NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Determination has carried an undermanned Mount Everett girls basketball team to a 6-5 record this winter and a three-game sweep of Franklin West foe McCann Tech.
Emma Goewey had a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds Thursday to lead the Eagles to a 38-35 win.
Mount Everett led a defensive struggle most of the night but found itself down by three points early in the fourth quarter.
That is when the Eagles went on a 9-1 run to grab a 36-31 lead they never relinquished.
“They just grind,” Mount Everett coach Joshua King said. “We’re not a huge team, by any means. But they grind. They definitely like to make it a lot more interesting than it needs to be.
“That’s what comes with not having played a game in a week and a half.”
After Emily Glasier (team-high 11 points) scored in the post to give the Hornets a 30-27 lead to start the fourth, the Eagles turned over the ball on two straight possessions, forcing King to call a timeout with six minutes left in regulation.
Coming out of the timeout, Julia Devoti drove into the middle of the lane and pulled up for a bucket to get her team within one point.
The next time down the court, Devoti drove the baseline and finish to give Mount Everett a 31-30 lead.
“She definitely stepped up,” King said of Devoti. “I ask a lot of her and our guards. They play a lot of minutes. She didn’t come out today, and she’s getting beaten up out there. She finds a way to grind through.
“Once she settles down, she’s a good ballplayer.”
Glasier hit a free throw with 4 minutes, 18 seconds left to tie the game for the Hornets.
But Maggy Sarnacki hit a 3-pointer, and Goewey scored in the post with 2:32 left to put the Eagles on top for good at 36-31.
Sarnacki finished the game with three triples and seven points. Devoti scored nine points, and Makayla Carpenter pulled down 11 rebounds in the win.
Addie Hayer, Hannah Boisvert and Macey Tatro each scored six for the Hornets. Boisvert finished with 10 boards.
The Hornets (1-8) have lost their three meetings with Mount Everett by margins of eight, four and three points. Thursday’s setback marked McCann Tech’s third straight defeat by a single-digit margin.
McCann Tech won the turnover battle, using its press to good effect and generating more offensive opportunities. It just failed to capitalize on enough of those chances, especially down the stretch.
“We’re playing scared,” Hornets coach Kathy Budaj said. “And we talked about playing scared. We need that person to step up and want to put the ball in the hole.
“The girls played tough tonight. They did a lot of good things. We just can’t pull out the win.”
McCann Tech hosts Pope Francis on Tuesday. The Eagles host Southwick on Monday in search of back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.
