter, scoring twice in the post and passing out a pair of assists in the 12-point run to open the half.

 

“Hannah’s been struggling a little bit putting the ball in the hoop, and she’s been working so hard,” Budaj said. “In the first half, I was like, ‘Oh, poor kid.’ And then she started connecting and got that confidence. Which is what she needs to do because she’s a helluva ballplayer.”

 

Boisvert scored just four points in the first half but had eight in the third quarter to get her 14 before picking up her fourth foul early in the fourth quarter.

 

McCann Tech (2-2) goes to Hampden Charter on Friday.

 

Photos from this game here.